Monday, October 13, 2008

Day 2 final post

Hello again,

Its actually the start of day 3 here...but I wanted to conclude my conversation about yesterday. The afternoon session was very interesting (if taxing on my mind with translators and headsets). We heard how the Holocaust is taught in Poland and how that has changed dramatically since 1989 after the fall of Communism and again in 2000 with the the story Jenwabe (from the book Neighbors) dealing with Polish Complicity in Genocide. They also talked about the Polish underground and the Government in Exile during the war.

After our sessions we got some lessons in Polish and Israeli dance and folk music. We danced (I can hardly call what I did dance...) and generally enjoyed each others company. I have to say it was an incredible moment for me to see Jews dancing and celebrating the Sukkott (sp?) in Poland. There is a sense of triumph in this I think. We all went out together afterwords and had fun until they closed the place down (11pm close???).

More to come...so much to say about the issue of Identity...something I am still trying to explore...but it is tough. More later today about Day 3.

Rob Hadley

3 comments:

Joe Bridgeman said...

Rob,

It sounds like a fantastic trip so far. I would love to hear more about how the Holocaust is taught in Poland and how it has changed - fascinating... Joe Bridgeman

SM Leikam said...

I can't wait to see your dance moves. Love the updates.
Sonia Marie

Anonymous said...

Hey yo Mr. Hadley!

Thats so cool that they still practice the traditional dance moves! You had better show us in class!

Hillary Joseph