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Berlin Day 8

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Yesterday, we started the day at Mauerpark Flea Market. Navigated by Greg and August, we arrived at the market filled with vendors and food stalls, adjacent to a city park with children running on grass and playing on swings.  Mr. Feldmeth tasked us to find an object of Berlin's past, photograph it, and learn its story. While doing this, we were encouraged to look for souvenirs for family members at the market, something they would greatly appreciate, something meaningful, something that didn't simply say "Berlin" on it. We encountered people selling antiques, post cards, and even passports from the former East Germany, along with previously owned possessions, such as silverware, clocks, clothing, and jewelry. While we were there, I thought of my family the entire time and the countless Sundays we've spent at Smorgasburg in Downtown Los Angeles; the atmosphere of the flea market felt almost identical to the one at home, yet my family wasn't there to make the f...
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Berlin Day 7

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Today we were enlightened by the rare, if not once-in-a-lifetime, experiences: visiting the Berlin Jewish Museum, meeting artist Ai Weiwei, and meeting Lydia Schamschula, who co-directed the documentary A Step Without Feet that we screened in Garland Theatre at Poly this past February. Let us begin with the Jewish Museum. As you trek your wet shoes into the lobby, you'll walk into a brightly lit room with buttercream walls (the original building was finished in 1908) and a contemporary large, yarn-like sculpture hanging from above. From there, you'll continue down a long flight of stairs into the Axis of Exile, one of three axes that intersect here,   where the walls slant inwards, the floor slants upwards, and the ceiling is painted black, creating the illusion of a never-ending tunnel, seemingly closing in on you the farther you walk. At the end is "The Garden of Exile". From there, you can walk the Axis of the Holocaust into the "Holocaust Tower", an ang...
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