What I Wish I Would Have Known

Packing
Packing was probably the most difficult thing for me. I always OVER pack! However, I actually did really good for this trip. I brought along one towel, plenty of leggings, a few t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, two hoodies, one long sweater, two basic sweaters, two long sleeve shirts, seven dressy shirts, plenty of socks, undies and bras, two skirts, three dresses and two cardigans. I also brought along three coats and lots of scarfs. I liked having my three coats because I wore them all, but one or two would get anyone along just fine. I didn't use many of my scarfs either, but I'm not much of a scarf person so that probably had to do with it. I brought two pairs of boots (black and cognac), two pairs of athletic shoes, and two pairs of sandals. I think this was the perfect combination. However, I would recommend bringing along some casual shoes as well, such as canvas or some converse or something like that.

I also packed basic hygiene stuff such as shampoo (2-in-1), two bars of soap, one bottle of hairspray, deodorant, lotion, face cream, perfume, hair serum, hair gel, toothbrush and toothpaste. Also, since I'm a girl I brought along those basic things you need for that time of the month. However, I found that I could have bought all these things here at Globus. If you're not too picky with your brands, you can find them for the same price as over there or even cheaper. I wish I would have just bought that stuff here and I would have saved myself some room and weight in my suitcase to bring along some other stuff, like more spring clothing which I rarely brought any of because I thought it was going to be super cold the whole time.
I also brought along a cheap straightener, hair dryer, and curling iron. I ordered my converters through Ebay. I got two different types, and got two of each type. It was actually the cheapest way to go about it and none of my things ever blew out.

Traveling
I became super good at finding the best deals when it came to traveling. Here's my best advice: Google is your best friend. Seriously, it is, especially in Incognito mode. I would just type in, "cheap flights around Europe," or "cheap trains around Europe," and it would always give me some good links. My favorite one for flights is Momondo.com. I also like Wizzair.com. However, please note that you have to read exactly how each airline works. Some require you to check in online two hours prior to your flight otherwise you will be fined. Others, allow only a small carry on for free. And when I say small, I mean small. If your bag doesn't fit their proportions, you will get charged a fine. I just traveled with a normal school backpack to keep it safe. You will get really good at packing, trust me.

As far as trains go, Rail Europe is pretty good. Many countries offer their own train lines, such as TrenItalia for Italy and those are typically pretty good as well. For buses I recommend Student Agency. You can either visit their website at studentagency.cz or stop by their office. I would stop by their office because it's much easier and quicker that way. Plus, with your ISIC cards that you will receive, you will be able to get your ticket at a discounted price.

If you are going to be traveling a far distance, I recommend flying. If it's a distance that's not too far but not too close I would do either a train or a plane. It just depends on how much time you're willing to spend on the road rather than enjoying the place you're visiting. If you're traveling a shorter distance, such as a neighboring country to the Czech Republic, I would definitely look into a bus since it's cheaper.  However, if you want it to be faster, look into train options.

Social Life
The first students I met when I arrived to Olomouc were my flat mates. I was very fortunate to be placed in a flat full of friendly girls. As soon as we arrived, they all came out of their rooms to introduce themselves. I thought that was really nice. It was welcoming.

Belmondo was another place where I met a lot of students. Each Wednesday at the Erasmus parties it was a new opportunity to meet different people and learn about their cultures.

There was also an Erasmus Facebook page that I joined and it was really cool because all the Erasmus students would always post up their future plans and invite anyone to tag along. That was another great way to meet new people.

We also had some event put together by the faculty such as a "history club meeting" i believe it was I attended one time. We had wine and muffins and got to interact with Czech students, not just Erasmus students. At the very beginning, we also got the opportunity to go visit a cave with the Erasmus students and that was fun as well. 

I definitely recommend taking any opportunity to interact with new students. They actually really enjoy meeting American students because they find the differences in culture so interesting.

During my free time in Olomouc, I really enjoyed running in some beautiful trails close to Neredin as well as going to the parks. The parks in Olomouc, and anywhere in Europe for that matter, are absolutely beautiful.

However, when I had a lot of free time, say a long weekend, I spent my time traveling. If there is one thing I encourage everyone to do, it is to travel! Trust me, you will learn so much and meet so many different people. I used to be really bad with directions before coming to Europe, now I'm amazing at it. I even learned how to read maps, and I really sucked at that before. I can now approach people without hesitation to ask for help, and I've learned how to strike up a conversation with a random person. You just pick up so many things from traveling, that all the exhaustion and expenses from it, are completely worth it.

School Work 
School work is definitely WAY different than school work in the US. Well, at least for us it was. The only stable classes we had were our Czezh class and the class Kami (our professor who brought us) taught. Probably because of that reason too, they were my favorite classes. Czech was super fun! Katka (the professor) is such a sweet lady and very funny. She makes the class very interactive and is always thinking of fun games to help us learn. I will definitely miss her. We rarely had any homework in her class, and when we did, it was pretty easy and only took about five minutes.

Kami's class was more difficult. Her lectures were in depth and extremely interesting. We had her every Tuesday, and each Tuesday we would take a quiz on the material we had learned the previous week. Although the quizzes were not too difficult if you studied, there was a couple that did require a little more effort than the rest. That was probably the only times I felt like I was taking a course back in the US. Regardless, the material we learned tied directly to the things we were seeing in Europe, so I was really grateful for her class because I learned so much.

Of course, keeping a blog was another class and I actually really liked blogging. It was nice to see that people were actually keeping up with me and reading everything I had been up to in Europe. Made me feel somewhat special in a way.

Other than those classes, we just sat through many different lectures given by various professors. Most of them were very interesting and all the professors were very cool. There was just one professor who was very monotone and keeping up with him was very difficult. However, other than that, I also learned a lot from all these lectures.

I never had to use the library because I brought my own laptop and printing anything was never required. I strongly encourage students to bring their own laptops because it will just make your life so much easier.

Money
So, for the money I did something many people found somewhat risky. I brought $2500 in cash with me. I didn't want to pay all the ATM fines for withdrawing, so I just brought raw cash with me. It actually worked out well, because I was able to convert in Olomouc to any currency I needed and with no fines. The one thing I do warn you about is, don't exchange any money at the airport! You will not get your money's worth there. I did it, and I regret it. Make sure to convert some money before departing from the US. I know the WellsFargo in Omaha can usually order some crowns in. I would say about $50 or so to start you off. Then, you can convert more either in Prague or Olomouc but I really liked converting in Olomouc. I always felt like I got the most for my money.

Also, I'm a credit card type of person, so I did bring with me three credit cards that I did use quite a bit. However, the reason I brought these specific credit cards is because they have no interest rates for more than a year so I have plenty of time to pay it off. Credit cards are indeed a danger, so you must be careful with them. Also, you must remember to contact all your credit card companies, bank, etc to inform them you will be in Europe that way you don't have any problems due to security reasons. I contacted my companies like a week before coming.

The one thing I spent the most on was definitely traveling. I did A LOT of traveling while I was here, but it was all worth it. I'm gonna estimate and say I spent about $1500 on all my trips, including airfare, hostels, and any other transportation.

On food I probably spent about $600-$700. That also probably includes drinks. I did a lot of grocery shopping at Billa and Globus so I didn't eat out all the time. I honestly think that's the best way to go so that way you can spend your money on other things, such a traveling and eating out there. =)

On entertainment I probably spent about $200. That's mostly just the times I went out to the clubs, bars or pubs. Like I said, my entertainment was traveling.

Local transportation was free because UNK pays for a tram pass for the whole time you are here.

I washed my clothes by hand while in the shower, so I didn't have to pay for laundry. All I paid for was the bar of soap for my clothes and I bought like three of those and they were one dollar each so I spent about $3 on that.

No books were necessary for our classes, except for Kami's class and I ordered that book on Ebay for $5.

Communication
I communicated with everyone through Facebook! Do not buy a SIM card, you will not need it! I bought one, and broke my phone, so that was a total waste of money. Plus, if you have an IPhone, you can do face-time anywhere there is WiFi. And if not, you can Facebook call pretty much anyone who has a smartphone - which is everyone nowadays. WiFi is pretty much available everywhere, so communication was never an issue. 

Must-Do Activities

1. TRAVEL - I cannot emphasize this enough. Seriously, get to know Europe. However, don't come with a specific, detailed itinerary. Keep an open mind and visit places you would have never imagined visiting. You might be pleasantly surprised. 
2. Explore Olomouc - Olomouc is beautiful! Explore it. Grab a buddy, or go by yourself, and find a trail and just follow it. It will lead you to amazing places and it's a great way to relax and clear your mind. 
3. Dedicate some time to yourself - things will get a little crazy and you will be spending a lot of time with your classmates, traveling buddies, friends, and people in general. It will be a different atmosphere, away from home and your comfort things. It's okay to get a little frustrated, annoyed, and overwhelmed at some point. Just spend some time with yourself and disengage for a while. It will make all the difference.
4. Eat a Kebab - Kebabs in Europe are AMAZING! There's a Kebab place right by Varna Republic, get a Kebab there. Super delicious and cheap! If you like spicy food, Poland has the best spicy Kebabs.
5. Belmondo Erasmus Parties - You cannot miss these! At least go to one. Trust me, you will meet lots of cool people and have good time.

Other Tips and Advice
There will be an American night at Belmondo. Bring something to wear for that night. Get creative with it.

Bring a couple little photos of yourself - size of your passport one. You will need one for your tram pass and one for your ISIC card.

What I Wish I Would Have Known

Packing
Packing was probably the most difficult thing for me. I always OVER pack! However, I actually did really good for this trip. I brought along one towel, plenty of leggings, a few t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, two hoodies, one long sweater, two basic sweaters, two long sleeve shirts, seven dressy shirts, plenty of socks, undies and bras, two skirts, three dresses and two cardigans. I also brought along three coats and lots of scarfs. I liked having my three coats because I wore them all, but one or two would get anyone along just fine. I didn't use many of my scarfs either, but I'm not much of a scarf person so that probably had to do with it. I brought two pairs of boots (black and cognac), two pairs of athletic shoes, and two pairs of sandals. I think this was the perfect combination. However, I would recommend bringing along some casual shoes as well, such as canvas or some converse or something like that.

I also packed basic hygiene stuff such as shampoo (2-in-1), two bars of soap, one bottle of hairspray, deodorant, lotion, face cream, perfume, hair serum, hair gel, toothbrush and toothpaste. Also, since I'm a girl I brought along those basic things you need for that time of the month. However, I found that I could have bought all these things here at Globus. If you're not too picky with your brands, you can find them for the same price as over there or even cheaper. I wish I would have just bought that stuff here and I would have saved myself some room and weight in my suitcase to bring along some other stuff, like more spring clothing which I rarely brought any of because I thought it was going to be super cold the whole time.
I also brought along a cheap straightener, hair dryer, and curling iron. I ordered my converters through Ebay. I got two different types, and got two of each type. It was actually the cheapest way to go about it and none of my things ever blew out.

Traveling
I became super good at finding the best deals when it came to traveling. Here's my best advice: Google is your best friend. Seriously, it is, especially in Incognito mode. I would just type in, "cheap flights around Europe," or "cheap trains around Europe," and it would always give me some good links. My favorite one for flights is Momondo.com. I also like Wizzair.com. However, please note that you have to read exactly how each airline works. Some require you to check in online two hours prior to your flight otherwise you will be fined. Others, allow only a small carry on for free. And when I say small, I mean small. If your bag doesn't fit their proportions, you will get charged a fine. I just traveled with a normal school backpack to keep it safe. You will get really good at packing, trust me.

As far as trains go, Rail Europe is pretty good. Many countries offer their own train lines, such as TrenItalia for Italy and those are typically pretty good as well. For buses I recommend Student Agency. You can either visit their website at studentagency.cz or stop by their office. I would stop by their office because it's much easier and quicker that way. Plus, with your ISIC cards that you will receive, you will be able to get your ticket at a discounted price.

If you are going to be traveling a far distance, I recommend flying. If it's a distance that's not too far but not too close I would do either a train or a plane. It just depends on how much time you're willing to spend on the road rather than enjoying the place you're visiting. If you're traveling a shorter distance such as a neighboring country to the Czech Republic, I would definitely look into a bus since it's cheaper.  However, if you want it to be faster, look into train options.

Social Life
The first students I met when I arrived to Olomouc were my flatmates. I was very fortunate to be placed in a flat full of friendly girls. As soon as we arrived, they all came out of their rooms to introduce themselves. I thought that was really nice. It was welcoming.

Belmondo was another place where I met a lot of students. Each Wednesday at the Erasmus parties it was a new opportunity to meet different people and learn about their cultures.

There was also an Erasmus Facebook page that I joined and it was really cool because all the Erasmus students would always post up their future plans and invite anyone to tag along. That was another great way to meet new people.

We also had some event put together by the faculty such as a "history club meeting" i believe it was I attended one time. We had wine and muffins and got to interact with Czech students, not just Erasmus students. At the very beginning, we also got the opportunity to go visit a cave with the Erasmus students and that was fun as well. 

I definitely recommend taking any opportunity to interact with new students. They actually really enjoy meeting American students because they find the differences in culture so interesting.

During my free time in Olomouc, I really enjoyed running in some beautiful trails close to Neredin as well as going to the parks. The parks in Olomouc, and anywhere in Europe for that matter, are absolutely beautiful.

However, when I had a lot of free time, say a long weekend, I spent my time traveling. If there is one thing I encourage everyone to do, it is to travel! Trust me, you will learn so much and meet so many different people. I used to be really bad with directions before coming to Europe, now I'm amazing at it. I even learned how to read maps, and I really sucked at that before. I can now approach people without hesitation to ask for help, and I've learned how to strike up a conversation with a random person. You just pick up so many things from traveling, that all the exhaustion and expenses from it, are completely worth it.

School Work 
School work is definitely WAY different than school work in the US. Well, at least for us it was. The only stable classes we had were our Czezh class and the class Kami (our professor who brought us) taught. Probably because of that reason too, they were my favorite classes. Czech was super fun! Katka (the professor) is such a sweet lady and very funny. She makes the class very interactive and is always thinking of fun games to help us learn. I will definitely miss her. We rarely had any homework in her class, and when we did, it was pretty easy and only took about five minutes.

Kami's class was more difficult. Her lectures were in depth and extremely interesting. We had her every Tuesday, and each Tuesday we would take a quiz on the material we had learned the previous week. Although the quizzes were not too difficult if you studied, there was a couple that did require a little more effort than the rest. That was probably the only times I felt like I was taking a course back in the US. Regardless, the material we learned tied directly to the things we were seeing in Europe, so I was really grateful for her class because I learned so much.

Of course, keeping a blog was another class and I actually really liked blogging. It was nice to see that people were actually keeping up with me and reading everything I had been up to in Europe. Made me feel somewhat special in a way.

Other than those classes, we just sat through many different lectures given by various professors. Most of them were very interesting and all the professors were very cool. There was just one professor who was very monotone and keeping up with him was very difficult. However, other than that, I also learned a lot from all these lectures.

I never had to use the library because I brought my own laptop and printing anything was never required. I strongly encourage students to bring their own laptops because it will just make your life so much easier.

Money
So, for the money I did something many people found somewhat risky. I brought $2500 in cash with me. I didn't want to pay all the ATM fines for withdrawing, so I just brought raw cash with me. It actually worked out well, because I was able to convert in Olomouc to any currency I needed and with no fines. The one thing I do warn you about is, don't exchange any money at the airport! You will not get your money's worth there. I did it, and I regret it. Make sure to convert some money before departing from the US. I know the WellsFargo in Omaha can usually order some crowns in. I would say about $50 or so to start you off. Then, you can convert more either in Prague or Olomouc but I really liked converting in Olomouc. I always felt like I got the most for my money.

Also, I'm a credit card type of person, so I did bring with me three credit cards that I did use quite a bit. However, the reason I brought these specific credit cards is because they have no interest rates for more than a year so I have plenty of time to pay it off. Credit cards are indeed a danger, so you must be careful with them. Also, you must remember to contact all your credit card companies, bank, etc to inform them you will be in Europe that way you don't have any problems due to security reasons. I contacted my companies like a week before coming.

The one thing I spent the most on was definitely traveling. I did A LOT of traveling while I was here, but it was all worth it. I'm gonna estimate and say I spent about $1500 on all my trips, including airfare, hostels, and any other transportation.

On food I probably spent about $600-$700. That also probably includes drinks. I did a lot of grocery shopping at Billa and Globus so I didn't eat out all the time. I honestly think that's the best way to go so that way you can spend your money on other things, such a traveling and eating out there. =)

On entertainment I probably spent about $200. That's mostly just the times I went out to the clubs, bars or pubs. Like I said, my entertainment was traveling.

Local transportation was free because UNK pays for a tram pass for the whole time you are here.

I washed my clothes by hand while in the shower, so I didn't have to pay for laundry. All I paid for was the bar of soap for my clothes and I bought like three of those and they were one dollar each so I spent about $3 on that.

No books were necessary for our classes, except for Kami's class and I ordered that book on Ebay for $5.

Communication
I communicated with everyone through Facebook! Do not buy a SIM card, you will not need it! I bought one, and broke my phone, so that was a total waste of money. Plus, if you have an IPhone, you can do face-time anywhere there is WiFi. And if not, you can Facebook call pretty much anyone who has a smartphone - which is everyone nowadays. WiFi is pretty much available everywhere, so communication was never an issue. 

Must-Do Activities

1. TRAVEL - I cannot emphasize this enough. Seriously, get to know Europe. However, don't come with a specific, detailed itinerary. Keep an open mind and visit places you would have never imagined visiting. You might be pleasantly surprised. 
2. Explore Olomouc - Olomouc is beautiful! Explore it. Grab a buddy, or go by yourself, and find a trail and just follow it. It will lead you to amazing places and it's a great way to relax and clear your mind. 
3. Dedicate some time to yourself - things will get a little crazy and you will be spending a lot of time with your classmates, traveling buddies, friends, and people in general. It will be a different atmosphere, away from home and your comfort things. It's okay to get a little frustrated, annoyed, and overwhelmed at some point. Just spend some time with yourself and disengage for a while. It will make all the difference.
4. Eat a Kebab - Kebabs in Europe are AMAZING! There's a Kebab place right by Varna Republic, get a Kebab there. Super delicious and cheap! If you like spicy food, Poland has the best spicy Kebabs.
5. Belmondo Erasmus Parties - You cannot miss these! At least go to one. Trust me, you will meet lots of cool people and have good time.

Other Tips and Advice
There will be an American night at Belmondo. Bring something to wear for that night. Get creative with it.

Bring a couple little photos of yourself - size of your passport one. You will need one for your tram pass and one for your ISIC card.

Auschwitz

Auschwitz...where do I even start? With all the tears I shed, with everything these people went through, or with everything I got to see? Just thinking about it all, instantly saddens me, so I'm going to make this quick and to the point.

We got to visit Auschwitz I (the torture and administrative center) and Auschwitz II - Birkenau (the killing factory).

Auschwitz I 
As we entered the camp, the first thing we ran into was the typical inscription of "Arbeit Macht Frei." It was difficult to look at this and imagine that just some years ago innocent people destined to die in the most terrible ways had also looked at this.

As our tour started, I was listening to what our guide was telling us, but I was also trying to take everything in. I was extremely emotional on our visit, which isn't typical of me so keeping myself together was a bit challenging for once.

As I looked at all the scenery, I tried to take myself back in time and imagine what it was like living here. I pictured the children playing, so innocent and full of life. I saw the men and women working away. Working long, tedious hours with no food to nourish them and no fresh showers waiting for them at the end of the day. And then I saw the terrible images of the Nazis just randomly shooting whoever they felt like killing that day. Perhaps it was the man who could no longer work because his body had given out from the exhaustion. Or perhaps the kid, who wasn't able to fulfill a task properly. Or maybe the woman who had nothing to offer anymore.

These images kept running through my mind as we toured Auschwitz I and all I could do was just take a deep breath and try to make some sense of it. As we entered the facilities, I prepared myself for what I was about to see in each room.

Here, is a picture of glasses left behind from the victims. Just look at how many glasses that is, and that's not even all of them. I know there are more in a Washington, DC museum. This sort of hit me though because I wear glasses too. I'm literally blind without them and I can only imagine the different ways these people who had to wear glasses were tortured. I pictured in my mind the Nazis taking away their glasses and taunting them to get them back. Or taking them away and just smashing them right in front of their faces. So many things ran through my mind as I saw all these glasses.

This is a picture of prosthetics. Keep in mind, this image is just what my camera was able to capture, but there was room full of prosthetics. Imagine how many instant deaths that was. If you weren't fit to work, you were automatically gassed. Obviously, anyone in need of a prosthetic, would be labeled unfit to work.

Their suitcases. As you can see, their names are on them because the Nazis told them they would be transporting them to a better place where they would be able to work so they should label their suitcases so their belongings wouldn't get lost. Just imagine, being removed abruptly out of your home with lies about a better future to hopelessly find out that you just be worked to death. Let that just sink in for a minute.

Women also brought along their baskets filled with food for the ride. Unfortunately, their transports into Auschwitz were absolutely terrible. It could take up to 17 days to arrive and people were so crowded it would become hard to breath due to the lack of oxygen. As you can imagine, many people didn't even make it to the concentration camps...they arrived dead.

Their shoes. There was so MANY shoes. Two rooms full of them. This really depressed me. All I could think about was how many deaths these shoes meant.

Here are brushes and other hygiene supplies they probably never got to use.

Cans which contained Cyclone B used in the gas chambers. One can killed 700 people. You do the math here.

Those who were selected to be gassed were assured that they were just going to take a shower. Dummy showers were fixed to ceiling and 2000 victims would be crammed in the chamber at once. The chamber door would then be locked and Cyclone B would be poured. After about 15-20 minutes, when everything went back to silence, the sonderkommandos (those in charge of dealing with the dead bodies) would go inside and strip the corpses of gold teeth, earrings, rings, hair and dispose of the dead bodies - most of the times they were taken to the crematoriums. The victims' documents were also destroyed.

This is what Cyclone B looks like.

There was one room from all of these that completely shattered me. That was the hair room. This room was filled with hair from the victims of the Auschwitz. Real hair from dead, innocent people. Some of it was still braided. At this point, I shed my first tears. I couldn't hold it together anymore. It was way too much to see all of this. Out of respect for the victims, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the hair, but trust me, that's not something you would want to see anyways. It will mark you...forever.

These are original prison uniforms from Auschwitz I.

This is Block 10. Here, several hundred women prisoners, especially Jews, were held in two upstairs room of this block and used as human guinea-pigs for sterilization experiments. Some of these women died from the treatment they received and others were murdered so the autopsies could be performed on them. Those who survived were left with permanent injuries.

This is the execution wall. Here, the Nazis would line up prisoners against the wall and shoot them. The wall was used to protect the bricks. You can see now, there is a memorial for it.

While these may just look like posts, they are not just your typical posts. These posts were used as a terrible, torturous way to kill. They were known as the "killing posts" and the Nazis would take a prisoner's arms, tie them together, pull them backwards towards their head, and then hang them from the hook. Can you imagine that, your shoulders would automatically be dislocated. After that, the prisoners were just left to die there. Didn't matter how long it took, they would leave them there until they died. When I heard this, I couldn't hold it together anymore. The fact that I was standing right in front of these killing posts was too much for me. I just wanted to move on with the tour and not look at those posts anymore.

Block 11. This was known as "the prison within a prison," and was one of the worst torture chambers in Auschwitz. Rule violators were punished here and they were sent to the basement which contained 3 special cells: standing cells, basement, starvation cells, or dark cells. 

Standing cells - this was a tiny cell, only 90 cm by 90 cm in which 4 inmates would reside at once. Here, all you could do was stand day and night. So, prisoners who were sent here worked all day and when it came time to rest, they still had to remain standing all throughout the night. If they sat down, they would be shot. Eventually, they would die of exhaustion, but it was a slow, painful death. 

Starvation cells - as the name implies it, those were sent here starved to death. This is a cell in which many prisoners died in 1941 including Maximilian Kolbe, the Polish priest who sacrificed his life to save another prisoner.

Dark cells - those sent here were placed in a very small dark room with little oxygen flow. Prisoners were kept here until they suffocated to death. Many time, the Nazis would place a candle in the cell in order to suck more oxygen out and kill them quicker. 

This was a gas chamber located in Auschwitz I. Thousands of innocent people were murdered here. It was definitely tough to stand in this room.

Rudolf Hoss, the first commandant of Auschwitz, was tried and sentenced to death after the war. He was hung here on April 16, 1947.

The chimney is the representation of the Holocaust survivors. 

Here's a few shots of what Auschwitz I looks like:

Birkenau

Birkenau is the biggest part of Auschwitz. It was deigned to carry out the final solution, which was the plan of the Nazi Germany to kill all the European Jews. Therefore, Birkenau was the killing factory. This is the place where the most victims died out of all the concentration/extermination camps. 

As we entered through this terrifying entrance, I couldn't believe I was walking through the exact same spot all those victims had walked through.

 As I saw the railroads, all I could picture were the trains filled with innocent people to kill. My eyes wouldn't stop watering. I couldn't help but wonder what's happened to those trains?

Because Birkenau was such a massive killing factory, some of it is in ruins now. When the war ended, the Nazis didn't have a back-up plan on how to get rid of all the evidence to their horrific massacres. So they tried to destroy everything. 

Here you can see the ruins of the crematoriums. 

We also got to go inside two different barracks. One made out of bricks and one out of wood. This is one is the one made out of bricks.

Although it may spacious, it was always overcrowded. Lice were always around due to poor hygiene, and people would die from diseases, starvation and exhaustion every day. Others, who couldn't take it anymore, would just commit suicide.

This is the wooden barrack.

As you can see, there's not much left here, except for the toilets.

Prisoners were constantly exposed and humiliated, even when relieving themselves. The guards were always watching do their business, and as you can see, the toilet "seats" were extremely close to each other.

Here is a monument in honor of all the victims of the Holocaust. 

While Birkenau was the killing factory, I thought Auschwitz I was a worst place to live. The amount of torture and the inhumane ways people got treated there was just unimaginable. 

Despite being a mess throughout the whole tour, I was thankful I got the opportunity to visit this tragic place that causes so much anguish to many people. I think the fact that I already had a lot of knowledge and background on this subject (since we have been studying it since we got here), really helped me connect with the place and made the experience more meaningful. Regardless, I don't think that I would ever want to visit again. It definitely took a toll on me, and I really felt like a little piece of me died. It will be something I will never forget.