Living history

I took this picture at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The image is actually something that most people in college have heard about. Few people can probably recognize it from the picture alone, but most of us have heard of it at least once in our academic careers. I consider myself a kind of a history nerd and I did not know what it was when I passed by it. There was a relatively big crowd around it (nothing compared to the Mona Lisa) but to me it just looked like a big black rock. As I got closer to the object I noticed the writing on it. The writing was of course not English and it was clearly very old. As I continued to examine the object I finally found the Museum info card… it was The Code of Hammurabi.

At this point my jaw dropped to the ground (if you don’t know what the Code of Hammurabi is Google it). In front of me was the freaking Code of Hammurabi. Arguably, the first set of written laws in the modern world was less than a foot away from me. You would think that the first thing that would come to mind would be something like “this is one of the turning points of humankind” or “this really helped shaped the world we live in today” but that was not the most amazing thing to me. To me it was unbelievable that I was actually seeing something I had learned in history class. I learned about the Code of Hammurabi in Mr. Anderson’s 7^th grade Social Studies class and there it was. It was real!

I never thought I would actually see it. The Pyramids in Egypt and the Coliseum in Rome are things you hear about all the time, but this was different. It was almost humbling to really see something like this outside of a textbook. But the Code of Hammurabi was just the first of many eye-opening experiences. Down a couple of Metro stops from the Louvre Museum was the Bastille where the French revolution started. In Amsterdam there was the Anne Frank museum. Most of us read her diary, but walking through the empty attic in which Anne, her family, and her friends hid for all those years is something no book and explain.

This trip has truly brought history to life for me. It is one thing to read about events and artifacts, but to see them and to be at the very spot where they unfolded is surreal. Behind the Château is a huge park which is covered with wildlife and old German bunkers. In the same spot where I go run and see families playing together, bloody battles were fought during WWII. The trails that wind through the forest were once filled with bullets and bombs instead of joggers and hikers. History has become a living science on this trip for me. Everything around me has a different story and I am excited to keep reading it.

Till next time,

Enrique C.