05.29.2015 - Entry #20: EuroTrip #3 | History Lessons Outside of Prague

USAC gang walking along a path in Lidice

So it's been a week since my arrival to Praha - and according to the HON 410 guidelines, that means it's time to make another post! I know a lot of people are expecting something about how exciting Prague is - how the food is, how the people act, what it's like living here. These posts will come in time - I'll probably do a more lighthearted video post after this actually. You can also follow my Instagram @number2guy for more immediate updates!

But yeah, returning back to the matter at hand; this post won't be particularly happy and its focus isn't in the happy metropolitan area of Praha but instead, the tiny village of Lidice. Above is a wonderfully scenic picture of the gaggle of USAC students (and I, off camera) heading towards our destination of Lidice. Of course, the problem with the picture is that no town can be visibly seen.

Hitler's Orders

This is because the town of Lidice no longer exists. Or at least, the original village no longer does.

During WWII after Czech paratroopers assassinated a high ranking German official, Hitler gave out an order for the nauseatingly efficient and brutal destruction of the town of Lidice, home to about 500 people. Every man was killed (classified as anyone over the age of 15 and totaled about 180 deaths), women were sent to concentration camps, and children were separated and examined - 16 or so children were given to German SS families for adoption while another 80 or so were gassed at a separate location. After the war's end, around 150 women returned to Lidice along with the surviving 16 children. The destruction of the village was incredibly thorough and complete, with every building completely destroyed and almost every trace of the town of Lidice wiped out. Throughout the execution and obliteration of Lidice, the whole process was documented through film and other mediums for use in Nazi propaganda.

Visiting the museum and walking through where Lidice once stood was a very somber trip. While violence does happen back in America (and probably more so than here in Europe), we don't seem to remember it. It might vary a little bit depending where in the U.S. you exactly reside, but nevertheless when I think about my home state of Nevada I can't recall memorials like this that are actually built on a land where an atrocity has happened. It's an entirely different experience to visit a city museum about World War II and the Holocaust and another to visit a site where men were murdered in front of their neighbors, all of them knowing that there was no hope for their continued survival.

In America, we're blessed in the fact that most of the wars and conflicts that we've engaged in, especially in the past century or so, have been outside of our borders. Even though my country has technically been "at war" for the majority of my 20 years of life, I've never experienced the hardships or struggles that come with it. Nor are there any echos of it around me - in the Czech Republic, even though World War II was many years ago and before the births of most living citizens today, there are definitely people here today that grew up during the Communist Regime. A regime that in many ideological ways was very similar to Nazi Germany and was only overturned in 1989. People here vividly remember a time without democracy and full of stagnation - a stark contrast to what I can recall from my own upbringing.

Fortunately, the Czech Republic nowadays is just that - a republic. It's been a week since I've landed here and thus far, Praha has been an amazing and fascinating host city. And while many Czech citizens today, and now myself, have not forgotten the hardships of the past, I am excited to say that this country has definitely made amazing progress in moving past their struggles and in striving towards a better future. As I continue to spend the reminder of my now increasingly short time in Prague (only 25 more days! D:), I will definitely be focusing and posting more about all the wonderful adventures I'm experiencing here in the Czech Republic while simultaneously immersing myself in all the history and culture that Praha has to offer.

05.23.2015 - Entry #19: EuroTrip #2 | A Video Post in Prague

05.05.2015 - Entry #18: EuroTrip #1 | Preparations and Paperwork for a Summer in Prague

USAC Profile

Abstract: I'm reviving this comatose blog to keep track of my adventure to Europe which admittedly I could have planned better. Donate money if you can because while Aldrin has basically paid off his program and flight to Prague, yo' homeboy still needs a meager amount of funds to explore while across The Pond and to help cover adult things like paying rent and utilities for his humble Reno abode while abroad.

To anyone still subscribed to this blog, I apologize for the entirely random entry.

To anyone else who's joining me on this domain for the first time, some background - I started this blog in the Fall of 2012 to fulfill a required component of my English 102 Honors course that involved walking around Reno (still relatively new to me at that time) and reflecting upon what I saw. Sometimes prompts were involved, most times I just wrote what I felt like/what sounded good.

Fast forward to right now, May 2015; as a student enrolled in HON 410 - yet another honors course requiring me to explore new places and reflect upon my impressions and experiences - I have found myself once again with the need to maintain a blog for a few weeks. Rather than starting an entirely new blog, I have elected to continue updating this one after a nearly 3 year hiatus.

So here goes the first of a series of "EuroTrip" blog posts - posted straight from my living room at 5:53AM, two days before finals week begins. Basically, some background on my progress with getting this trip going since I first turned in my application.

EuroTrip #1 - Countdown: 17 Days (Depart Date: 05/22/2015)

I haven't talked a whole lot about my upcoming trip with my friends and family; not extensively at least. This was in part due the stresses of day-to-day life such as the aforementioned finals and associated classes, lab work, fraternity (both Alpha Kappa Psi & Phi Mu Alpha) activities, Circle K (which gets a whole category of its own), Peer Advisor work, etc.

A larger contributing factor towards my silence on my upcoming trip was just the uncertainty - in a manner remarkably uncharacteristic of me, I applied and submitted my USAC application for the Summer I Session in Prague without fully working out the details. Operating off a broad outline at best, I hadn't given much thought to this trip after being accepted into the program - mostly due to all of the above mentioned reasons.

This would come back to bite me in the ass. Mostly in the form of securing financial aid. Originally, I applied for this program with the intent of securing a Gilman Scholarship (approx. $3000) to finance practically all of my program fees and expenses. Unfortunately, life happens and I never got around to filling out my application. To quote one of the USAC advisors, I may as well have, "taken a $3000 check and burned it" since my chances for getting a Gilman were pretty damn good. #liferegrets

Fortunately, I received a $2000 scholarship from the good 'ol CNH Kiwanis Foundation for my services as a Circle K President. And since most of my expenses are covered and/or are being deferred until financial aid kicks in, I figured now would be a good time to really buckle down and get serious with this trip - especially when one considers that my departure date is a mere 2.5 weeks away.

So now the real planning starts - starting with an appeal for more funds. As mentioned, the immediate fees surrounding my trip are in order and I will (with 95% certainty) be travelling to Prague this summer. However, I still need a few hundred to cover a month's rent & utilities (thank you NV Energy for applying my deposit to my balance btw - no electric bill for the month that I'm gone!) along with some spending cash for when I'm actually gone for basic living needs, cool souvenirs, and emergencies.

If you're reading this and you'd like to help out, consider clicking the link below and donating $10, $20, $50, or however little or much you can afford to donate. I'd really appreciate it and you can expect a cool little trinket from Prague for your contribution, along with my everlasting gratitude and thanks.

I'm going to cut this post off here because I'm heading to Bibo's coffeehouse in a bit to get some work done - they don't have Wi-Fi available which is great for working without distractions but awful for posting and maintaining a blog. This is pretty much goodbye and Good Morning then - stay tuned for more updates though! By the next time this blog is updated, it should either be the night before my flight departs or when I'm settled into my new apartment for the summer.

'til next time,

Aldrin S.

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