Destination "Boston" Reflections

by Tiffany

On December 26, 2007, I embarked on a wonderful adventure with a group of close friends, my Girl Leadership Team. On our way to Boston, Massachusetts we were to have a wonderful time full of new experiences, sites, and great fellowship. However, what I did not know was how much closer I would become to those friends whom I left with.

On our way we ran into car trouble but did it get our group down, No. It was amazing to see how each one of the girls handled the trouble. With each of us from different backgrounds I expected some to be disappointed and others to be carefree. To my surprise none were disappointed and all acted as if it were a learning experience and laughed it off. After a delayed arrival to Boston we were all ready to get out and see the city. It took a while to learn the traveling system, the “T” (subway system), but it became natural and easier as the days passed.

Visiting the Historic town of Salem was an experience worth going through. We were able to ride the train from Boston to Salem through the countryside for about 30 minutes. When we arrived we immediately sought out those historic sites in which we had slept through in class, some of at least. We first went to the Salem Witch Museum. While there, we entered a large room with a red wood tree crosscut on the floor which was circled by the names of the innocent victims of the Salem Witch Trials. When looking around the top of the large room, you could see manikin’s portraying the story and proceedings of the witch trials in chronological scenes. The story was the basic summary of the play The Crucilble that I had read in English III. Afterwards, we were given a brief timeline history of different type of “witches” from the Jews in A.D. to the Communists. The museum really put what I had learned into perspective and made it come to life. We then walked through town and visited the Peabody Essex Art Museum in which we toured various exhibits including one on origami.

My favorite things that we did while in Boston were the Holocaust Memorial, the Museum of Science, and of course the great food. One night while wandering the town we came upon the Holocaust Memorial unexpectedly. When discovering where we were chills ran up my spine and an attitude of respect and reverence was assumed. Upon seeing the first glass tower of six, I was awestruck. On each glass tower were one million numbers engraved in the glass, the same numbers given to the residents of the concentration and labor camps. While walking through the towers, at our feet there was a foul smelling fog with embers glowing and flickering below us. This represented the millions of innocent victims that were burned, on two sides of the tower were touching short accounts of survivors. The six towers were built to represent the smokestacks of a camp, the Jewish menorah, and the six million plus victims, they were truly touching. May there never be another Sho’ah.

One day we took a trip to the frog pond in Boston square. It was there that I learned how to ice skate for the first time. It was an experience! I enjoyed it for the most part however, I am not sure my ankles would have held up much longer. I learned very early that to be a successful ice skater you must first have very tight skates (cutting off circulation is good) you must have very strong ankles, and last but not least a well balanced body. To say the least I was very happy to be on flat ground. I did courageously make it around, off the wall, 4 or 5 times and I did not fall; although, I stopped while I was ahead.

During the First Night festivities we were freezing, but we managed. We loaded up shoulder to shoulder to people on the T to travel to Boston square where family activities were held. While there we tried our first “fried dough” which is simply a large funnel cake. When ordering, the man could not understand what we were saying due to our accents, which was quite hilarious, so he just laughed and gave us fried dough after a few minutes of going back and forth and pointing. Chelsey got to see some people from the Disney Channel in concert, which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy. At one point during the concert I even managed to get her on my back despite the many layers we both were wearing simply for a GREAT UP CLOSE picture. Bundled up tight we waited anxiously for the fireworks to begin and once they started they were wonderful. It seemed as if they did not last but for a few moments and then we were back squeezing into T’s.

At times we may have been typical women, moody, loud, and sensitive, but through everything we survived and it was well worth it! The thing that sticks out in my mind most is the kindness and compassion everyone showed even if they were unhappy with the situation. This trip will always have a place in my memory, as well as the relationships I formed with the people who made those memories.