On July 12th, a second group of students from the Cross Cultural Internship Program (www.fusia.net) visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site. Opened on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the memorial commemorates the lives lost. Two reflecting pools now sit in the base where the Twin Towers once stood, while the museum displays pictures of the fallen along with multimedia displays and other archives.
Tuesday evenings are free at the museum, but visitors must arrive early to get the limited amount of available tickets. The 27 CCIP visitors included activity organizer, Jiaying Xie (Karwing), who took on the responsibility of arranging for the students to get their museum tickets. She recruited a number of volunteers to show up early and wait on behalf of the whole group.
"I really wanted this visit to be a good activity for the group, because I know it would be something we all remembered," Karwing said. "There were a lot of details to figure out with getting everyone's schedule figured out, but it was worth it. I think everyone had a great experience and I gained a lot of valuable leadership experience."
The museum is 110,000 square feet and includes numerous exhibitions. The Memorial Exhibition includes walls of photographs of the fallen along with artifacts donated by the families of the victims. The Historical Exhibition stands in the location of the former North Tower and presents the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, while also providing the historical significance of the World Trade Center.
"It's hard to know what to say," Karwing admitted after visiting the museum. "It was such a huge tragedy, and yet the people of New York have found a way to recover and stay strong. It's inspiring to learn about people's stories and know that it is possible to rebuild after a great loss."
