Forgot to mention one thing...and grades are in

When I wrote my last post, I forgot to mention that Stella Mariae has two new stars. One of them, Kelsey, went to Austria with me last semester. It seemed like she was a twinkle forever. Our other new star is Abby, who's sister got into household the semester before I did. It was nice being able to see them go through the intenting process. That's something that I missed last semester. We are very happy to have them in household.

Also, all of my grades are in. Unfortunately they are not as good as I would have liked. I already mentioned about the bad grade in history (albeit not failing, but almost), and the C+ in Francis and Clare. I got the other two grades in. I got a C+ in Reading Franciscan Mystics, and a C in Renaissance Lit (which is what I usually get in English anyway). So my GPA took a serious hit, but not nearly bad enough to put me on probation. I'm really disappointed in my results from the semester...especially coming off such a good semester in Austria. So I am hoping that next semester is much better. I am glad I didn't take the seminar this semester. Knowing just how busy I was this semester, it probably wouldn't have gone well either. It seems that I tend to do better in the spring semester at Franciscan anyway. So just pray that next semester will go much better. I want to end my time at Franciscan on a positive note.

Been a long time since I've updated

It's been a long time since I updated (been really busy). So now that the semester is done, I'd update on what has been happening.

School: I was really busy with school this semester. It always seems that classes are busier in the fall than in the spring. But anyway, it seemed like I was always writing papers for my classes. I was doing good in all of my classes except my history class. There is a reason for that...I accidentally studied the wrong information for the midterm. I had studied information on WWII, and it was on WWI. So I failed the midterm. I was originally going to drop the class, but didn't want to have to get my adviser's signature and my professor's signature in order to drop the class. So I decided to stick with it. I did fairly well on my research paper, and felt that I had done really well on the final (I followed the study guide to a tee this time). Overall, I got a poor grade...but it wasn't failing. I'm still waiting for the rest of my grades. I got a C+ in Francis and Clare. And I was doing well in Renaissance Lit and Reading Franciscan Mystics. So hopefully my GPA won't take a serious hit. Speaking of school, I will be taking 7 credits next semester. I will be taking a Theology Seminar. Plus I will be taking St Bonaventure with Fr Dan Patee (I was born on his feast day) and Epistemology with Dr Harold. I'm going to school part time because my financial aid is running out, and I would have owed an additional $4500had I had gone full time next semester. So this was my only option. I just need the seminar to graduate anyway. It's a good thing I had dropped the catechetics major because I wouldn't have been able to finish on time, and wouldn't have graduated. I probably would have had to quit school after spring 2012.

Household: Household seemed different this semester than how household was when I had left in December to get ready for Austria. There's a part of me that feels like I came back to a dead household, because it was so different than it was the previous fall semester. We had almost all seniors on campus this semester, plus two juniors. And the majority of our visitors were freshmen. Plus we had 15 stars in Austria...including nine new stars. All of our sophomores were there, along with the majority of the juniors. Through a large part of the semester, we had just one twinkle...who had been a twinkle since the end of fall 2010 because she went to Austria with us. After getting so used to getting lots of twinkles, it was hard going from commitment to commitment, and not getting twinkles. I'd see other households like TTM and the Angels getting intents and wonder why the same thing wasn't happening to us. I just hope and pray that with the Austria stars coming back to campus next semester, that it will bring life back into household. Stella will have no stars in Austria next semester...which will be the first time in a very long time.

Housing: I'm really liking the apartment on Ridge Ave. I like that it's a safe neighborhood. Plus a lot of the professors live in the area. And the street that I live on is well lit, which is something that I cannot say about the other streets in the Labelle area...they are almost pitch black at some parts. I keep a flashlight with me in my bag just in case. But anyway, I live close to just about everything. It takes me just five minutes to get to campus, and Kroger is close by as well. I just have to make sure that I bring a microwave oven back with me when I go back in January so that I can start making more food besides just sandwiches. I don't want to have to keep eating in the caf and pub for almost every meal.

update on the semester

I figured it was time for me to update on what has been happening. So here you go!

Housing: I moved into my apartment on Ridge Ave shortly before we started training for orientation. It's really nice. I like it a lot better than my apartment on Sunset Blvd. It's exactly as the landlord showed in the pictures. It's a good size for one person. I really like it. Plus my commute to campus is much shorter than before. It now takes me about five minutes to drive to campus. Plus there are so many cats in the neighborhood...which makes me happy because I love cats. Don't worry, I don't feed them. They're perfectly capable of finding their own food. But anyway, the apartment is slowly beginning to feel like home. I'm slowly adding some more supplies to the apartment. So it's a work in progress. But I love it here. Plus I'm not in the ghetto...I'm in a good area, and about a block and a half away from a school.

School: Classes have been getting busy. About a week and a half after classes started, I noticed that I still needed a literature class to fill the humanities core for my major. Speaking of major, I officially dropped the catechetics major, making me just a theology major. Anyway, I added Renaissance Lit. Since I added that, I decided to audit Youth Ministry, since I felt that if I carried 15 credits, it would have been too much for me. So it's been busy, but not as busy as it could have been. I like my classes. Plus I like that the classes don't last 1 1/2 hours like they did in Austria.

Household: So I'm back to going to commitments on campus. It's so good to be reunited with household, especially with those who went to Austria last fall. And it's good to be able to go to Lord's Day in person rather than by Skype. This semester we have 15 stars in Austria. I was really surprised by the number. About more than half of the girls in Austria this semester just got into household. So now that I'm back on campus, they're not here. So I have to wait until next semester to get to know them. I just wish I could get to know them now rather than having to wait even longer. I wasn't on campus when they intented, and I never got a chance to get to know them. I don't want to be a stranger to them when they get back in January. I want them to get to know me, and for me to get to know them. Concerning twinkles, we only have one twinkle so far: Kelsey Bowers, who has been a twinkle since late November (she went to Austria with us last semester). Hopefully we'll get more twinkles soon so she won't be the only twinkle in Stella so far.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now. We have morning mass tomorrow, so I have to get up early.

Summer update

The summer is quickly going by, and pretty soon it will be time to head back to campus. Even though I'm getting ready to begin my senior year at Franciscan, there's a possibility that I may have a job after graduation. A friend of mine from my church choir back at home might be able to get me a job at the diocesan center in my home diocese. It would be part time at first, but still it's a job. So please pray that I will be able to get some kind of job after graduation so that I can begin to pay off my student loans from Franciscan and Rutgers. I would love to be able to work in my home diocese!

On a side note, there are so many of my household sisters that are going to Austria next semester. A lot of them just got into household. Since I was in Austria last semester, I really didn't have much of a chance to get to know them really well. So now that I will be back on campus, they won't be there. I really wish that I could get to know them better.

Pictures of apartment on Ridge Ave

Update on housing

Even before I was able to register for classes, I was looking at housing for next year. I originally wanted to get into Assisi Heights, but it didn't work out. I was put on the waiting list. But I knew that if I didn't look for other housing options, that I may have ended up with no housing if I didn't get into Assisi Heights. So I've been looking at apartments that are close to campus. I've found one on Ridge Ave. It's a one bedroom apartment. The rent would be $375 a month, is completely furnished, and includes all utilities. So I have to send $50 to secure the apartment, and that would go to the $375 deposit. So it looks like this place may be as good as mine. I'll have a place to live, and that it's just a mile from campus. It's much nicer than the other apartment on Sunset Blvd. Pictures are to come!

Good News: I've registered for classes for Fall 2011!

As you can see from the title, the hold has been lifted and I have registered for classes. Since I'm dropping the Catechetics major, I have a lot of room for free electives. So as of right now, this is my schedule:

CAT 311 A Youth MinistryI 3.00 Beaulieu, John Kevin
HST 329 A 20th Cen Europe 3.00 Beshoner, Seraphim T.O.R.
THE 312 A Rdng Frncscn My 3.00 Harkins, Conrad
THE 410 A Francis/Clare 3.00 Martignetti, Richard S O.F.M.
THE 435 A Seminar 1.00 Pattee, Daniel J. T.O.R.

I'm taking Youth Ministry I because I want to go into Youth Ministry, and feel that this would give a good start into going in that direction. I'm taking the seminar this semester because I can fit it better in my schedule this semester than in the spring. And the other classes looked really interesting. I want to do well this semester so that I will be in better shape in getting into grad school. So hopefully it will be a good semester, although I'll miss taking classes at the Kartause.

Group photos from Austria

Update on what is happening

I figured that it was time for an update, so here it is.

School and housing for next year: Right now, I have been looking for a place to live for next year. I was originally hoping to get into Assisi Heights, but did not get a spot. Right now I'm on the waiting list. But in the meantime, I had to look at other places to live. One place that I will not go back to is my old apartment. I want to be closer to campus and the other students. So right now I am hoping to get a one bedroom apartment on Ridge Ave. It looks like a nice apartment. and the rent is at a good price too. So just keep your fingers crossed that I'll get that apartment for next year.

Concerning classes, I have yet to register for classes. I should have registered almost three months ago, but haven't because I have a hold on my transcript for pay balance. Since I had to pay for all of the additional expenses such as housing and meal plan, the spring semester was more expensive than the fall. My monthly payment plan was made before I decided to go to Austria. So we've been paying the bill off little by little. I'm hoping that I will be able to register before the start of July. Since I have a hold on my registration, I've had to rearrange my schedule a few times.

During this time, I've decided to drop the Catechetics major. There's a few reasons for this. First of all, my GPA is a few tenths below a 2.5, and wouldn't be accepted into the program at this point. Second, I really do not want to have to stay around an extra semester as an undergrad. Third, I want to go into youth ministry, and want to go on to grad school in Theology at Franciscan. I want to have the best possible GPA so I'll have a better chance of being admitted. I feel that if I stay in the Catechetics major, it will not improve my GPA but make it worse...since I got C's in Intro to Catechetics and Catechetics. I do plan on taking some courses in youth ministry. But my focus for the coming year is to finish my undergrad, improve my GPA, and prepare for grad school. It feels like it's the right decision, and I'm at peace about it. I got to work with high school kids during 10 day in Romania, and really liked it. So I think youth ministry would be the right direction for me. So just pray that everything works out for the best.

Photo and video from the Easter Ball

The end of the semester in Austria

It is hard to believe that my semester in Austria is over. A lot has happened since I last updated. So here goes:

Revisiting Salzburg, Vienna, and Munich: I decided to go back to these cities, since I had originally gone to these cities during the winter. I wanted to see what these cities looked like when the weather was warmer. I was also trying to use up my Eurail days. First was Salzburg. I went there rather than go to Mariazell because I'm not one for hiking, and really wanted to go back to Salzburg. So I took the train to Salzburg, and was there for a few hours. I got to see the fountains and the flowers around town, especially around the university. I got to see the trellis that was used in The Sound of Music, along with the fountain featured in the movie. Next was Vienna. I went there on Holy Thursday, and got to walk around town. I also got to visit the different shops, found a really good kebap place, and found gelato that rivaled Rome. Finally was Munich. This was by far the longest trip, and was in Munich for only 3 hours. I used that time to walk around Marienplatz, and got another look at the glockenspiel. Since I went on Easter Monday, all of the shops were closed. I didn't realize that the shops were closed on this day. The only shop that was open was the one in the train station. Anyway, I'm really glad I got to go back to these cities because it gave me a chance to see what these cities look like when it is not snowy outside. Plus I got an idea of what these cities are like when the fall classes go in September. It's too bad I couldn't do that with Poland either...just didn't have the time.

Holy week at the Kartause: It is really interesting the different traditions that Austria uses for Holy Week. On Passion Sunday, we are given Pussy Willows rather than Palms. That was so interesting, and I really liked it. On Holy Thursday, the alter servers would clack wooden sticks together during the consecration rather than ring bells. On Good Friday, they would bring the corpus of Jesus into the church at the end of the service, and we would each lay daffodils onto the body as we would at a funeral. Then at the Easter Vigil, people would ring bells during the Gloria. It was so awesome to see these traditions, and really puts Holy Week into a completely different perspective.

Finals/trip to Rome for JP II's beatification: Normally during the days leading up to finals, people would stay back to study for finals. But we had the opportunity to see the beatification of JP II. So I had Christian Spirituality right before we left for Rome. Then we rode on the bus overnight to Rome. Once we got to Rome, we were able to take part in the mass. Some people stood closer to the main altar, and was able to see the beatification first hand. I stood further away, mostly so that I wouldn't get crushed by the crowd. I could still hear the mass, and it was amazing to see so many people. There were so many Polish flags waving about that day. The mass went on for over two and a half hours, which is standard for a Papal mass. After the mass, some were able to go and venerate the relics of JP II. Some of us went walking around the city, looking in the different shops. Plus I got to have gelato. Once we all got back on the bus, we drove through the night back to Gaming. We then had a recovery day before resuming finals. I then had Christian Marriage that Tuesday, and Surveys of Physical Science and Theology of the Church on Wednesday.

Book Mountain and Creek Jump: Once I finished all of my finals, I finally climbed Book Mountain. I climbed to the lookout point. The view from that point is just fabulous. It was really beautiful. Later on, we had the creek jump. This is where we raised money for Mary's Meals, and get the professors to jump in the creek. We finally got Dr Asci to agree to jump in the creek. I heard that he had refused to jump for the thirteen years he's been here. We were able to raise 3000 euro. So Dr Asci jumped, along with Prof Cassidy, Tom Wolter and Maria Siefert-Wolter, Fr Brad, Mark Kalpagian, and Tony Ertl the RD. Once they all jumped, then other people jumped in. Since I hadn't jumped in yet, I felt like now was the time to do it. So I climbed down to the creek, and jumped in. The water was freezing cold! I learned later that the water never warms up. Once I got in the water, I got out as fast as I could. It was too cold for me.

Final day and flight home: The last day that we were in Austria was a day of cleaning and packing. I was constantly busy. I had to make sure that the stuff fit in my suitcases. I had to do so much cleaning. It would seem that there was always something else that had to be cleaned in the room. Once the room was all cleaned out, I then checked out of my room. There was a bon fire, followed by midnight mass in the chapel. Once mass finished, we then boarded the busses for Vienna Airport. By the time we got to the airport, the sun was starting to come up. Our flight left Vienna around 10:30am. The flight lasted for about 10 hours. I was sad to leave Austria, and there was a part of me that was afraid that I would never get back to Europe. We got into DC around 2pm, and went through customs. After customs, we then boarded the plane for Pittsburgh. Originally I was going to stay with one of my household sisters for the week of graduation. Unfortunately that did not happen. My parents had to come down to Steubenville so that they could drive me home. I wanted to stay for graduation, but it just didn't work out. At least I got to see my household sisters before the end of the year.

It's still hard to believe that this semester is done, and that Austria is over.

A lot has happened since my last post

I know it's been a very long time since I updated. So here goes nothing.

Poland: Poland was very moving. When we got to Poland, we got to see the unveiling of the Black Madonna. I could hear the trumpets and drums in the back of the church. Later on, we went to Auchwitz. It's really hard to describe how I felt when I saw the concentration camp. I was just beyond words. The weather in Poland was actually warmer than in past years during the spring semester. I've heard of people who have gotten frostbite when they went to Poland. It was above freezing when we went to Auchwitz. So we could pay attention to what the tour guide was saying rather than thinking about how cold it was. Krakow was a beautiful city, and I was amazed how affordable everything was. On the way from Poland, we stopped at Wadawice...which was Pope John Paul II home town. We got to see the church he was baptized in. And we got to try his favorite cake, dubbed the "pope cake." It was delicious!

Rome/Assisi: I LOVED Rome and Assisi, especially Rome! We were there for Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. Normally the students who go to Rome in the Spring don't get to see Mardi Gras because it would have passed by the time they got there. but anyway, there was a section in Rome where all of the festivities would be held. I went there one day...it was a lot of fun! I pretty much mastered the metro, and took it all the time. We did so much walking! We had the wednesday audience on Ash Wednesday. I loved being able to see the Pope. The weather while we were there was fantastic! It only rained the first day we were there. I got to go to Old Bridge, and had gelato for 2 euro...it was so good! I also went to Soprani's to get some religious goods. Their prices were really good. After Ash Wednesday, we went to Assisi. It is such a beautiful and peaceful town. But there are a lot of steep hills! The food in the hotel we stayed at, hotel dei priori, was really good. We had so much food (and pasta) there. We would get seconds, and even thirds! And we had a lot of bread. I went to the leather store, and got some sandals (I needed sandals anyway). Other people also ordered covers for their bibles and prayer books.

Medjugorje: This was an interesting place. We stayed at a place called "the castle". Since the town is in a desert, we couldn't use much water. Plus the showers only had cold water. But the town is really beautiful, albeit very rocky and dry. The church, St James, was always filled with Italians. There was also a crucifix in town that had a tear like substance seep out of the knee, and people don't know where the liquid is coming from. We also got to hear one of the visionaries speak. It seemed like she always had a smile on her face. While we were in Medj, we got to climb Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain. They were very difficult to climb, but the views from the top were amazing!

10 Day in Romania: I had the opportunity to do a mission trip to Romania during 10 day. I originally wanted to do the Lourdes Mission trip during 10 day, but didn't think that I could raise the money. Plus my mother didn't like that it was almost $600. A funny thing is that many of the churches in the town we went to had an our lady of Lourdes grotto. So it was like Lourdes came to me, since I couldn't go to Lourdes (especially since my other household sisters did the lourdes mission trip). Anyway, we took the train to Romania, and got there around 11pm eastern european time. We went to a town called Baia Mare. We stayed near an orphanage there. There's an organization there that runs an orphanage for girls, and runs a daycare center during the day for poor children whose parents work during the day. Some of us worked at the daycare center, while others spoke to high school children about American culture. Some of us went to the pediatric ward of the local hospital and painted disney murals on the walls of the hallway. It was really fun. In the evening, we would give English lessons to the volunteers, and would give a catechesis on different topics such as chastity and adoration. We also got to see what the town looked like. Many of the communities have locked gates, and have guard dogs. Many also have chickens, and could hear the roosters crow early in the morning! In the old part of town, there is a baroque church and buildings that are very similar to the ones in Vienna. We learned that at one point, that part of Romania was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. While we were there, the people fed us very well. Italians did the cooking, so we had pasta with lunch and dinner. And there was a lot of food. By the time we knew it, it was time to leave for Austria. The religious sister who was living at the orphanage made us a huge sack lunch, with four sandwiches and lots of cookies and water. Clearly I couldn't eat it all. But it was such a good trip!

Well, it's time for dinner in the mensa. I'll update some more another time.

Classes, Prague, and soon to be Poland

I haven't updated in a while. Classes have been getting busy. We're really getting into the swing of the semester. It's strange that my weekday mornings start off with class with Dr Asci. I have him for Christian Marriage and Christian Spirituality. My classes have been going pretty good so far. I really like all of my classes. I feel that I have gotten into a rhythm with my classes. I love how tight knit the people at the Kartause are getting. Since there's only 143 of us, we're at the point where we all know each other. It's amazing to think that I wouldn't have known some of these people had it not been for Austria.

I've found that the food in the mensa is ok, but is not the greatest. Not that the caf is any better. There are some things that I wish the mensa would do, such as keep the coffee machine on after breakfast and offer a greater variety of food. A few nights they were really good. One night we had frankfurters, and another night we had hamburgers. I just wish they'd offer those more often...they sell them in the Spar.

Last Saturday, I went to Prague. It was a beautiful city. But it was a long trip. We left the Kartause after 5am (11pm back east). We got to Prague after 10am. I noticed that once we got into the Czech Republic, the language was completely different. I saw all of these accent marks, and couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words. Once we got to Prague, we had free time. So we went walking around the town. We went to the church that had the Infant of Prague. It was really nice how they had the Infant Jesus wear real material clothes. There was also a gift shop inside. Some of us had lunch in a cafe close to the church that has the Infant of Prague. The prices were really cheap, and the food was really good. And they accepted euros, which was really great. The server was really nice too. After lunch, we went back to the church with the Infant of Prague, and climbed up the tower. The whole city skyline could be seen from there. It was really nice. But by the time we knew it, it was time to go home. So we boarded the busses, and headed back to Gaming. It was a nice day trip, and I really enjoyed it.

This weekend we're going to Poland. We leave for Poland later on tonight. I've heard so much from friends about their experience in Poland. Some good, and some bad. So I am hoping that this will be a good trip, and that the weather will play in our favor while we're over there. I still have to pack, but that won't take that long. I just hope that this will be a good weekend, and that I don't get frostbite (it's been cold there the last two times the spring semester Austria students had gone). Hopefully I won't...I have warm boots! :-)

Classes, Salzburg, and Munich

So we just finished the second full week of classes. I'm really getting into the swing of things here with my classes. Certainly there a lot of work. But they're not as bad. And I feel like I'm not as busy this semester as I was last semester. Last semester I had a paper due almost every week. This semester, I don't have any papers to write. I'm auditing German, so I don't have to take any of the tests and exams. My Survey of Physical Science class has no midterm, mostly quizzes. My theology classes have a midterm and final. But since there's so many people in the classes, the exams are sure to be mostly multiple choice and true/ false. So I am hoping that I will do really well when this semester is over. I need to do well so that I can get my GPA above a 2.5 so that I can then apply to the Catechetics major. But anyway, I really like my classes and my schedule is really good. I like that my early classes start at 8:40am and not 8am. That's a lot better. It gives me enough time to get ready and go to the mensa for breakfast (and hope they have something decent to eat). The latest that my classes go to is 5pm. And this is the first time in a very long time that I have no Friday classes (purposely done by Franciscan so that people can travel).

In other news, I went to Salzburg and Munich this past weekend. I'm sure some of you saw the photos on my facebook. But anyway, we left for Salzburg early Friday morning. It took us a little more than 2 hours to get to Salzburg from Gaming. Once we got to Salzburg, we walked to the church where we had mass. After mass, we had lunch in a restaurant (whose name escapes me right now). After lunch, we had a walking tour of Salzburg. While walking through Salzburg, I found that it was very easy to get lost walking around the winding streets. But it was interesting to see the different locations where different parts of The Sound of Music was filmed. Many of the statues and fountains were covered by plexiglass to protect it from the snow. After the tour, we walked back to the hostel to check in. It was a really nice hostel...it was almost like a motel with the private rooms and showers. Once we checked into the hostel, we then had some free time. I went with some of my friends to look in the different stores and shops. Afterwards, I went with some other friends to the St Peterkeller, which is the oldest restaurant in Salzburg. Clearly I got the wiener-schnitzel, since it was the cheapest thing on the menu. I also had an apple strudel with vanilla ice cream. It was really good, although I don't expect to go to restaurants like that every time I go on a trip. Otherwise it could get really expensive. After dinner, we went to hear a concert featuring music by Mozart (who happens to be from Salzburg). It was really good, although I was getting really tired near the end. But it was a good concert.

The following day, we went to Munich. It was about an hour and a half drive from Salzburg, and we didn't have to show our passports because it's in the EU. I noticed while we were on the road that the speed limit in Germany is faster than the speed limit in Austria. In Austria, the speed limit on a major highway is 100 Km/hr (62 mph). Whereas in Germany, the speed limit is 120 Km/hr (75 mph). Plus the exit signs said Ausfahrt, which is German for exit. Anyway, once we got to Munich, we got to have mass in the same church where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass when he was still cardinal. After mass, we went on a tour of old town Munich. It was very short. Afterward, we had some free time. I got to see the glockenspiel go off at noon. I loved it. I don't get to see that everyday. Then, after not being to be able to find my friends to spend the afternoon with, I spent the day with two of the TOR sisters. We had lunch in a Filipino restaurant, where I had sweet n sour chicken. Then we went to the Deutsches Museum. It was so big. There was so many things to look at, and it was very interactive. We spent the entire afternoon on just one floor, and there were six. After we left the museum, we went to get some dinner. After we went to dinner, we then went back to the buses, where we then headed back to Salzburg. One thing that I got while I was there was a German flag. So now I have an Austrian flag and a German flag. I've decided that I am going to get a flag of every country that I go to. I figured that would be a cool thing to collect.

On our final day of the weekend, we had mass in the cathedral in Salzburg. This church had no heat. So it was freezing cold during the entire mass. Speaking of mass, they had a full choir and orchestra in the choir loft. The mass was all in German. The strange part was that when the sung parts of the mass came (like the gloria of the credo) the congregation sat down. I found this to be particularly disturbing during the creed, which I thought we should have remained standing. The music was beautiful, but honestly I felt like I was at a performance rather than a mass. It was just a strange, and very cold, experience. After mass, we went to Mondsee. There, we had lunch. We then got to see the church where the wedding scene of The Sound of Music was shot. It was such a beautiful church. Plus I loved looking in their gift shop. I took so long in the church however, that I almost got left behind. I had to call on of the RDs, who then had to come back to get me. Otherwise I would have had to take a bus or train back to Gaming. I wouldn't have known where the bus or train station was while in Mondsee. But at least that didn't happen. Anyway, we got back to Gaming after nightfall. It was a really fun trip, and I'm glad that I came. I'm looking forward to the next trip, what ever it may be.

Classes and Vienna

Classes started this past Thursday. I ended up changing one of the classes I was originally registered for. I had originally registered for Foundations of Ethics, thinking that Siefert was going to be teaching the class. Then I get to Gaming, and find out that someone else is teaching Ethics (Seifert was only teaching Human Person, which I took already). So I figured that I'd at least see what he's like. So I went to the first class, and I find out that we had to write a 7-10 page paper with 11.5 font and 1.5 spacing. No professor I know has ever had us write a paper using that size font. So I really wasn't feeling that good about the class, and wanted to switch to a different class. So one of my household sisters told me about a class that she was taking. It was called Survey of Physical Science. It's a class where the professor teleconferences the class from main campus. So I decided to switch classes. Hopefully it will work out in the end. Other than that, I love my classes. I have Dr Asci for two of my classes: Christian Spirituality and Christian Marriage. And I have Dr Cassidy for Theology of the Church. I love his Scottish accent! Plus he's really nice. I'm also auditing German I. I think that will come in very handy here.

Yesterday we went to Vienna. We started the day by having mass in one of the churches. Afterward, we had a tour of Vienna. It was very cold and windy that day. We got to see the different buildings and churches in Vienna. After the tour, we went to a restaurant where we had wienerschnitzl. It wasn't that bad. After lunch, we had some free time to explore Vienna on our own. I went with some of my friends and household sister to look in the different shops in Vienna. We later on had some coffee and dessert in a cafe. We later boarded the bus and went back to Gaming. I had such a good time, and it was so fun. It was really great.

Am now in Gaming Austria

So as the title now says, I am now in Gaming Austria. The packing for the trip was very stressful. I was trying to jam everything into my suitcases without making them too heavy. My parents drove me down to Philadelphia International Airport. I couldn't believe how much security I had to go through. We never had to do anything like that when I last flew in 1985.

Anyway, I found other franciscan students at the airport. I was happy to see familiar people because I thought I would have had to fly to DC all alone. So the flight to DC was a quick one, but a turbulent one. Once we got to DC, we saw a whole bunch of franciscan students. we waited to the plane for about an hour. Once we got on the plane, we got to watch movies and listen to music. You could choose whatever movie you wanted to watch. So I watched Beauty and the Beast, and the Social Network. Both were good. I didn't sleep much while on the plane. I think if I got two hours sleep, I was lucky. Anyway, the dinner they served us was very good. We had the choice of pasta or chicken. I had the chicken. It seems like it wasn't too long before we were served breakfast. For breakfast, we had a ham and swiss sandwich on a bread stick, a muffin, and yogurt. It wasn't that bad.

We arrived in Vienna at around 8:15am Central European Time (2:15am Eastern Standard Time). The people from the school were there to pick us up from the airport. I got my bags from baggage claim, and made my way down to customs. It was harder leaving the United States than entering Austria. All I had to do is present my passport, and I was in. It was too easy. The buses were there to take us to the Kartause. It was really interesting to see the street signs, and how different they are to those in the united states. All of the lines on the road are white. The speed limit is in Kilometers per hour, and not miles per hour. I'll see the speed limit signs say "100" and have to realize that it's in kilometers, not miles.

Anyway, it took us about two hours to get to Gaming. Once we got there, the children gave us flowers and brought our luggage to our rooms. I got a single. I'm on the 6th floor. My room is in samuel hall, or "six track" as people affectionally call it. It's not too bad. I've had worse housing at Rutgers, so I'm not that worried about it.

So these last few days, we've been having orientation. We've been learning about the Kartause, and about Austria and Europe. Yesterday we went to an old monastery in Melk. We're going to Vienna on Saturday. And next weekend is Salzburg/ Munich. And classes start on Thursday. So I hope I don't oversleep like I almost did the other day (where I slept for almost 10 hours). But I think that this semester is going to be absolutely amazing. I hope it's better than last semester.

I leave for Austria in five days

As the title says, I leave for Austria in five days. It's hard to believe that it's finally happening! I'm really excited about it. I'm looking forward to going over there and seeing the Kartause for myself.

As for the Lourdes mission trip, I'm probably not going to be able to do the mission trip. There's a few reasons for this. First of all, I only got the application a few weeks ago. I wasn't able to print the application until last week because of printer problems. Plus my mother didn't like how expensive the mission trip would be...almost $600. So what I may do is just go to Lourdes on my own during 10 day. This way I can visit other places in Europe like Disneyland Paris and the Berlin Wall. 10 day isn't until early April, so I have time to figure things out. At least it won't be freezing cold by then.

I just pray that there won't be any problems with the weather or the flight over to Austria. Some of my friends are flying to Ireland before going over to Austria. As much as I would have liked to have seen Ireland, I didn't want to freeze. That's ok. I'm flying from Philly to DC to Vienna. So I'm sure there will be a lot of Franciscan students on the flight over to Austria, since it's with Student Flights. I'm just glad I'm not going alone. It should be a fun flight. I guarentee that I'm the oldest person from Franciscan going. I'm probably the oldest person at Franciscan to have ever spent a semester over in Austria.

The next time I write, I will be in Gaming.

Groß Gott!