Introduction
Wroclaw is a city full of historical sites that remind the world of past activities. My tour around Wroclaw featured the Market Square, Zajezdnia History Center, Contemporary Art Museum, the Botanical Gardens of the University of Wroclaw, and Auschwitz Museum. The tour also included attendance at the conference that discussed the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. The whole experience connected with the class text on communication and concepts such as monocultural communication, technological advancements, ethnocentric communication, and the human condition. In addition, there is an emphasis on the Auschwitz Museum visit because Wroclaw is very close to the warring Russia and Ukraine.
The Travel Experience
Traveling through the Switzerland Airport where I had my layover was very clean and going through customs went very smoothly. To explore the town, we had to walk over the Grunwaldzki Suspension Bridge. The iron is painted a beautiful blue, and it felt safe walking back and forth. The town center in Wroclaw is called the Rynek and has very beautiful architecture, and the buildings’ colors are pastels and look very cinematic. We had a group dinner at Pizzeria O Sole Mio. It was nice to settle down and have a meal with everyone on the trip. Everyone was excited to be there, and dinner was enjoyable.
During our visit, Wroclaw actively had Ukrainian refugees enter the city. We were told that they currently had 2 million refugees migrate from Ukraine over the last six months. The overall experience of the first interaction with the city was comfortable but evoked anxiety as well. The fact that the country had hosted nearly 2 million anxious refugees from Ukraine reminded us how vulnerable our world is. At the same time, it referred to the concept of the “outsiders” mentioned in the textbook (Pearce, 1989). Being a tourist and exploring the realities of life in other countries creates a comfortable distance as tourists usually feel safe about their lives and are willing to invest in communications with local people and interaction with the host country’s culture.
I also went to Zabka, which is a convenience store that is comparable to New York’s 7-11. It was fun going into the store to see the different packaging on similar foods sold in the United States and also snacks that you would not be able to get in the United States. This experience reminded me of the cosmopolitan communication mentioned in the textbook. Although it was interesting to see different packages of the same products inside, I felt a better connection with Poland as it is evident that Polish people and I share a lot of common everyday experiences of being modern human beings. It even resembles itself in our choice of products and the way we shop around for groceries daily.
Consumerism creates a singular narrative and context for the people who live in large cities across the globe. Of course, everybody takes a taxi, everyone consumes fast food, everyone has the time when a double cheeseburger is a blessing, and the time, when they hate this choice as there are no other alternatives because of the lack of time. Therefore, it is important to develop ethnocentric communication that would keep the authenticity of communication within the cosmopolitan environment, as globalism may destroy the legacy of generations simply by pursuing profit and enhanced functionality instead of things of historical and cultural value.
I spent time going to PasazGrunwaldzki during the tour. This modern mall offers fast food, movies, Wi-Fi locations, and a family room if you want to lounge. It is considered the best shopping center in Wroclaw. There were a ton of shops, both international and unique brands. The mall was extremely well kept, and everyone I interacted with was friendly.
As our trip ended, I had dinner with the group at the Greco Wroclaw Rynek. It was fun going over everyone’s experience during the trip. After talking, it was interesting to learn what everyone had been doing on their free days and that I was not the only one who had a great time but was also looking forward to heading back home. Before getting ready to head back home, I spent the day looking at the buildings in Market Square, went for one last visit to the PasazGrunwaldzski, and stopped to buy some snacks from Zabka. It was a relaxing day, and I took my time just wandering throughout the city and enjoying my surroundings.
Communication Perspective: Coordination, Coherence, and Mystery
The textbook elaborates on how technological advancements allowed regular people to achieve the unthinkable things for people of the previous generations. However, these advancements do not diminish the mystery of human life. I can access almost any information within seconds, yet, my experiences are limited, as technology does not connect me to this world in a way that would satisfy me spiritually.
One of the ideas I would like to challenge is that the communication revolution has changed the things that young people aspire to in life. Indeed, the trend of “hustle culture” has been toxic towards young people who follow the pursuit of instant success in any activity they do (Pearce, 1989). However, the internet community is self-regulated, and eventually, the views of modern youth became more moderate. It seems as if the lean towards “hustle culture” has represented minimalism associated with the youth of any generation. The only difference I see is that the communication revolution provided more platforms for these ideas to be heard and shared. The communication revolution is a good definition to describe the changes that occurred along with new communication forms and mediums. The human condition is a concept that refers to the constant characteristics of human life that are integrated into the idea of being a person. Communication may be described as a form of connection or transmission of information from one individual or group of individuals to another person or group.
The simplification of communication imposed by technological advancements has changed attitudes towards communication. While offering remote mediums of long-distance communication, in-person interactions seem to be rarer and rarer. This leads to the generational change in the way people interact socially. Hence, one of the suggestions I took away from the reading is to find ways to balance interpersonal communication with communication through modern mediums.
The Market Square
Wroclaw is known for Market Square, one of the largest market squares in Europe and the second in Poland. During World War II, the market square was damaged. However, most of the buildings remain intact and were carefully restored. Walking through Market Square, I noticed some modernized, colorful buildings. Still, it maintained the old-world charm with its wide cobblestone streets and the beautiful antique tower on the corner. The stained-glass windows on the building near the tower added to the charm of Market Square. The dwarfs of Wroclaw were scattered throughout Market Square. I only noticed a few when I was walking, but I enjoyed discovering them. When I returned to the dorm, I looked into why these dwarfs were placed around and found out that they were to commemorate its history of artistic anti-communist rebellion. I would have loved to discover where all 163 of them are hidden.
During the few days I spent walking around Market Square, I discovered that the Church of St. Elizabeth is one of Poland’s most famous and oldest churches. It is located in the central part of the city of Wroclaw, near Grabiszyn railway station. During my days exploring, I began to use St. Elizabeth’s church as a guide back to the city if I felt I was unfamiliar with my surroundings. Looking at the Church of St. Elizabeth reminded me of our reading regarding Ethnocentric Communication. I believe ethnocentric communication is the most common form of communication. Formal patterns are what societies are mostly built on since this communication is largely based on formal patterns such as laws, manuals of etiquette, or holy sculptures.
The Auschwitz Museum
It was a 3-hour bus ride to get to the Auschwitz Museum which houses the largest Nazi Concentration Camp. Walking through the museum and seeing collections of personal items such as shoes and luggage, which had the names of their owners on them, the striped camp clothing was surreal. It has been almost eight decades since the Holocaust, which is not that long ago in the relevance of time (Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, 2020). We also went into the gas chambers and saw their living chambers. It is horrible to think about what these victims had lived through. It was a very eye-opening experience and something I will remember forever. I believe it is important to learn about this history so we can continue to ensure that something like this in the future does not happen.
Increasing awareness of the horrors of the past is always rewarding as one can better understand the history and reasons why our world functions the way it is today. Entering the gas chambers for money was an insane paradox that would be difficult to tell somebody eight decades ago. And yet, here we are, learning and communicating the crucial information through first-hand experience. It is hard to believe some people can follow the ethnocentric communication belief system so wholeheartedly that it can lead to something like Auschwitz. Meanwhile, we encountered refugees and the art from Ukraine, where war crimes similar to the ones that happened during World War II are happening. Hence, ethnocentric communication is not a thing of the past, and in modernity, Russians can communicate violent ideas among themselves and perform the genocide of Ukrainian civilians.
After visiting the Auschwitz Museum, I thought it was important to see one of the Jewish Cemeteries since there are not many left from them being destroyed during World War ll. This is one of the few Jewish cemeteries in Poland that is still intact (Visit Wroclaw Official Travel Guide, 2020). The cemetery originally opened in the 1800s, but it was interesting to walk through the grounds and see the appearance of gravestones gradually change throughout the years (In Your Pocket Guide, 2020). Many artists, scientists, politicians, and entrepreneurs are buried at the cemetery.
Our reading regarding neotraditional communication, wails, and relativism had me thinking about the various forms of communication. I was unaware that neotraditional communication focused on reversing the effects of modernity. I think that Wroclaw contains many examples of nontraditional communication as its architecture contains a mix of modern techniques to communicate traditional architectural ideas and maintain the image of an old city.
Forms and Ways: Monocultural Communication
Most of the exhibitions at the Zajezdnia History Center are dedicated to the postwar history of Wroclaw and Lower Silesia and other regions annexed to Poland after World War II (Wroclaw Uncut, 2020). The center contained a lot of scenographic, interactive, and multimedia exhibitions. I visited the Contemporary Art Museum– this was very fun. I found it very interesting that the language barrier did not affect what the art depicted at all. Communication through art is universal.
Later, I went to go get food from a shop that sold perogies. The woman who worked there did not speak English, and I do not speak Polish. This language barrier made me think back to our earlier lesson about different forms of communication (Pearce, 1989). We worked together and communicated with one another by pointing to items and continuing the transaction. This interaction made me realize how important non-verbal communication can be.
This interaction reminded me of “phatic communion” to describe patterns of communication in which what is said is much less important than the fact that something is said. Although we were not able to communicate, we were able to maintain social cues of being polite by smiling, nodding, and continuing our interaction socially polite (Pearce, 1989). I find phatic communion is used in everyday life, especially in America. I have had conversations where the context is less important and more for social politeness.
I think the concept of monocultural communication is relevant to today’s society, especially with people using technology platforms such as Twitter and Facebook more frequently. People frequently post their opinions on certain topics and assume their followers have the same beliefs and can become offended when they do not. I think we can hope for change as we grow as a society to be able to respect everyone’s viewpoint, and although someone may not agree with another person’s viewpoint, you can respectfully disagree and continue to be friends.
Ethnocentric Communication
I think the concept of informal patterns of ethnocentric communication is very interesting and can show diversity throughout the world. Informal patterns could be used in your everyday life, household, work environment, or even amongst your friends (Pearce, 1989). I think there are these “unwritten” rules in life that everyone, in different parts of the world, could have different understandings. I like the connection that formal and informal ethnocentric communication can intertwine. In certain parts of the world, we can have the same beliefs through formal patterns such as laws and religious beliefs. Still, our personal interactions can be based on informal patterns that could be very different from another person with the same formal beliefs as me.
Modernity and Cosmopolitan Communication
After class, I went to the Botanical Gardens of the University of Wroclaw. This garden was founded in 1811 and is the second oldest in Poland. There are over 11.5 thousand plants registered. Along with beautiful plants and flowers, I saw picturesque ponds, little fountains, and perfect spots to sit and spend the day if you were to have a picnic. It was very relaxing to go there and reflect.
I went to see the Zdroj Fountain, which is so beautiful with the glass design and water accent. Bogdan Zdrojewski, the President of Wrocław, was the inspiration for the fountain’s name (Tonkin, 2016). The fountain was originally going to stay in Rynek for two years, but it has been there since it was built. The fountain contains closed-circuit water, so it is not drinking water. The fountain is a popular meeting location for people to meet.
Our reading went over cosmopolitan communication. I found this interesting because cosmopolitan communication is mostly when speaking with someone you do not agree with (Pearce, 1989). You could be from diverse cultures, but it is about being respectful and engaging in a conversation that comes to an understanding of each other’s beliefs. A big factor in cosmopolitan communication is listening to one another and avoiding generalizations. It is also important to know when to drop a topic if someone is uncomfortable and no longer wants to discuss a specific topic.
One of the presentations at the conference was about the war in Ukraine. This presentation was saddening to listen to and watch as it closely linked to the events of Auschwitz. It made me realize how close this location is to the war that is currently going on and how the people who live or have family in this area are affected by the events going on. Seeing the war crimes committed in Bucha, Ukraine, or the destruction of Ukrainian cities such as Mariupol or Chernihiv reminded me of the trip to Auschwitz. The fear and disgust of “others” that was evident in Nazi Germany towards “Untermenschen” resemble the way Ukrainians are perceived as a lesser nation or lesser people by Russians (Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, 2020). Despite the ideological background of modern Russia and Nazi Germany, the common thing between them is the rejection of cosmopolitan communication that should be based on the acceptance of common truth.
Instead, both countries developed their perspective on the state of geopolitics. They tried to enforce these views onto others, which could be done only by eradicating those who disagree. Russian agenda extends to their citizens who cannot exercise free speech as any peaceful protest or demonstration ends up arresting protesters and putting them in jail. As shown by the example of Russia and Nazi Germany, terror and propaganda is the only way to achieve the monoculture communication they strive for. Hence, these examples showcase the biggest disadvantage of monoculture communication. When pushed to the extreme, it can lead to a narrow-minded perspective that rejects any alternative resources and forms of communication.
After the conferences, I visited Wroclaw University Assembly Hall. I learned that this building is also referred to as the Math Tower. It was built in the 18th century; inside the tower, there is a statue in the center that is holding a crucifix. This building was extremely ornate, and the artwork exhibits the university’s history. I walked up the staircase to the top of the Math Tower from where you could see the entire town square.
Conclusion
The tour around Wroclaw was successful, interesting, and eye-opening. Being the home of the largest Nazi Death Chambers and camp, the town needs protection from further aggression. Therefore, their proximity to the Russian and Ukrainian battles is not encouraging to the locals. Rather, it is a reminder of a dark past and the threat that history might repeat itself in front of their eyes.
References
Auschwitz Memorial and Museum. (2020). Web.
In Your Pocket Guide. (2020). Wroclaw. Web.
Pearce, W.B. (1989). Communication and the human condition. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Tonkin, B. (2016). Wroclaw: How the former German city became a testing ground for Europe’s aspirations after winning Capital of Culture.The Independent. Web.
Visit Wroclaw Official Travel Guide. (2020). Web.
Wroclaw Uncut. (2020). Web.