Ulm, Munich, and Berlin, Oh My! (Part 2)

After a fairly short train ride from Ulm, we arrived in Munich.  We followed some excellent directions from Marion, our couch surfing host, and arrived at her apartment via Munich public transportation without getting lost.  We hit the button next to Marion's name and Michael, Marion's boyfriend, buzzed us in.  Buzzzzzz.  Except Theresa couldn't open the door. "Can you open it again?" she asked. Buzzzzzz.  Still, Theresa could not open the door.  After a few more times of asking Michael to "try again" and declaring that it "wasn't working," Theresa asked Michael to buzz us in "one more time" and she tried this new concept of pushing the door.  With ease, the door swung opened and I laughed my butt off as Theresa's face slowly turned bright red.  Apparently in Germany, all outside doors push open.

Couch surfing was such a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to travel inexpensively.  Marion and Michael were fantastic hosts.  On our first evening there, Theresa and I helped cook dinner which was this delicious pizza-ish thing with a homemade crust (that I made!), a sour cream-based sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and chopped onions on top.  I can't wait to try to recreate it once I get back to St. Louis!  After dinner, we played a German board game called Zug um Zug.  I came in last place, but it was a fun to get to know Michael and Marion.  Theresa also got stuck in the bathroom at Marion's apartment on our first night there.  It was hilarious as she helplessly shouted, "Guys! I'm Stuck!"

The next morning, we took a subway downtown to go to Mass at St. Peter's Church.  It was a stunning church and quite the immersion experience to go to Mass in a different language.  The homily was extremely long to begin with, but when the language barrier was factored into the equation, the homily felt like forever.  After mass, we hiked up the 306 stairs to the top of St. Peter's steeple.  The views of Munich were breathtaking and we timed our trip perfectly because once we arrived at the top, we were able to watch the noon chimes at Marienplatz, the plaza in front of the steeple.  

Inside of St. Peter's Church!

One stair down, 305 to go!

Munich from the top of St. Peter's Church!

The chimes at Marienplatz!

It was super windy at the top!

 After walking up and down St. Peter's steeple, Theresa and I felt quite hungry.  Mary Distler, a friend from SLU, suggested that we visited Hofbrauhaus for a meal, a very traditional beer hall that was originally built in 1589!  We successfully navigated our way there, but the beer hall was so crowded that we decided we would grab a bite to eat at a nearby cafe instead.  After lunch, we met up with Marion and she showed us around her favorite places in Munich.  The first stop was Asam Church, a church funded by a really rich man many years ago who decided that he wanted to be buried in his own church.  The church was absolutely stunning from top to bottom with intricate paintings and sculptures, gold accents literally everywhere, and dark colors.  Just look at the picture below!

After visiting a couple more churches in Munich, (literally, it felt like there was a church on every block) Marion took Theresa and me to the English Gardens.  The "English Gardens" weren't anything super spectacular.  It sort of just felt like we were walking through Forest Park in St. Louis.  However, there was one striking difference...SURFERS.  Yes, surfers.  But Sarah, you may ask yourself, isn't Munich landlocked?  In fact, it is.  Yet, there were still surfers, quite a few of them, who perfected their tricks at one specific location where a river flows under a bridge and creates a constant wave.  Check out the video below! (Hopefully it works...)

After watching the surfers for 15-20 minutes, Marion, Theresa and I walked further into the English Gardens until we reached a very large biergarten.  Here, we met Anna and Simon, Marion's friends, and drank a lot of...cappuccinos.  Simon had recently made some traditional German plum cake and brought some for Theresa and I to try.  It was delicious, especially because we got to share it with some incredible new friends!

After our adventure in the English Gardens, Marion took us to her favorite gelato place.  I really wanted to get Oreo, but Theresa told me that was "too American" and challenged me to get something out of my comfort zone.  So, I watched a couple local people order a gelato called Hugo, and I jumped on the bandwagon.  It was some combination of champagne, elderberry, and mint and it was gross.  I don't even know.  Theresa liked it, but next time, I'm going to get Oreo.

Once we got back to the apartment, we helped cook spaghetti for dinner.  There was this crazy new gadget called a cheese grater for us to add fresh parmesan cheese to our noodles.  The first time it went around the table, I struggled use it because apparently you had to turn the handle clockwise while squeezing the main compartment.  The second time it went around the table, everyone was watching me.  Overly confident, I smiled, squeezed the main compartment AND even remembered to turn the handle clockwise.  Nothing.

"Turn it clockwise, Sarah." 

"I am, Theresa." 

"Squeeze it tighter."

"I've tried that."

Literally, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why the parmesan cheese was not falling onto my spaghetti the way that it did for Theresa, Marion, and Michael.  Feeling completely inept, I started searching for an explanation.  I asserted, "I think it might be out of cheese."  Michael, who had been silently watching for most of the ordeal, just gently shook his head and said, "no, that's not the problem."  Meanwhile, the handle was becoming harder and harder to turn.  Suddenly, it clicked.  Michael had put the cap on the bottom of the grater!  Completely embarrassed by my struggle to use the grater again and the resounding laughter surrounding me, I opened the grater and watched literally 5x the amount of desired parmesan cheese fall onto my spaghetti.  Good thing that I LOVE cheese and that I can easily laugh at myself!

After another super fun game night with Marion and Michael in their apartment, Theresa and I went back to our room to get a good night of sleep before our journey to Berlin.  Before calling it a night, Theresa and I Skyped the one...the only...BEAU GUEDRY.  It was so great to catch up with him and get to share some of our stories.  Although I think that Theresa and I thought our stories were funnier than they actually are.  After only a few minutes on Skype, I was wheezing, Theresa was doubled over, and Beau was patiently waiting for us to get to the punchline of our story.  Theresa ended the Skype session by encouraging Beau to "not tell our other friends how lame our stories are."

Well, that wraps up Munich!  Be on the look out for our Berlin adventures in Part 3!

(Apparently that last line makes me a 'dweeb' according to Theresa)

Peace and Love,

Sarah

Ulm, Munich, and Berlin, Oh My! (Part 1)

How do I even begin to put all of the people, places, experiences, and moments of the past few days into words!?  Originally, I was going to make this just one really long blog post, but after writing out just the first city of our German adventure, I realized that I needed to split it up into shorter, more readable parts.  So here is Part 1:

At the end of my last blog post, I talked about how our plans to travel to France for a few days fell threw, so we decided to travel around Germany instead.  Because all of our planning was extremely last minute, we decided to spend an extra day in Kandern with the Liberti family so we could finalize some of our plans before we just jumped on a train.  This ended up being a fantastic decision for a couple of reasons.

1. Jet lag.  I think the exact quote from my last post was "I felt absolutely zero jet lag the entire day.  Zero."  Well, I lied.  In my mind, experiencing jet lag just meant feeling really exhausted.  For Theresa and I, jet lag hit us from about midnight to 4 a.m. and we just could not fall asleep.  About 2 a.m., I started to laugh about something ridiculously unfunny and two hours later, Theresa and I were still laughing, squirming, crying, and gasping for air.  We just couldn't stop laughing.  At everything.  At nothing.

2. We got to spend some more time with the Libertis.  Theresa and I dominated Sophia and Bianca in Kemps.  Our creative signal to alert each other when we had four-of-a-kind was to hum along to the song that was playing.  This failed us miserably because a) I would forget and just hum along to the song before I had a four-of-a-kind. b) I would have no idea what the song was and be unable to hum along, and c) there would be NO music playing when I would get a four-of-a-kind.  Despite these hurdles, we walked away with a victory.

3. We hiked to a castle.  After another delicious dinner, we embarked on a 40-minute hike up a fairly steep hill.  When we reached the top, we saw the ruins of Sausenburg Castle, a castle that was built around the 12th century.  With the expert guidance of Steve and Sophia, we climbed to the top of turret where we took in breathtaking views of Germany, France, and Switzerland.  Here are some pictures.

Views from the top of the castle!

Such an adventure!

Tree pose with the Libertis!

When we were finalizing our German adventure later that night, Theresa and I decided that we would try to couch surf in Munich and then find a hostel in Berlin.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of couch surfing, it's a website where you can meet people living all over the world and request to sleep on their couch for free during your stay.  It seemed like a great way to travel cheaply and to meet local people.  In order to do this, Theresa and I had to make a profile so that our potential hosts could decide whether or not they would accept us.  Since everything was so last minute, we tried to make our profile so great that whoever we requested couldn't say no.  This ended up being more difficult than expected as we struggled to meet the minimum requirement of 100 characters to describe ourselves.  100 characters.  Not words, characters.  In disbelief, Theresa asserted, "we're not even cool enough for 100 characters!"  This realization, in addition to the stress of all of our plans falling through, culminated in a mental breakdown of sorts with Theresa and I craughing. (Maria Nash's term for when hysterical laughing turns to hysterical crying).

After browsing profile after profile for a potential host, Theresa and I stumbled upon Marion, a recent college graduate in Munich who loved board games, conversations, spending time outside, and traveling.  She seemed like the perfect fit for us.  A few hours after submitting our request in which we were borderline begging Marion to accept us, we received word that we could sleep on her couch for two nights.  With a rough outline of our adventure in place and our sleeping accommodations secured, Theresa and I were ready to take on Ulm, Munich, and Berlin.

We didn't know anything about the city of Ulm except the train number that would take us there.  Once we arrived at the train station, we followed signs until we reached the tourist information building.  We blindly trusted the woman working at the desk to circle locations of our map that we should visit during our 5 hour stay.  We began by walking across the street and entering into a beautiful and massive church.  When we sat down and started to read the English brochure about the Ulm Munster church, we realized that it was the world's tallest church with a spire of 530 ft.  Here are some pictures!

                   World's tallest church!                                       Us in the church!                     

Theresa and I then enjoyed a lovely picnic on the Blau River in the historic Fisherman's Quarter.  After lunch, we pulled out our Ulm map and started to make our way toward a fountain dedicated to Albert Einstein because SURPRISE Ulm, Germany is the city where Einstein was born.  The fountain was on the opposite side of the city, but we figured that if the woman at the tourist information desk circled it, it was important for us to at least see it.  The map was confusing and when we arrived to where we thought the fountain should be, we were standing in the middle of an empty courtyard.  For the next hour, we walked around a very residential part of Ulm searching for this grand statue dedicated to "Ulm's most famous son."  Exhausted and frustrated, Theresa and I sat down on a bench in front of this statue...

Our initial conversation went something like this... 

"Sarah, I think this is the fountain. It has to be."

"Theresa, I refuse to believe that this is the fountain.  It doesn't even look like Einstein!"

After sitting there a few more minutes, we decided to search for just a little bit longer before heading back to the train station to continue our journey to Munich.  We ultimately ended up in the same empty courtyard where we had started our searching.  Defeated, we figured that we were missing out on some fantastic tourist attraction in Ulm.  Suddenly Theresa shouted, "Wait!  Is that it!?"  To our utter dismay, we turned to see the backside of a ten foot piece of steel toward the far end of the "empty" courtyard.  As we slowly walked around to the front of the "fountain," this is what we saw...

Now, I'm no fountain expert, but I would hardly classify this piece of metal with 6 inches of water flowing out of the bottom a fountain.  I have no idea why the woman at the information center circled it as a "must-see" on our map because we were definitely the only tourists in that part of Ulm, but Theresa and I sure found some joy in the ridiculousness of the entire situation.

Us imitating Albert Einstein at the "fountain."

"Hey Theresa, guess what?"

"Hey Theresa, guess what?"

"What?"  

"WE ARE IN GERMANY!!!"

Us in GERMANY!!

I have asked Theresa this question upwards of twenty times...today.  The exchange is always the same.  She responds with an enthusiastic "what?" and I answer, practically shouting, "WE ARE IN GERMANY!!!"  To give myself credit, sometimes I change it up a little and respond with "WE ARE IN FREAKING GERMANY!!!"  Needless to say, the fact that my journey through Europe has started has yet to sink in.

At 1:00 pm (Louisville time) on August 19, I hugged my dad, my mom, and my sweet little sister Maria goodbye.  Two hours later, I was sitting alone on an airplane heading to Philadelphia.  The Philly airport was enormous.  It took me forty minutes to find the shuttle, ride the shuttle to a new terminal, and navigate my way through a new terminal to the international wing.  Once I made my way to my gate, I sat down in a fairly comfortable airport chair and started to crochet a scarf to slowly pass the time of my five-hour layover.  

Luckily for me, my dear friend Merette called me after only an hour of crocheting.  We talked about life and travel and plans and worries.  She's doing incredible things in St. Louis before she leaves for a wonderful semester abroad in Tanzania.  She's a beautiful person who is doing beautiful things all over the world and I am so blessed to call her a friend.  We prayed together before we hung up the phone and it was exactly what I needed.  My heart felt a kind of nourishment and peace that was much needed.

Around 8:40, I heard "hello stranger!" and quickly embraced Theresa.  We caught up on the end of our summers and discussed our hopes for our future adventure.  After a two-hour delay, we boarded our plane and set off for Frankfurt.  We spent, well Theresa spent, the first two and half hours of our plane ride watching Divergent.  I very quickly fell asleep.  After five more hours of "sleep" and back pains, we arrived in the Frankfurt airport.  It was almost 1:00 pm local time so we gathered our checked bags and headed to the train station.  After walking around in a couple of circles, we made our way to the information center and we were handed schedule telling us exactly where we needed to be.  It was in German of course, but we figured it out.

Theresa and I on the plane to Germany!

Traveling through Germany by train was beautiful.  I spent most of the time just staring out of the window taking in the beauty that surrounded me.  One of the funny moments of the trip happened when we were transferring trains.  To get to the platform that we needed to, Theresa and I had to drag our 60+ lb luggage down a flight of stairs.  Clunk, clunk, clunk.  We were making a lot of noise, taking up a lot of space, and just generally struggling to navigate the train station with our bags.  Once we finally made it to the bottom, we realized, with disbelief, that we were going to have to carry our bags right back up a different flight of stairs.  Theresa went first and saw this super "helpful" ramp on the side of the stairs.  She placed her bag on the ramp and started to walk beside it, pulling her bag behind her.  "Theresa, are you sure that's what that's for?" I questioned as I saw a button and some possible instructions above the ramp.  "Yes!" she assured me as she continued to slowly walk up the stairs.  I ignored Theresa's lead and just started pulling my bag up the stairs one step at a time.  About halfway up, I heard a loud "Oh shoot!" and turned just in time to see Theresa and her bag face-plant together in the middle of the stairs in the middle of the Freiburg train station.  A couple people stared.  A couple of people laughed.  And a couple of people said something to her in German.  I'm sure you can guess which helpful group I was in.

Once we made it to our final destination, we sat down, exhausted, and waited for the incredible Liberti family to save the day.  Steve and Dawn arrived in a few short minutes, loaded our bags into the back of their car, and transported us to their lovely home in Kandern, Germany where we were met with a feast of German meat (sausage stuff), potatoes and carrots, and beer, a really refreshing, so-much-better-than-what-we-call-beer-in-america, beer.

I felt absolutely zero jet lag the entire day.  Zero.  I started to get tired around 10 pm local time, so Theresa and I just called it a night.  Ten hours later, we woke up to the smell of coffee and homemade zucchini bread and our first full day in Europe was starting.  We began the day with a prayer group/bible study hosted by Steve and Dawn.  The passage for the day was Philippians 1:21-30.  Each person was invited to share their own reflection on the scripture and together, we prayed for each other, for our communities, and for the world where there is so much pain and brokenness.

After our morning prayer, we packed our lunches and set of for the day.  Even though Sofia and Bianca (Steve and Dawn's daughter's) tried to explain to me what we were doing, I honestly had no idea what to expect.  We drove to Todtnau, another town about an hour from Kandern, and bought tickets for the Rodelbahn.  I'm not even sure how to describe it.  Basically we rode up a mountain on a ski lift, stood in a line for a little bit, and rode down this track...

in this car...

SO. MUCH. FUN.

SO. EXHILARATING.

Afterwards, Theresa and I visited St. Johannes Catholic Church in Todtnau.  It was absolutely stunning.  Most of the interior was simple in design, but behind the alter was a massive, 50-ft. mosaic of Jesus, Mary, and St. John.  I lit a candle, which I am going to continue to do in every church I visit because when I was talking to my cousin Robby before I left, he told me that my Grandma Nash requested that he light one in every church that he visited during his travels through Europe many years ago.  It's a tangible way for me to feel connected to her spirit throughout this adventure.

The alter and mosaic

After the church, we visited the Todtnauer Wasserfall.  As I stood at the bottom and felt the mist in my face, the incredible beauty just took my breath away.  After spending some time at the bottom, Theresa and I decided to hike up to the top.  After many many steps, we reached the top and saw this view.  It's so beyond my words that that I will just leave you with the picture.

The view from the top of the waterfall.

Standing at the bottom!

Looking down the waterfall.

We climbed back down and ate dinner at one of Steve's favorite restaurants, a Turkish restaurant that served Doner Meat (a mix of beef and lamb).  It was absolutely delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.  After returning home, Theresa and I sat down in the living room with Steve and Dawn.  CNN international was on in the background and the moment they mentioned Ferguson, I refocused my attention.  There's a huge piece of my heart that is in St. Louis right now with my friends, my peers, my classmates, my people.  My people who are hurting.  My people who are taking a stand against injustice and oppression.  My people who have taught me, inspired me, and lit the fire of passion in my heart.  The countless images of men, women and children with their hands in the air, of tear gas and rubber bullets and militarized police forced were suddenly replaced with a reporter interviewing someone in Ferguson.  "THAT'S DR. BRADLEY!" I yelled out.  The interviewer from CNN was interviewing Dr. Stefan Bradley, director of the African American Studies Program at SLU.  Dr. Bradley, who has challenged me, grown me, taught me, and inspire me.  Dr. Bradley whose class I can't wait to take in the spring when I return to SLU.  Suddenly, home didn't feel so far away.  I am so inspired by all of the people organizing in St. Louis and I look forward to joining you in a few months.

After staring at each other in shock for a couple of minutes, Theresa and I thought it would be a good idea to actually plan out our trip to France.  Much to my frustration, our rail passes did not count toward our train to Paris, and because we didn't order our tickets ahead of time, they were going to be ridiculously expensive.  Although Theresa and I were both extremely disappointed, we recognized that a) we were in Europe, b) we were together, and c) we had delicious European chocolate to eat. With Dawn's help and patience, we have created an alternative plan.  We will now spend another day with the Liberti family in Kandern before spending a couple days in Munich and a couple of days in Berlin.

Every time Theresa and I are together, it's an adventure, but when you put us together in Europe, it's an entirely different kind of adventure.  We have both laughed until we have both cried.  We have traveled by planes, trains, and automobiles in less than twelve hours.  We have sped down a mountain in the Black Forest of Germany on a bobsled-like thing.  We have eaten both German meat and Turkish meat.  We ate an entire bar of chocolate in one and a half minutes flat.  We have chugged German beer (just kidding, we sipped it).  Our plans have fallen through and we have created new ones.  We have prayed in a spontaneous circle of new friends and we have prayed in an old German Catholic Church.  We have had an adventure already and it's just day one.

Love to all of you.  I will write again soon!

Peace from Germany,

Sarah

Adiós, Louisville!

Tonight is my last night in Louisville.  I guess it's my last night in the United States too!  How crazy is that!?  I was talking to a friend of mine today about my upcoming semester and she said that in her experience, when someone is leaving home for college or going abroad, they will try to minimize the pain by saying things like "I'm so glad I'm getting away" or "I just want to move on to something better."  She thinks that when big transitions are about to happen, people try to justify their new adventure by thinking about the negative aspects of what they are leaving behind.  I have a lot of friends going abroad all over the world this coming semester and I have heard a lot of these sentiments from them and from myself when we talk about our future journeys.  But now, as I sit here writing out this blog on the last night of my summer here in Louisville, I find myself equally joyful and grateful for my experiences this summer and my upcoming adventures in Europe.

Three summers ago, I first walked through the doors of CrossRoads Ministry in Louisville as a retreatant on a week long urban immersion social justice retreat called CrossWalk.  My own personal transformation toward living a more just and socially engaged life began that week.  Without a doubt, CrossRoads Ministry completely shifted the trajectory of my life and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my summer than to give back to the ministry that has given me so much.  This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to accompany other young people on their own transformative retreats as we built relationships with people who live on the margins of society and gathered together for nightly reflection and prayer.  The summer was a whirlwind of questions, laughs, challenges, prayer, personal growth, healing, nourishment, and peace.

Here are just a few of the highlights from my summer:

My wonderful coworkers/friends on our opening retreat

at the Sisters of Loretto Motherhouse!

A fantastic group from Walsh Jesuit in Cleveland.

We are standing on the porch of Thomas Merton's hermitage!

My friend Victoria after we played (and won!) bingo!

A lot of new friends from Active Day, a day center for

adults with developmental disabilities!

Such a joy and a privilege to work with these lovely people

this summer!

This summer was such a gift and although it will be extremely difficult to say goodbye, I trust that my experiences this summer have given me a foundation for exploring the places, meeting the people, and experiencing the culture of Europe.

To my family:

Maria, I love you so much and will miss all of the sister moments that we have had this summer.  I look forward to Skyping you at strange hours during the day/night as we try to figure out the time difference between Louisville and Madrid.  Just remember...a megaphone looks most like a big phone and when you're at a loss for words, milkshake usually works.  Love you so much Ria.  Can't wait to see at Christmas! Literally!

DJ, Have the time of your life at college.  I can't wait to hear about your first semester when we both come back for Christmas.  Although you better keep me updated about your life throughout the semester.  Even though I'm on the other side of the world, I am always a Facebook message or a Facetime call away.  I love you so much Deege!  Kick butt at Murray!

Mom, Thanks for you constant love and support.  You are an extraordinary person and I am lucky to have you in my life.  It has been a wonderful summer with you and I will miss you so much more than you will know.  I promise that I will come back at the end of the semester and I can't wait to share my stories and adventures with you!

Dad, Thanks for a wonderful summer full of a lot of fun moments and memories.  I sure will miss kicking your butt in ping-pong so regularly. (: I love you and will miss you a lot.  Thanks for supporting my always, even when we don't see eye-to-eye.  You are a fantastic Dad and I am blessed to be your daughter.  I promise to keep you updated about my European adventures! Love you!

And with that, the first blog post is written, my bags are packed, and I am ready! (or as ready as I can be!)  The next blog post will be from somewhere in Germany, France, Switzerland, or Spain!  

Paz,

Sarah

A Response to a Facebook Post About Michael Brown

Mrs. ______, After reading your response on my mom's post, I was overwhelmed with a lot of negative feelings as your choice to use the word "thug" echoed in my heart. I have spent the past 30 minutes in prayer as I want to reach out to you in a peaceful and prayerful way. I hope that is how you receive this message because that is how I am writing it. When you called Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson "thugs," you were dehumanizing them. They had a mother, a father, brothers and sisters, friends, and loved ones who gave them a name and called them by that name because they are humans with an inherent dignity that I believe can never be taken away. Their names were Michael and Dorian. Would you call my friend Joe a "thug" because he is Black and is currently staying at a homeless shelter here in Louisville? Would you call my friend Rick a "thug" because he has a drug felony and is currently in a rehab center? I hope that you wouldn't because I love Joe and Rick. I had lunch with Joe today at a soup kitchen. He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek as we said goodbye until December when I return from a semester studying in Europe. Last week, Rick and I got dinner and he told me he loved when when we said goodbye. He's going to be my pen pal this semester. Mrs. ______, the situation in Ferguson is complicated. No one but Michael, the police officer, and God really know what happened. I don't know. You don't know. My mom doesn't know. But what I do know is that Michael and Dorian are human beings. Joe and Rick are human beings. You and I are human beings. And we belong to each other. All of us, despite our race, the neighborhood we grew up in, the schools we attended, the jobs that we have. We are all humans, and the similarities that we have far outweigh our differences. I said this in my Facebook post and I want to write it again. As a white woman from a very privileged upbringing, I am in no position to make a moral judgement on the men, women, and children who are taking a stand against injustice in St. Louis. They are the people who have experienced hundreds of years of oppression, violence, and racism in "the land of the free." The rioting and looting that you allude to in your posts are reactions to a larger system that has targeted young Black men for hundreds of years. A system that includes racial profiling, over policing of predominately Black neighborhoods, the militarization of the police, mass incarceration, and HUGE disparities in education, housing, and employment. I have learned about these disparities in my studies and I have witnessed them in my own life. I have even benefited from these very disparities as a white, upper-middleclass woman. If I am to truly follow the life of Jesus, I must spend my life working for equality, peace and justice. For me, that looks like working toward a world where everyone has the same opportunities that I have had. It's time that we listen to what people have been trying to tell us for years...that racism did not end with the civil rights movement, that our neighborhoods are just as segregated as they were in the 1950s, and that we have a responsibility as members of the human race to uplift the human dignity of every human person. You fail to do this when you call Michael and Dorian "thugs." I fail to do this when I dehumanize and overgeneralize police officers. I hope this message finds you well and I hope that you reconsider referring to Michael and Dorian as "thugs" again. Try referring to them as human beings, as our brothers and sisters in Christ, as friends. That's how to fight against injustice and oppression in all forms. Peace, Sarah Nash