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.