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| German Country Side |
I traveled to Germany and Poland last week to attend a conference and visit with some of my Soldiers. It was my first time to either country and I realized somewhere in my travels that these were the fourth and fifth countries I have been to in the last 18 months outside of the US.
I do not speak any other language except English - although I make it a point to learn to say "please" and "thank you" wherever I go. Therefore, venturing out in these strange places is a challenge for me. I am afraid of the awkward position of being a tourist (or an outsider) without the ability to communicate.
However, venture out I did. When you don't have the luxury of language you have to see people in greater detail. What I notice is that from Amman to Doha to Poznan is that people are the same. They laugh with friends, drink coffee in shops, and spend too much time on their smartphones. Little children hold hands when traveling with teachers on field trips. Lovers sink into each other in the cold. Old men wear their struggles on their faces while young men search for their fortunes. Old women clutch together sharing wisdom while young women parade their youth and aloofness.
I see them; old, young, fat, happy, worried, focused, extroverted - without ever knowing them or their lives or their language. I see them without their religion, political leanings, or personal vices. We all go about our lives in similar ways despite the many things that divide us.
And in that we all have so much in common.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle |
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| Oberammergau |
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| Church |
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| Christmas Market in Poland |
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| Poznan Town Center |
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| Poznan Town Hall |
