Yad Vashem Diaries VI: All checked out.

The final few days of classes commenced but let’s be honest, I was way too preoccupied to care, plus a bit on the tired side because I’d been too excited to sleep, and already tired from before. Thankfully we had an afternoon which was self-directed. The intention was for participants to have time to work on their projects or to revisit the museum, but I rather promptly got a taxi and headed for the Old City, with a mission and my remaining debit and credit cards.

I was aware of this fact before, but babies are really fun to shop for.

Tuesday we focused on Muslim anti-semitism and the Righteous Among the Nations, concluding with a visit to Oskar Schindler’s grave and the testimony of Ewa, No, 201 on Schindler’s List. 

Not Schindler's grave, and I'm pretty sure I posted my pic last time. 

But I thought this was interesting given Jewish traditions of piling rocks above as a memorial.

Levi also really followed through on my request to be picspammed. As this was our final night together, we had a group dinner in the city where we received our certificates and it was a really enjoyable night. I’d been mostly packed from the night before as I’ve been trying to determine what to post home and what should go in each bag now that I’ve spilled into the second bag, with the VAT refund items.

Wednesday, our final day of the program saw me checking out of the hotel and farewelling the fabulous buffets which I think I may have enjoyed more than anyone (though I wasn’t as adventurous as others at breakfast).

The initial lecture was about Holocaust Denial, and we had access to some really quality resources, but I’ll confess since Monday I’ve been far less focused on the learning experience and far more ready to return home, so I spent more time chatting online with family and friends than I did paying attention.

The next session was run by a bonafide NAZI HUNTER which is at once both an incredibly awesome and incredibly boring concept. There must be so much research and bureaucracy involved, and as the war criminals age, the likelihood of finding cases which can go through to prosecution decrease markedly. Our lecturer was really passionate and discussed plenty of Australian examples too. Many of us were ridiculously excited to get his book and have him sign it for us after the session (myself included!).

A few of us keenly waiting for the Nazi Hunter to sign books.

Final sessions were more reflective and evaluative, and were a great way to consider the impact of this experience on ourselves personally and to our teaching practice. I’m still too tired and this week my brain is too ‘other-occupied’ to really delineate the overarching legacy of the program, but I am determined to record this. Some day. Because I know it has been so valuable, but I haven’t the capacity to express it right now.

I shared a ride to the airport for my nearly 48 hour, three leg journey home, and have found the inconsistencies of airport security across different countries contribute markedly to how long it takes to transit. To date I have had no difficulty sleeping on the planes, and am yearning for the reunion with my homeland after more than five weeks of winter travel, having acquired more passport stamps and now being able to say that apart from Australia, I think I’ve now spent more time in Israel than any other country, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to discover some new countries to fall in love with across my next global adventures.