The Secret ANNEx

“To build up the future you have to know the past.” Otto Frank

Today was moving. Why? Because, I had been counting down the days, hours, seconds to go to Anne Franks house. Before I left for Europe, I told EVERYONE including the mailman that I was going to be in the same exact place Anne wrote her diary. Of course no one will admit it, but I could feel the jealousy.

My excitement about Anne Frank came after reading The Diary of Anne Frank (the book) in high school. To me she wasn’t just the “girl with the diary”; she was brave, smart, strong, and hopeful- all the qualities you rarely find in an eight year old. Don’t get me wrong, I felt just as sad and mad walking through the house as I did when I watched the movie Selena- because in the end they both pass away. However, there should be some happiness to this story, because in a strange way her dream of being a famous writer came true. Millions of people died during the persecution, but it was Anne who wrote all her feelings and thoughts down. This led her father to tell Anne’s story, promote human rights and bring people together.

“I think it’s important that people shouldn’t go to the Anne Frank house to see the secret annex. They’ve also got to be encouraged to realize that even today, people are being prosecuted for their race.” Otto Frank Regardless what anyone says, to me she’s a hero. I’m amazed with her story, because she had the courage to write while in hiding. The walls in the museum had quotes from her diary and one impacted me the most: “I know what I want, I have a goal, I have opinions, a religion and love.”

Anne and her family moved in the building on the Prinsengracht in 1942. Shortly after Anne and the eight people in hiding were arrested and sent to Auschwitz extermination camp. From there, Anne became ill with typhus and died in Bergen-Belsen in 1945. Anne’s diary was published in the Netherlands in 1947, and has been translated into more than 65 languages. On May 3^rd 1960 the Anne Frank house opened to the public and is still one of the most popular places for tourists to visit in Amsterdam.

We weren’t able to take photos inside, but I did anyway mainly because I have to prove to my mailman that I was there. The Anne Frank house made me reflect on my own life and all the people that I couldn’t imagine living without. Just like Selena’s music, Anne’s story will live on forever.

I will conclude this with a magical moment I had after walking through the house: my bonding session with Wyatt Danz. The Anne Frank museum showed a kind, respectful side to this boy while I spoke to him about Anne and her secret annex. I think Mr. Frank would be proud to know that walking through his house helped bring me closer to one of my classmates.

P.S. My picture won't rotate!

Covering Europe

Paris in Review

No matter how much I travel or what corner of the world I'm in, I will always get homesick.

While some people are getting homesick for familiar surroundings, family and friends, I am missing my boyfriend the most.

Who can deny that Paris is one of the most romantic cities in the world? Beautiful people, beautiful language, beautiful food, beautiful music, beautiful clothes and beautiful art make for a breathtaking city. Who else but to share it with someone you love?

At first I was taken aback by the excessive PDA; I saw PDA on the trains, outside the Metro, at landmarks, in cafes, everywhere...but Paris has shown me that love is a beautiful thing.

While we were waiting in line for the lift at the Eiffel Tower, a few of us spotted an elderly couple in line and couldn't help but watch them hold hands and eat croissants together while patiently waiting amidst the chaos and noise coming from other tourists.

That simple moment made me realize that traveling is not a checklist of "been-there, done-that" or how many souvenirs I can fit into my suitcase, but it's about perseverance, patience, understanding, openness, and most importantly, love and the wisdom to seek knowledge and share knowledge.

Palace of Versailles

Making Movies
A professor once asked me why I like movies. Taken aback by the question, I responded blankly, “movies are my favorite form of entertainment.” I couldn’t comprehend how someone wouldn’t feel the same.

However, if I had the chance to elaborate, I would have explained that what I appreciate about film is the combination of striking visuals and music, which is why Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” is one of my favorite movies.

Anticipation
Her film is also one of the reasons Versailles was the destination I was most excited for. Not only did Coppola have unprecedented access to Versailles, she paired her highly stylized, sympathetic take on Marie Antoinette with a new wave soundtrack.

Listening to The Strokes’ “What Ever Happened?” and New Order’s “Ceremony” as the tour bus drove to Versailles, my anticipation continued to build. I couldn’t wait to walk on the same ground that both Marie Antoinette and Sofia Coppola graced with their direction - one of a country, the other of a movie.

Marie-Antoinette Sweet Lolita
As we passed through the palace rooms, I imagined what it would be like to live in such a grand structure and have the grand responsibilities that Marie Antoinette had at the young age of 14.

Walking outside, I looked ahead to the gardens, which were stunning even though the flowers are not in bloom. The gardens were both visually pleasing and eerie for that reason. It made me think of the hauntingly beautiful graphic novel, Marie-Antoinette Sweet Lolita I bought from the gift shop. Meanwhile, the passersby reminded me that I would need to learn French in order to fully enjoy the souvenir.

Père Lachaise Cemetery

When You’re Strange

Family is important to Europeans. The same can be said for many Americans. However, I tend to take my family for granted.

I’m independent and my family has come to accept that. When other students on the trip mention being homesick, I think I can relate. Then they mention that they miss their parents or siblings and I realize that although I care for my family, what I am homesick for is the solitude of my apartment in Chicago.

A Twist In My Story

For a long time, I’ve contemplated continuing my life as solo act. I never considered having children, and I questioned whether or not I’m the “marrying type.” Then I went to the Père Lachaise Cemetery and my outlook changed a bit.

Home to the likes of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, the cemetery is tantamount to a village, occupying 118.6 acres. The cobblestone streets and elaborate grave sites resemble illustrations from the macabre mind of Edward Gorey. It’s lovely.

Hand In Hand We’ll Stroll Again

What’s more lovely though is the dedication these families have to their deceased. Seeing generations of families buried together reminds me of my grandparents.

Alex and Annabelle O’Kash are buried together in my hometown of Lake Nebagamon, Wis., and their gravestones read, “Hand in hand we’ll stroll again.” I can only imagine that they’re still madly in love and enjoyed celebrating their 67th anniversary on Jan. 11, 2010.

Married With Children

Being at the cemetery also reminded me of the importance of family. I realized how simple gestures like leaving a flower at a loved one’s grave site conveys the tradition and love of a family. It made me realize how over the years I’ve considered my grandparents a stellar example of unconditional love and how visiting their grave site leaves me feeling content.

Most importantly, Père Lachaise Cemetery made me seriously consider having a family of my own to carry on the traditions of my parents and siblings and start new traditions with a husband and children.

Photos by Erin Edwards ... watch out, Ansel Adams!

I Love the Eiffel Tower, but Just as a Friend

Perhaps I was jetlagged or perhaps simply jaded, but for the first day or two in Paris, it just didn’t feel like Paris. Don’t get me wrong, everything I saw was jaw-dropping but I hadn’t gotten that “little kid on Christmas morning” feeling yet.

That is, until I saw the Eiffel Tower.

While walking to a nearby meeting, my group and I decided to cut through a park. We turned the corner and BOOM—there she was in all her glory. I was finally in Paris.
I started towards it with a strange combination of running and skipping while continuously looking back at the rest of my group to see if they shared my excitement.

Much to my chagrin, everyone else was acting like they had seen it hundreds of times. I kept shouting various things like, “Is anyone else seeing this!?” “Why aren’t you excited?!” and “Oh my God, I’m so excited!”

It’s hard to imagine iron looking soft and elegant but it was more gorgeous than I could ever have imagined it would be. It still looked beautiful in the gloomy rain with water dripping onto the tourists below. No picture I have ever seen of the tower comes close to doing it justice.

I took some painstaking pictures which I plan on cherishing forever.
As I fell in love with it, my mind wandered to an episode of the Tyra Banks show I had recently seen. What? Tyra Banks? What does Tyra Banks have to do with the Eiffel Tower? Not quite as much as Erika Eiffel does.

Remember when you were in grade school and if you said you liked something, the usual response from your friends was, “Well if you like it so much, why don’t you marry it?” And that’s exactly with Erika Eiffel did.

Erika Eiffel, formerly LaBrie, married the Eiffel Tower in 2007. Erika suffers from a unique disorder called objectum sexuality; an affliction which causes her to feel an emotional and physical love for inanimate objects. Since then, she’s been the subject of dozens of documentaries and news stories and has become an ambassador for objectophiles all over the world.

Here’s a clip from her appearance on the Tyra Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uKPe7WtH8A

And here's an interview with Erika from the official OS website: http://www.objectum-sexuality.org/faq-erika-eiffel.pdf

Notre Dame & Taxi Stands

Growing up seeing images of Notre Dame plastered on the walls of my Catholic grade school convinced me of its grace and grandeur. It was the church to visit (besides St. Peter’s in Rome) for the majesty of the Catholic Church to hit you like a 2 x 4.

Even though when I arrived at Notre Dame I had been awake for almost 24 hours and had just gotten off a sleepless, eight and a half hour trans-Atlantic flight, the sight of the church across the Seine invigorated me.

As our group entered the church, I was careful to stay close to our tour guide to avoid getting lost among the hundreds of ‘Oohers and ‘Aahers’ (the real getting lost part comes later.) We toured the church in record time, much to my disappointment, and my pictures ended up painfully blurry. Then we were released for a little free time. I grabbed a group of my friends and immediately ran back inside to try to soak in as much of Notre Dame as I could.

From the sweeping arches to the towering stained glass windows, it was just as I remembered seeing it as a girl. I took as many pictures as I could and left feeling elated.

We exited the church to meet up with the rest of the group only to find the group was nowhere in sight. A few minutes later, we found out the group had left. On the bus. After a few moments of panic (mostly my panic) we pulled ourselves together and resolved to take a taxi back to the hotel. We marched to the street corner and confidently stuck our arms in the air and watched taxi after taxi zoom past us. It turns out, that’s not how you get a taxi in Paris. Go figure.

Long story short, Google saved the day. So, for future reference, here’s how to get a taxi in Paris in three easy steps:

Step 1: Find a taxi stand. They’re located near busy intersections and major monuments. Don’t stand on the curb waving your arms like a crazy person; no one will pick you up.
Step 2: Tell the driver where you’re going, preferably in French. If you can’t, just point to a spot on a map or show them an address.
Step 3: Arrive at your destination, pay the driver and bask in the satisfaction of surviving a French taxi ride. Don’t forget to tip!