Entries Tagged as "Travel"
Memorials/Denkmals that work
Posted by Jean Kummerow in Basics of Type , Learning , Personal Growth , Spirituality , Travel on October 31, 2016
I’ve recently had the pleasure of traveling with a group of
international friends (an Australian couple, INTJ & ESTJ; a Dutch
woman ENTJ; and a German ESTJ with an ESFP British wife – the Brexit
discussion was lively); plus my American sweetie ENFP and me, an ESTJ.
Yes, we had some diversity!
In Berlin, we went to a number of
memorials (called Denkmal – denk means think and mal means time in
German) and then we compared our reactions.
A very effective
memorial for all of us was the Reichstag, now also functioning as the
Capitol. When its burnt shell was captured by the Russians in 1945, many
soldiers wrote their names and messages in Russian on the walls. A
recent renovation uncovered those and a guide tracked down as many of
the soldiers as possible and wrote a book about their lives.
The
French contributed a memorial to democracy in that building. They
looked for what made each elected Member of Parliament equal, and it was
the rectangular mailbox! They recreated hundreds of those mailboxes
stacking them up like in a post office and inscribed each with the name
of a democratically elected Member of Parliament up to the year 1938.
That included Hitler and Goebbels by the way! Their particular
mailboxes are often punched in by those visiting the memorial.
The
dome of the building has been resurrected in glass and offers stunning
views of Berlin and a history lesson as you walk up. You are reminded
of the past and how some things must never happen again and how others
need to happen again and again.
From the dome, you could see in
the distance the Holocaust memorial that looked like a Jewish cemetery
with its irregular stones of varying heights. However, upon actually
visiting that memorial…well it was disappointing for all of us.
It
is made up of granite, casket-sized and shaped rectangles of varying
heights, arrayed in a pattern reminiscent of farmer’s fields. While
there are small signs saying not to run as you walk between the
structures or to climb on them, many people ignored that. It became a
playground for so many – the antithesis of the events it is there to
memorialize.
Our group had many ideas of how to change it, such
as surround the area with glass walls topped by depictions of barbed
wire with only a few entry points. The names of the concentration camps
could be etched in the glass along with the numbers of people who
perished in each. The reverent and somber mood was not there and it
should have been!
We also went to the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
The entry to the museum is quite confusing unless one stops to really
pay attention. You begin by walking down stairs to a central hallway
with three angled halls going off from it. Each angled hall represents a
thread of Jewish experience – continuity, diaspora, or the holocaust.
The only one of us who fully appreciated it was the ENTJ, in part
because she was so well steeped in history and the facts, and in part
because she quickly understands symbolism. She could draw upon both
her Intuition and her Sensing. The rest of us missed it.
And we
went to the Berlin Wall Memorial. That one worked for all of us. This
Denkmal was blocks long at a place in the city where the actual border
cut across an apartment building, a church and a cemetery plus gardens
and streets. The stories of each and of the wall were laid out in
storyboards along with videos and interviews with people who lived it.
The names of those who had died while crossing were also included. Very
powerful. Even though there were large grassy fields that one could
play on, no one did. It was clearly recognized as a memorial and
treated as such.
For all of us, the memorials that worked
created a mood of reverence, the opportunity to go in-depth and learn
more intellectually about the events and simply to experience the pull
of raw emotions.
Have you experienced a memorial that worked for you? Why?
At the Olympics in Rio!
Posted by Jean Kummerow in Basics of Type , Personal Growth , Travel on August 17, 2016
If you follow any international news or sports, you're following the Rio Olympics. Here is this American ESTJ's perspective.
Before
I arrived, I was reading newscasts about mosquitoes, robberies,
protestors, impeachment, etc. Here I find very little evidence of any
of that.
I did happen to spot some broken window panes in the
Rio de Janeiro Parliament building. This building was the home of the national
Capitol until it moved to Brasilia in 1960.
I asked our student
guide if the broken windows were from Olympic protestors. He said that
in a way they were. He has not been able to attend classes for the last
four months because his university is shut down. Why? The professors
and staff have not been paid and are on strike. The protests were about
money going to the Olympic Games, instead of education or other needed
social services, let alone infrastructure to clean up the water.
And
the games go on. There are hordes of people excited about the
Olympics. There are also lots of armed soldiers near every major venue
and gathering point.
Subways and trains are packed, not only
with the locals but also with people from all over the world. You hear
lots of languages. People are friendly and helpful, even those not
wearing the bright yellow jackets signifying them as helpers. They are
calling out directions to trains to the venues in both Portuguese and
English.
Security lines to get into the venues seem to be running
smoothly now. We're lucky to be in the preferential lines due to our
age of over 65. Museums also often give free membership to those my
age, and half price to those 62-64.
Attending an Athletics
(Track and Field) session is like watching a three ring circus. There
are usually several events going on at the same time - pole vaulting,
running, discus, and shotput can all be happening simultaneously.
And
depending on where you are sitting you either see the competitors
looking the size of an ant or you can see a real person! If you're up
high, watching a long race while the runners spread out, they look like a
snake. And in the steeplechase when they jump over hurdles, they look
like a snake going over a lump. No, those were not my images; they came
from my Intuitive friends.
Etiquette at a track meet is
interesting. The Brazilians have gotten so excited over their athletes
that they cheer loudly even at the moment when the starter needs to
shoot the gun. No one can hear, so now there are calls from all over
the stadium for silence.
And so as not to block the view of
others behind you, you are supposed to stay in your seat and not stand
up and cheer for your favorite athlete. The one time that is not
followed is when Usain Bolt (the fastest man on earth!) appears; all
sorts of people are there who do not usually go to track, so everyone
stands up with excitement because they these folks don’t know track
etiquette.
No "booing" is supposed to occur since we are honoring
the achievements of every athlete around the world. However, that rule
has been broken several times, which really does tarnish the games.
The
medal ceremony is the one time when all eyes focus on one place and
everyone stands for national anthem of the gold medalist’s country.
That is a really good feeling!
This is an exciting time to be in Rio and to be a citizen of the world.