Springfield

After being driven to school by our host families in the early morning, we were divided into groups and then went to Springfield.

Our first stop was the Lincoln Museum. Just entering the hall, I realized that it wasn't a normal museum with 'simple' exhibitions. You stand in a hall with a pretty high ceiling, where you can see a walkable model of the White House and the cabin where the president spent his childhood.

Right at the beginning, when we went into a kind of theater, we were all pleasantly surprised and impressed: someone was standing on stage and using incredibly realistic effects, he explained to us spectators the reasons for preserving such old documents, writings, and everyday objects.

The whole museum was filled with life-sized wax figures. In the entrance area, for example, there was a model of the Lincoln family, which didn't stand out at first among the crowd despite their old-fashioned clothes.

Additional little things, like a speaker's podium that shows how speakers can discreetly read their texts and other details that illustrate the history of that time, made the life of the Lincolns so much more interesting and informative, not to mention that we remembered so much more.

After a short subway break, we went together to the former house of the Lincolns, where he was proposed for the presidency.

The first impression was confusing: the house didn't look that old from the outside, and the two men with hats and olive green suits, equipped with a walkie-talkie at their belts, made me feel like I had gotten lost. But when the two men introduced themselves as the rangers who would give us the tour, it all made sense. In pairs, we then went through the house, which looked quite old-fashioned inside. Nevertheless, I have to admit: if it hadn't been for chamber pots, wash pitchers, and a tiny bed for a 6'5" man, you could have easily thought you were in the house of an old lady.

Afterwards, we went to the Springfield Mall, which ended up bankrupting me. That's probably because the branded clothing usually costs only half as much as in Germany (and of course, I couldn't let that opportunity pass by).

We then had dinner at the 'Olive Garden' Italian restaurant. After stressing ourselves out calculating the tip, only to realize in the end that the percentages were already calculated at the bottom of the bill, we paid and carpooled home.

I was home around 9:15 pm, and that's probably why I'm more tired today than ever before in my time in the USA.

Laura Z.