Trip to DC

I just returned from a weeklong trip to Baltimore and Washington D.C. It was a change of pace from the grueling school schedule. I got to experience the differences of being in a big city.

Over the course of the week I went to two baseball games; Baltimore vs New York Yankees, and Washington vs Cincinatti. Both games went to extra innings. It was a great experience, but I went to D.C. for more than simply fun. I got to spend time in Anacostia a neighborhood where my brother did an internship almost 3 years ago. I also got to do some sight-seeing. You can see the Washington monument from anywhere and the capitol from most of the city. All the streets even count down as you approach the capitol.

 Another great experience was the chance to walk through the Holocaust Museum. The museum itself was very intentional in its design and layout. When you walk in to start the exhibit you are given a “passport” from a Jew telling their story from the Holocaust and the persecution that they saw. You then enter into an old elevator and are taken to the 4^th floor.

The floors all have different themes and represent a different time. The 4^th floor starts with the rise of Hitler to power and the Nazi party and the beginnings of racism and segregation against the Jews. The 3^rd floor went through the beginnings of persecution of the Jews and the way they were confined to the slums of the cities and their treatment. The end of the 3^rd and beginning of the 2^nd floor takes you through the death camps and the gas chambers. 

The sad thing is when they were brought to the death camps they were told they could work and survive and maybe live their lives again, but 90% were killed within minutes of arriving and the other 10% were worked till they were useless again and then would die from exhaustion or just killed in the gas chambers. It was a very moving exhibit and I’m glad I had the chance to experience it. It has changed my perspective.

            - Patrick Asdell, Senior