Last Day - Grace

So, last day. This week has flown by so fast it’s not even funny. We got woken up at like, 5 something, and it was bad. After packing and stuff like that, we ate then got on the bus.  We made signs for the Today Show, but we didn’t make it. I was sad. We still went to the top of the Rock, a.k.a the Rockefeller. It was so crazy because I’m terrified of heights. My ears kept popping. After the rock, we just went off with our groups and went shopping. My group went to Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, the M&M store, and Forever 21. I didn’t get much because I was almost out of money, but it was still fun. After shopping we went to the Hard Rock Café, and ate. This was the first restaurant I had gone to that served cookies as a dessert. After full stomachs, we boarded the bus to get home. This trip was so much fun. I feel bad for anyone that didn’t go, because it was great. The adults were nice, the places were cool, and sometimes emotional. The bus I was on had the loud people, but that’s part of the fun. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone, but there’s a LOT of walking. Thanks Bath YMCA for taking me on this trip; it was a lot of fun.

Last Day - Sophia

Our peaceful sleep was interrupted by an early morning wake up call. Not wanting to get out of bed my group and I packed our bags for the last time and headed down to breakfast. With all the traffic in the morning we are unable to make it to the Today Show at the time we pleased. But we still went to the 67^th, 68^th, and 69^th floors of the Rockefeller building. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking. The groups didn’t spend too much time on the Top of the Rock because after that each group went off and when shopping on 5^th avenue/Times Square. In the two hours given to us my group was able to go into five different stores, F-A-O Schwartz, Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, M&Ms World, and Forever 21. For our last meal in NYC we ate at the Hard Rock Café. When bellies were full and plates were emptied each person loaded the busses anticipating the long ride back home.

Almost There!

George Washington Bridge is Closed

Horrific Traffic ... everyone redirected to Lincoln Tunnel. Hope to be at Today show by 8:30!

Reflections from the Holocaust using Google Voice

Click here to listen to one student's reflections

Day 6 - Connor

Human bodies being bulldozed into a pit.  There were many atrocious pictures at the Holocaust museum, but that is the one that is sticking with me the most.  Human bodies treated like garbage – not animals or plants, but human remains.  Do you know how many of your genes you share with other humans?  99.9%  All humans share 99.9% of their genes.  All of those people killed in the Holocaust were 99.9% the same as you.  Just think about that.

A Magic Moment at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

This is Marybeth and I want to share a moment in time that was surreal.  As the kids were watching the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Phil and I met beyond the ceremony to discuss the options we had to use the empty amphitheater nearby.  After a few minutes of brainstorming, I sat down and wrote the following note on my iPhone:

Headstones in this vast cemetery represent a single person who served In the armed forces. Each person, just like those who marched across the fields during Pickett's charge, was defending, protecting, honoring, and sometimes dying for the rights guaranteed in our constitution. I call these rights freedom.
How do these headstones, these men and woman, represent the freedoms you have now - today?  Equality to vote, non-segregation, to protest the government, to speak your ideals publicly, to practice your religion.
These freedoms continue to be defined and defended each and every day. The freedom to marry?  The freedom to protect or terminate a pregnancy?
As we sit here amongst the the fallen, in reverence, solitude and solidarity, how have your thoughts, feelings or attitudes shifted since this morning when you awoke?

After the ceremony the kids sat on the steps of the amphitheater in the shade while I used my notes to focus them.  They were silent, engaged, and focused.  Shortly after I began my "speech," Taps began to play from nearby.  We listened in silence - complete and utter silence.  Magical, indeed.