Good Bye, Maryland

Leaving D.C by Makenzie Moody
This is Makenzie, full of sorrow because this is our last full day in D.C. We have been sooo blessed by our hosts and people we have met along the way. This morning, we were supposed to get up and go to a one room schoolhouse for a day in the life of Little House on the Prairie, (actually the Seneca Schoolhouse, circa 1880) but when we woke, there were about five inches of snow on the ground! Janice, our host, came in with boxes of snowsuits, and we all bundled up and went sledding down a huge hill. Janice gave us four inter tubes and two sleds to use while we all piled in the back of the truck to go sledding. When we were there, people were running and sledding down the hill and crashing into each other. At the bottom, Joe would lie down on his stomach and we would go over him like a speed bump; but when we got a group of four people to slide down at once, Joe moved as quickly as possible! When we came back inside, we were surprised with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and the movie: The Incredibles. We all bundled up with a nice warm blanket and our pajamas and lay on the floor and watched half of the movie. Then we were summoned to lunch. We had warm grilled cheese and basil tomato soup. Then we went back and had fresh, warm brownies and finished the movie. Emma and I got to feed Elsie, (Janice’s daughter, Megan, her husband and daughter are living at the farm while they wait for their house to close.) a baby girl who had been a delight on this trip. We played choo choo train with her and Peek-a-boo until we made her smile. We all gathered together for pictures and prayers, as we talked about how much we have had on this trip and how truly blessed we are to have opportunities like this one. During prayer, Elsie started crying; probably because she felt that we would be leaving soon. We all came together for one last group picture, and we all gave Janice hugs, a candy bar, and cherry blossom soap. Janice said that we should learn that saying yes might have its regrets at first, but later it will make a positive ripple effect on people where one word makes a huge difference. We have brightened Janice’s days with us, and everyone who has come with us, helped us, or even opened their house and hearts to us. To everyone: THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Snow!

We wrapped up our last full day in D.C. today. I was raised in a family that wrapped up every meal with dessert. The meals were always home cooked, nutritious and satisfying and the desserts were also of the same caliber, perhaps not always nutritious. This developed in me the sense that no matter how wonderful and or filling the meal, it was never complete if it lacked dessert. Today was that dessert on a very full and satisfying meal. The culmination, or dessert, of this incredible visit to the heart of our government started with a breakfast at the Glenn farm. After we cleaned up from breakfast we loaded up the two vans for church. As one van went to Mass and the other to the Glenn’s Presbyterian church, I was provided, once again, the poignant reminder that the Carden Country School is made up of Catholic and Protestant families, that not just tolerate each other but also truly love, understand, and enjoy each other and while we would be separating the group for the first time in 9 days, we were not truly separating, just going in slightly different places and would soon be back together. Unlike my meals with dessert, this is not the behavior with which I was raised. As the vans drove down the driveways I was immensely grateful for the diversity of Carden and the love and richness this brings both to my family and me.
This trip has been 10 days of firsts for me. At the end of these innumerable firsts, I had the privilege of worshipping with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their spiritual family at Fourth Presbyterian. The fact that I was also with my Carden family made it all the more special. Worshipping with people with whom I am not accustomed to worshipping and in foreign places is always a significant reminder to me of what a wonderful family I am apart of with God as my father. After Church, much of the group went to the Holocaust Museum. Having been to the Dachau Concentration camp, I was looking forward to experiencing this part of our past from an American perspective. My expectations were not too lofty. As I worked my way through this amazing museum, I was moved by how attentive and thoughtful our students were and troubled by my own discomfort as I walked through much of the museum as an American and non-Jew with a group of Jews. I found that my experience at Dachau with my German friends had given me an air of superiority. While being of German decent, I was indeed an American and part of the liberating country. While that is still true, this experience served to remind me that I am not Jewish and as an American, while we did liberate, there were significant moments prior to 1945 that we turned a blind eye and cold shoulder to what was happening to our Jewish brothers and in these Jews presence I found myself shamed and uncomfortable.
After leaving the Holocaust Museum, I took five students to the Museum of Space and Flight. As I looked at the Wright Brothers first plane of 1905 and the bi-planes of WWI, the supersonic fighters of today, and travel to the moon I was absolutely stunned at the rapidity at which the technology of flight has progressed. My 42 years, plus a small handful, which I consider a blink of an eye, is all it took us to move from that simple wood and canvas powered kite to walking on the moon!
At 5:30, we gathered for a very nice meal in the heart of D.C., our last supper. An opportunity to once again break bread and fellowship together. We returned to the Farm, and had a double dessert, dessert for the stomach and the soul. We ate some cookies and chocolate Janis provided and sat in the living room with a crackling fire in the fireplace and discussed the events and impacts of the day and the week. My week long feelings of equal parts blessing and sense of being overwhelmed flooded over me as I listened to these young adults talk about what the had experienced in language that was all at once articulate, insightful and thoughtful. I cannot begin to convey the sense of gratitude I have for the experience of living and learning with these 12 Carden students and my fellow chaperones. Thank you to each and every person that made this trip possible. With sincere thankfulness, Mr. Krueger.

Our Amazing Hosts: Janice & Greg Glenn

We are so lucky to have such great hosts. When we came home last night, the barn was set for s'mores, popcorn, pingpong, foosball, dancing and tricycle demolition derby!

March 1: Gettysburg

Carden on Little Round near Devil's Den

Union Army Monuments at Gettysburg

By Lexi Krueger

Yesterday we went to Gettysburg to see that amazing battlefield. As soon as we got there we went in and had lunch, because we had pre-ordered. After the lunch we went into a theater to see a movie that was an introduction to the whole park. As soon as the movie was over we exited and headed up to a large circular room. On the walls of the dome was a mural of the battlefield; it looked so real. After about 5 minutes of looking around, a voice came on talking about the battle that took three days. There were some cannons that boomed, and it was so hard to imagine that that was not even half of the noise that went on during those three days. After that presentation, each of the vans got a tour guide to take them around. We drove all around while the man was speaking, and sometimes we got out and looked around. It was freezing, unlike the real battle that took place in July! He showed us the spot where Robert E. Lee is supposed of sat during Pickett’s Charge, and the spot where General Mead sat. It is so hard to imagine being a battle, especially one in the heat of summer, in a cotton shirt, with hardly any water, the sound of dying men, cannons and guns, the smell of smoke, blood and dying horses and men and running though open fields being shot at. I cannot imagine what those brave men did for us, even the ones from the South. If any of you have the chance to go to Gettysburg, you should go, because it is a life changing experience. The hard part is trying to remember it wherever I go. I take so much for granted, and at the moment I am humbled, it goes away as soon as I am back at somewhere where I am comfortable.

Robert E. Lee Memorial

Church, Holocaust, and Air and Space Museums

This morning we woke up around seven. We had breakfast and left for church. I went to the Presbyterian church called Fourth Presbyterian, but I do not remember much of it all because I fell asleep. But the pastor who spoke had a really cool accent.
After church, we continued to DC, and went to the Holocaust Museum. It was by far, the saddest museum we have attended yet, because it really brought the stories of the people who were involved in it to life.
After the Holocaust Museum, we went to The Air and Space Museum. This museum was very cool, because it showed the advancement of flight over the years. There was a replica of the first Wright flier, and one of the newer 747s. It also had on display a few Apollo space capsules.
We then left and ate dinner at a resteraunt called Founding Farmers. Eventually, we came back home.
Brendan

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Hello again! This is Hailey, by the way.
Today we went to church at Fourth Presbyterian Church. I don't know if he would want me to tell you this, but Brendan fell asleep and words cannot describe how hilarious is when he sleeps. The service was about how Jesus fed the multitude and how that effectsus today. Then we jumped in the car to our sandwiches awaiting us. The car ride was short, suprisingly we found our way in good time. The Holocaust Museum was appallingly sad, but it really opened all of our eyes. Then we met up with the group that chose not to go to the museum. Then Mr. Krueger, Brendan, Lexi, Joe, Will, and I walked to the Air and Space Museum. It is amazing how far air planes have come since the Wright Brothers in 1903. That is such a short time! Then we went in the flight simulator, which was so scary. We probably did five rolls and going upside down is insane, let me tell you! I could not be a pilot. But it was really fun! Then we went to Founding Farmers restaurant and I had the "Macaroni with Meat Ragu." It did not meet my expectations, but it was still delicious. Although I have enjoyed every part of my day, my favorite part was singing probably every song written from the 1950s to now. We should become a internationally toured band. Just kidding! I have never heard any group of people sing/scream so loud and be so off tune, but that was so fun! Sadly, my voice is sliding away every minute. Right now Mr. Harvey is talking to us about how we should go to sleep sometime tonight and how we may not want to play German Spotlight in the snow. This trip has been amazing and I can't wait to see you all in a couple days! Bye!