Sunday, March 15, 2015

Poland 2015- Caitlyn Morrison


                                Me on a trip to the Dominican Republic over the summer ‘14

Hello, my name is Caitlyn Morrison and I am a senior here at Iona College. I am graduating a year early and I am a political science major. I am completely in love with the word wanderlust because it describes me perfectly. Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. Part of the reason why I wanted to go to Poland was because I can connect with my polish roots and plan to visit the countries and experience all of the cultures I associate with. They are Irish, Italian, French, German, and Polish. I was able to go to Ireland with my people to people ambassador group in 2008 and we visited England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. This is when I caught the travel bug and I’ve had it since. This will be the 3rd time I am making the journey across the Atlantic to Europe. But this time will be the hardest.
         I decided I wanted to go on this trip for multiple reasons. One of the biggest reasons is because I volunteered in a nursing home / convent that is run by the polish missionary sisters of St. Benedict. I was there multiple times a week sometimes even everyday my senior year. They all spoke polish some didn’t even speak English so I picked up on a few words which was fun because polish is a lot harder than the romance languages. So they really made me intrigued about Poland and I decided to put it on my list of places I must go.
         Since I am graduating early I never got to do a lot of things I really wish I got to, but I am so glad I found out about Poland on a sign in laPenta (our student union). I wish I did this trip sooner because I really think every single Iona student needs to take this class, it is beyond amazing and really gets you thinking and reflecting. This class even before we have arrived in Poland has been such a mix of emotions. I have always been interested in the Shoah (Holocaust) probably because I have learned about it in school for years. I remember as a kid watching a TV show in my mom’s bedroom of people visiting Auschwitz. I think it is very important to be witnesses of Auschwitz and remember the lives lost there. It can’t be forgotten and so visiting it and deeply learning about it is imperative. I am very fortunate my school district puts an emphasis on learning about the Shoah in history class. I have a horrible memory and don’t remember much before high school, but I actually remember when we had a survivor visit with us in middle school so that was a really amazing experience. Some people in our group never learned about it in school but I am so glad that Iona chose to include a class on this that teaches about it in such an amazing way that really helps us to understand the Jewish – Christian relations that were occurring and are occurring now. It really makes the class feel so “real” (it is our class’ favorite word to describe actually visiting Auschwitz) that we get to see first hand the things that we have just learned about. It is also helpful that we have lectures while in Poland to wrap everything together and truly fill in the gaps. Next post I will be in Poland and I am beyond excited.  

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