{"id":4584,"date":"2023-06-26T12:08:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T16:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/?p=4584"},"modified":"2023-06-26T12:08:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T16:08:33","slug":"lithuania-baltic-states-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/2023\/06\/26\/lithuania-baltic-states-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania: Baltic states tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

From May 27 to June 4 we took a trip through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. We started by spending one night in Kaunas, Lithuania before going to Vilnius, Lithuania for about 3 days. Then, we traveled to Riga where we spent 2 nights before making our way to Tallinn, Estonia for 2 nights. Some students have written poems, reflections, and journals about their stays in each of the cities.<\/p>\n

Paneriai<\/p>\n

I love the woods, they\u2019re beautiful
\nThese woods look no different
\nThe crunch of your steps
\nSmell of the fresh air
\nLight in the trees
\nWind in the leaves
\nI could be happy to stay here forever if only it was by choice<\/p>\n

I stand at the edge of a pit, trying to grasp it\u2019s size
\nIf my singular body feels this small, how many did it take to fill it?
\nHow. many.
\nWho\u2019s parents, kids, cousins, friends or lovers?
\nWho
\nWere my ancestors here? Which end of the gun were they on?
\nDid they know when their last goodbye was?<\/p>\n

Villains tried to hide their sins but the earth remembers
\nThough the bodies are long gone the empty space remains
\nLush and green, dandelions full of unclaimed wishes
\nMother earth took what little they left of themselves and turned it into something beautiful
\nDoes she know who was here when she hugged them in her grasp?
\nDid she resist when they were ripped away?
\nA single candle lays at the bottom, the altar of death
\nOne candle for so many lives
\nI walk around the bottom, feeling the grass brush against my legs
\nIt\u2019s almost as though they are reaching out to be saved
\nWho is in this grass?
\nWho could they have been had they been given the chance?<\/p>\n

A camera has a lot of power and a picture is worth 1000 words,
\nYet I\u2019ve never felt so powerless and 1000 words doesn\u2019t feel like enough
\nNo amount of words or trick of the camera can portray the weight of this place
\nThere\u2019s normally so many songs running through my head but the air has stolen them
\nEven the saddest are full of too much hope
\nDoes everyone feel this, or do you need the history?<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t read the words left for those who were here, but maybe they\u2019re not meant for me
\nThis isn\u2019t my story, so what gives me the right to have power to tell the story of the powerless?
\nI don\u2019t have the skill to portray the weight that this place holds, and yet I can’t do nothing with it
\nHopefully all you need is air in your lungs and just a little bit of care
\nBecause that\u2019s all I have<\/p>\n

-Indigo Gott, Paneriai (Holocaust Mass Killing Site in Vilnius)<\/p>\n

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Paneriai, Vilnius 2023 Photo: Megan Miller<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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KGB Museum Response<\/p>\n

No words can describe the way I felt in this place
\nTight chest, breathe
\nEvery moment, fleeting
\nEvery move, forced<\/p>\n

These rooms have so many stories
\nSo much death
\nSo much pain
\nBreathe. Breathe.<\/p>\n

Only enough space to turn around
\nFour concrete walls, trapped
\nIron doors
\nLights that won\u2019t turn off
\nSleeping on the floor
\nLucky to be alive
\nBreathe<\/p>\n

Heaving and tears
\nPadded rooms, no one can hear you
\nStraight jacket, torture
\nInterrogation, hours and hours
\nBreathe oh god breathe<\/p>\n

Shower rooms,
\nFall into the water
\nFreezing on a pedestal
\nNo space
\nStanding standing standing
\nBreathe breathe breathe<\/p>\n

My chest pounds in pain for these people
\nHow could we, how could we
\nTears well up in sync with the falling and rising of my shoulders
\nEmpty rooms filled with unspeakable things<\/p>\n

Outside is no better
\n15 minutes a day to experience the earth
\nBarely alive, only kept in concrete barriers
\nbarbed fences higher than their hopes<\/p>\n

The last one.
\nThe worst one.
\nKitchen, where they come to die
\nHere I can no longer think of,
\nGunshots ringing in my ears.
\nImages of blood and bullet holes<\/p>\n

I can no longer breathe.<\/p>\n

I must escape
\nI must survive
\nI must tell others about these people
\nTheir stories
\nI can\u2019t forget<\/p>\n

-Cassidy Walker, Vilnius<\/p>\n

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Paneriai. Photo: Caleb Oesch 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Tallinn was our break, for almost seven days straight we visited places with unimaginable pain sewn into the foundation. We went to places with each step we took, we could feel the death and destruction that took place with each site we visited. Memorials, pits, and museums that would talk about the horrible occupation that took place among the Baltics, death sites, and concentration camps. Tallinn was our escape, our place to breathe and reflect on all we just learned, a place to relax.<\/p>\n

The first night was beautiful. We had finally arrived in Tallinn, Estonia after a five-hour bus ride and a visit to a concentration camp along the way. When we got off the bus, I think all of us needed a breath of fresh air from the heavy thoughts we all were carrying on the bus.<\/p>\n

From that moment on, Tallinn was a whirlwind of fun. The ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ and LCC group got to go on a night walk of the Old Town and see the most beautiful sites in all of Tallinn as the sun was setting on the Baltic coast. We were all in the moment together, laughing and singing and taking some fun pictures of each other with the most amazing sky and city in the background.<\/p>\n

In my journal, I wrote \u201cThis city is like nothing I have ever seen before, it is old but loved. It has the best architecture, views, even the air feels lighter here. I wish we could stay here for more than two days just to take it all in\u201d. We got a tour around the city, got to see the tallest steeple (of a Lutheran Church) in Europe, see where the square where the first mention of a public Christmas tree was placed, and so much more.<\/p>\n

The main highlight of this city, and for some the entire trip, was the Ballet. After a feast at Old Hansa where we ate until we couldn\u2019t anymore, we had the opportunity to see the National Estonian Ballet perform Swan Lake in all of its grandeur. The show was magnificent, so much so that quite a few members of our group tried to mimic some of those ballet moves after the show. Every movement was captivating, the live orchestra complimenting each move from each dancer in perfect sync. I still remember it as though it just happened, the humming of the strings with the gentle jumps of Odette, it was truly an experience I will never forget.<\/p>\n

-Cassidy Walker<\/p>\n

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Flesh, Blood, Life<\/p>\n

What\u2019s with this hate?
\nDo you not see this flesh?
\nWhat\u2019s with this violence?
\nDo you not see this blood?
\nWhat\u2019s with this killing?
\nDo you not see this life?<\/p>\n

Capsules scatter after every fire
\nCovering the Earth in a disgustful ash
\nA new layer of ground<\/p>\n

Bodies fall limbs twist around like dolls
\nDeep into a new dark never dreamt
\nLifeless in moments<\/p>\n

Pits of humanity lost in sorrowful reckoning
\nMany dead, never to know this life again
\nSome not for long<\/p>\n

A scary dream one hopes to escape to awakening
\nBut this time is horror filled reality
\nMoments pass\u2026
\nMinutes\u2026
\nHours\u2026
\nDays\u2026
\nMonths\u2026
\nYears\u2026<\/p>\n

A new dawn rises
\nBirds sing the same tune, with new chirps
\nBugs fly, crawl, skimy across new forms
\nFlowers paint the blood stained ground with soft surrender
\nThese fresh lives don\u2019t know this history<\/p>\n

This land echoes its past
\nNever to unsee the fate that fell upon it
\nTrees stand tall to lift up those who came to a vicious end
\nStones made into markers for lives not to be forgotten
\nTears of future generations will water this land for many years to come<\/p>\n

-Molly Piwanka<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From May 27 to June 4 we took a trip through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. We started by spending one night in Kaunas, Lithuania before going to Vilnius, Lithuania for about 3 days. Then, we traveled to Riga where we spent 2 nights before making our way to Tallinn, Estonia for 2 nights. Some students....<\/p>

Read more about Lithuania: Baltic states tour<\/span><\/path><\/path><\/svg><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":4586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4137],"tags":[4039],"class_list":["post-4584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lithuania-2023","tag-featured","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4584"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4591,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584\/revisions\/4591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/intercultural\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}