by Kathryn Odgers
Minarets is a community based around professionalism and that includes outside of the classroom as well. The Minarets Abroad program is Minarets' way of allowing students to have the opportunity to explore the world by traveling to different countries, learning about their cultures, historical events, and seeing different sites!
Originally, principal Daniel Ching took his first group of students to Greece and Italy in the summer of 2014, while head-of-charter Patrick Wilson took charge of the trips until 2017: when teacher Kaitlin Morgan became the faculty advisor and formalized Minarets Abroad. Since then, Minarets Abroad has gone to Spain, France, England, Germany, Poland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. "It gives students the opportunity to have new experiences and to see the world in a more academic structure," Morgan says, "Students can also get college credit while you're abroad too, which is really cool".
Last year's trip was very unique compared to previous trips because of the topic focused on the Holocaust. "I was interested to see how everyone would do, including myself, seeing these really emotional sites and dealing with all of those things". For adviser Morgan the trip was a very powerful and impacting trip, "I always tell people it's not the same thing, like learning about it isn't the same as seeing it, like with Auschwitz where everybody was just quiet, you could feel these sense of dread. This happened so long ago that you wouldn't think that this type of energy would still be there, but it is". Even as the advisor, she learned things that she didn't know as well, but seeing it gave her a far better understanding than before.
Language is a challenge the group always faces, especially with German, Polish, and Czech on the last abroad trip. "It was definitely a humbling experience to not know what anybody is talking about and trying to have a conversation with somebody," she remarked. "We were actually taking a train to Warsaw when this guy sat with us who spoke Polish, German, French, and Spanish, but he didn't speak that much English. So the whole ride over he was practicing his English with us, practicing his words and asking us if that's how you said it. It was just incredible because he was so excited, he said he loved languages. He would then write out all the different words in English and how it matches in other languages showing how similar they were, and we were all sitting there thinking that we couldn't even say hello". Instances like that really helped new perspectives for not only the students but for herself and taught the whole group something new.
Each country is different as well, especially with being an outsider and adjusting and dealing with different currencies, languages and even cultures. "One thing I always have to tell the kids is that not everyone's as friendly as Americans" she stated, "For example in Germany it's considered rude to smile at strangers or wave so I would have people in the city start talking to me in English because they can tell that we're American just by smiling at them". Meanwhile, she also remarked how open Poland was when they visited, despite all the traumatic hardships the country had gone through. Every location is different and the cultures vary, which is very fascinating to witness and see how different people in the world compared to our own.
Senior Ruth Biedermann was one of the many to attend this past summer's Abroad trip to visit different places dealing with the Holocaust, such as Auschwitz and the Warsaw Ghetto. "It was really cool because you got to see things in person and not just what you read in history books or online," she said, "You got to actually experience these places that still hold all this emotion and everything, it was pretty amazing but at the same time it was sad". Although the experience was sad, Ruth felt that it helped teach her about what happened and seeing it in person was a life-changing experience. "It was a really powerful experience to go through," she said. The Berlin Wall was one of the other few places that stood out to her as the walls were painted with different murals, along with Auschwitz which she learned in-depth about. Even experiencing with people she didn't know helped her bond with them and share that experience with them completely changed the trip for her.
Another attendee on the trip was Senior Luke Longatti, who felt really impacted with seeing the effects of both the Cold War and World War 2 on these historic places was nothing he could've ever imagined. "One of the most interesting places regarding World War 2 was Warsaw," he remarked, "The city had been on the pinnacle of Nazi oppression, with one of the largest ghettos during the war and it was nearly completely destroyed during the Warsaw uprisings and was rebuilt in Soviet fashion after the Russian occupation. It was incredible to see the relics of the uprising mixed with the ancient history of the town, surrounded by the industrious Soviet stylization". Even after the events happening years ago, these remnants still exist today and even carry experiences unlike any other. One of the other interesting things Luke mentioned was the different cultures in Europe, especially Poland. "It was really nice and inviting that gave you the vibe that everyone respects one another, something that you can only get from a country who's been through tremendous hardships," Luke said. Visiting those different countries allowed the group to see all sorts of cultures, even those who weren't from the original country.
This year's Abroad trip will be more focused on the outdoors and different culture in Australia and New Zealand, such as going on different trails, beaches, and other different activities. To find out more information about the trip and attending Minarets Abroad next summer, you can visit their website here or attend the upcoming meeting on Sept. 18, 2019, at 5:30 p.m in the Media Lounge.
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