Randomness :)

Santa Sabina

Wednesday started the beginning of Lent! After pulling an all nighter...which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but there were four of us so it was fun :)...we had mass at a church that was an hour walk from Bernardi here. I have to admit I had a very difficult time staying awake but it was a very nice mass with over fifty (i think) preists up at the altar...which was amazing! After that we walked back and had breakfast and the rest of the day most of us didn't have class so we had the day free. Those of us who stayed up all night slept most of the day which felt really good! Later in the evening then a small group of us went to dinner with Fr. Carola which was a good time!

Thursday then we had class again which started at 8:30a which was a bit of a challenge to get up for seeing as though we have to get up earlier to walk 35 minutes to class :) It really isn't too bad of a walk it just gets annoying sometimes because you have to leave in such an advance, but I love the exercise! So, we had two classes today and then we came back to Bernardi in the afternoon.

Gabbie and Darren by the river

"The Duomo" (cathedral)

To our surprise, when we got back and checked our email we received one that said that our professor who was supposed to take us on a tour this morning (Friday) was ill so we wouldn't have to be here for that. So on a whim three of us wanted to just skip Italian this afternoon and take a weekend trip. So we packed a bag and in a half hour we were headed to the train station hoping to get to Zurich, Switzerland. Well, to our disappointment, the tickets were extremely high when we got there. So we turned around and stopped for dinner and headed back. Well we were back for a bit and were starting to regret that we just didn't go ahead and do it because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. So after a couple hours we headed back to the train station (which is quite a walk mind you :-p ) We got there and there were no more international trains leaving anymore for the night. We decided then that we would just hang there for a while and early in the morning we took a train ride to Florence, Italy. (This was my very first train ride by the way) We planned on spending the weekend there but hotels were hard to find and mine and Gabbie's feet weren't doing so well (I think I broke a toe or something in my foot) so we decided to just head back tonight. It was a really fun day though. Walking around the shops and seeing the river and all the pretty scenery! I will never turn down any of that!

Well, that was my excitement for the past few days. I think the weekend is going to hold a lot of rest and homework. I need to stay off my foot as much as possible so whatever is wrong with it will heal. Everything else is going very well here and everyday holds new adventures! I keep you all in my prayers and hopefully I will hear from you throughout the semester!





PS... here is a pic up from our Terrace view...I will get better ones soon! :) ENJOY!



Ciao!

Amazing Times!

What an awesome weekend we had here! It all started on Friday morning! We went on a tour of the Scavi...it is only given to about 200 people a day and tickets are very difficult to come by. We did not know this until our tour guide asked about our group and told us that we should feel very honored to be there. The tour leads people through the city below Vatican city. Believe it or not, there is literally a whole city below St. Peter's and the square. Up until the 1940s the Necropolis was only spoken about and never seen, some believe it existed, while others did not. When Pius XII became pope, he gave the nod to begin the excavations under three circumstances, it was done in secret so that during WWII Hitler would not catch wind of the project and take over, all work had to be done with buckets and shovels, no electric machinery that would disrupt masses above them and third, no one went near where they believed St. Peter to be so not to disturb the sacred place until they knew more about where he might lay. The tour led us all through these pathways and through many glass doorways until we came upon St. Peter's bones...it was so amazing! We continued after spending a few moments at St. Peter's bones down to where Pope John Paul II's tomb. I still cannot describe or come up with the words to say how amazing that experience was. I have always wanted to see him and even though he was in his tomb there was just something special about it even still! It was the most moving experience I have encountered yet and I don't think there were too many who didn't have tears coming down after being able to encounter that!

swinging at the park

The rest of the day was spent at Burghese Park which was absolutely beautiful and so relaxing. We walked around for a couple hours and enjoyed the peacefulness! It was so nice to be able to walk along trying to fight your way through people. There were many different statues and buildings and even a restaurant. It was fun because we were walking along and came upon a park. So we took some time to swing which was actually a ton of fun! We even got the guys to play on the park equipment. That was pretty much Friday other than eating which you probably don't want or need to hear about :)

Mark and Justin on the park equipment

Saturday we were able to sleep in which felt so good! I have been on such bad jet lag that I really hadn't been sleeping hardly at all and I think that was the first night I really slept :) I am finally starting to get on the schedule here now though. In the afternoon we went to some catacombs. It was a very interesting experience! They are basically the ancienct underground cemetaries that go approximately 80 meters below ground. There are 150,000 graves (but no estimate of people since some were mass graves) that span about 11 kilometers. It was crazy! After that we went to St. John Lateran for mass.

Tea with the Little Sisters of the Lamb

Following mass, Fr. Carola let us know he had told the Little Sisters of the Lamb that we were coming by for a visit. They showed us around and served us tea. I was never a tea drinker back in the states but I have really learned to like it here! It was a fun visit to learn about their order and such! They were all so friendly and beautiful!

Lunch in Norcia prepared by the Poor Clares

Sunday we took a day trip to Norcia. We left Bernardi at 7:15 for a 2.5 hour drive north to Norcia, located in the Umbria region of Italy. Here in this town were born the twins Sts. Benedict and Scholastica. The bascilica there is named for them and below, in the basement or lower level is the house their family lived in. We joined the Poor Clares for mass. They are cloistered, so they sat in a separate part of the chapel where we could not see them. After mass we were served an amazing and huge meal that they prepared. The food just kept coming! It was DELICIOUS!!!

Tea at Diane's

After lunch we went to Diane's (our women's chaplain...in case I never mentioned her before ;) She showed us her garden and since it was raining just us girls went there and had tea and pastries. We also talked about plans for the semester and what we will do as a community of women for the semester. After spending about an hour there, we were set to meet back up with the men and joined the monks for vespers and adoration in the room St. Scholastica and her brother St. Benedict were born in. The lights were all off except for candles that lit the room and the monstrance. It was very peaceful! After that we headed back to Rome! It was a very full but very good day!

Monday was our official first day of classes! I was very excited despite that fact that we were in classes for 10 hours with a one hour break in the middle! I didn't think I would make it through the day but I did and it went very well! I am very excited with my classes and it should be an awesome and very full semester with the materials! After classes were all over at around 7p a small group of us went to dinner and you will never guess where we went :-p We went to the Hard Rock Cafe! It was amazing to have a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake! It is kind of sad that it has only been two weeks and we already are needing that food but oh well :) It was a good time!

Finally, today we had more classes, just two today. After class we grabbed some lunch and rushed back to get some laundry done before we had mass and our first official community dinner! It was awesome! To be living in a community where everyone has the same views and thinking as you is something that can't even be put into words! I am just so incredibly grateful to the friendships I have made already! The friendships that are continuously developing will be ones that will last for a lifetime for sure!

One last little note...we have a terrace here on top of our building! It over looks Rome entirely! You can see so much and it is absolutely beautiful! It is my most favorite place to go...it calms me and is the best place to go to just sit and think and relax! I go there everynight before I go to bed and it is amazing!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well and I miss everyone! Although, I am not homesick yet and absolutely love it here! It just blows my mind still that I can be studying here for 5 months! I am truly blessed to have this opportunity! I also am trying not to take any of it for granted because it is so easy to do when you have been here for a while and that is a huge challenge I am dealing with, but it is great! I hope to hear from you all soon! I love you all and you will continue to be in my prayers!

Arrivederci.....until next time! :)

BUSY! Orientations galore!

I apologize for taking so long to post what has been going on, but it has been an extremely busy week. We always seem to have to be somewhere almost all the time! It was a good week though.

All the girls at St. Peters Square

Saturday we had a free day so we tried to go to St. Peters for mass but when we arrived there the line was wrapped all the way around the square so we pretty much just turned around and went back to Bernardi. It was a very rainy day and so after we came back and went out to lunch we came back and just lounged all day! It was very nice to just sit around and relax all day!

Blessing by the Pope!

This was the confusion that occured when we all wanted a copy of same picture and the sems had about 1o digital cameras they had no idea how to use. Quite funny.

Sunday we had breakfast and headed to St. Peters for the Papal Blessing which was amazing! He then continued to greet everyone in their native languages which was very cool to hear! The rest of the day we had some more orientation with Fr. Carola. After we preceeded back to St. Peters to do a little touring. The pics are amazing! We came back and did vespars and had mass and then had our kickoff community dinner where all of us (around 35) sat at a big long table! It was a lot of fun and the food was great!

Monday we had Italian again which has been a lot of fun! Our instructor Giovanni is such an amazing teacher! I really am enjoying the class and makes the intense work we are doing a lot easier. We had no other commitments today so a few of the girls (i think for the first time without a guy) went off and did a little shopping! The only thing I bought though was the amazing Lindt chocolate! It is very addicting and has gotten a few of us girls in trouble! Just in the sense that it's not helping our attempt to eat good and not gain weight ;) Although we can justify it sometimes because we walk so much :)

Annemarie's Birthday!

Tuesday we had more orientation at the Angelicum and then to Italian again! After Italian class and more orientation we went to the mall that we discovered on Monday ( yeah!). We had to rush out quick to go and get Annemarie gifts for her birthday! We went back to Bernardi then and hung out until we went to dinner. We split up into a couple different groups for dinner and then we all met up at The Drunken Ship for a drink for Annemaries birthday! It was a very fun place that played good american music!

Hanging out in Bernardi!

Wednesday we had another tour at the Angelicum and then we had to get back to Bernardi to go to the post office and sign some papers. We came back and had to leave again to go to the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's order). We are going to be volunteering there so we heard a little about the order and got a brief tour. We also got to see Mother Theresa's room where she stayed. Their order is so beautiful and it was very touching to be there, I can't even explain! We came back then and had dinner here at Bernardi which was again, AMAZING! The food here at Bernardi is probably the best! I forgot to add that today was Valentine's day :) We had a special dinner. Right before we went down to dinner most of the girls decided since we were so tired that we were just gonna wear slipper down, well then we got to the dining room and all the guys were dressed up! It was so cute but at the same time we felt bad for dressing down. Thanos also gave us all chocolate hearts which was nice! Then as we were finishing the meal, one of the seminarians annouced that they had something to honor the ladies and Our Lady and sang us the Salve Regina in Latin. Following that, because of the purity of our Lady and the other saints of the day, St.Cyrial and St. Methodius they had brought us all white tulips. Finally for our special valentines Thanos threw a 10 minute dance party to try and make everyone feel a little less tense from the crazy day! A lot of fun was had by all! A couple of us finished off our day sitting up on the terrace for an hour and a half just enjoying Rome and good conversation!

So, finally! Today, Thursday :) We got up and had some more orientation! Surprise suprise huh? Following we went to Italian class. Since we hadn't had gelato in a couple days :( we decided to grab that on the way back to Bernardi! It was so delicious! My friend Gabbie and I went up to the terrace for a while to enjoy the nice view and sun and then I have pretty much been trying to update you all with this since then! I think it will be a pretty low key evening. I think we will be heading out to get dinner soon and then maybe a little relaxing and reading for classes that start next week :)

So, I hope now you can see how crazy the week has been and why I haven't gotten to say anything :) I hope you are all doing well and I will try and be better about posting here! :)

Arrivederci....for now :)

PS....pay attention to my web album which has tons of pictures so far :) The link again is http://picasaweb.google.com/blondieineurope

ENJOY!!

Here is my collections of pictures link so far...enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/blondieineurope

I will write about the rest of my weekend tomorrow!

Ciao!

Around Italy!

I apologize for not posting yesterday but it was a crazy day! I was raining all day so that made for an interesting day as well. We started out the morning with more orientation here at Bernardi and then we walked to the Angelicum and had more orientation there. That lasted to about 12M and then we went to mass there at the Ang.

Half of us already had our Italian class Thursday so we were able to leave after that but the other half unfortunately had to stick around and wait until three for their class. Those of us who didn't have to wait set out to find lunch. Eight of us went one direction adn the other six went to do their own thing. I bet you can't guess what we ate...PIZZA! My most favorite thing! It is so goo here! You can't even imagine how much better it is than back in the states...its REAL pizza! :)

After we all had lunch we went and visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major. It was gorgeous! I can't even explain to you! In that church we saw the tomb of Pope Pius the V and we believe that maybe St. Catherine is buried somewhere there too. I need to find out the details on all that.

After staying there for a while we realized it would be a lot easier if we broke up into even smaller groups so four of us moved on while the other four stayed and looked around more and then went off to do their own thing.

We walked all over Rome that day! We saw so much! We were able to stop by the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Piazza Venizia (which they call the Wedding Cake because it looks like one big wedding cake), and more churches. Even though it rained all day we were able to do so much and the rain didn't bother us at all...it was actually kind of fun.

When we saw all this we started to head back home and ran across a cute little pizzeria and wine bar. We couldn't pass it up :) So we stopped and had an amazing bottle of white wine and pizza. It felt really good to just take a break from walking all day too. Then we made a quick stop at the supermarket for a few things and headed back to Bernardi.

We got back and took showers and got into dry clothes and then had an amazing Italian dinner. It was tortellini with white sauce, veal, carrots and green beans, salad with vinegar and olive oil dressing and dessert! It was delicious! I have no problem eating any of the food over here it is so good!

After dinner we hung out for a bit and then went out to a pub (about 12 of us) and had a drink and then came back and played a fun crazy game of spoons until like 1 in the morning. We headed to bed but then some of the girls ended up staying awake talking til 230a which was crazy but it was fun!

Today (Saturday) we had a free day with nothing scheduled. We woke up this morning then and went to breakfast and headed to the Vatican to go to mass at St. Peters. Unfortunately we got there and the line to get in was wrapped all the way around St. Peters Square so we turned around and trecked back to Bernardi. By the time we got back it was 12M so we decided to venture out to find pizza ;) All this was also in the rain! It was ok though. After pizza we took a quick stop at the supermarket again and then headed back to Bernardi where everyone has pretty much been lounging all day. Some of us watched a movie and took naps, but it has been a pretty low key day for the most part. It felt good to just relax though.

Well, that is all I have for now, but if you want any additional details on my travels just let me know and I would be happy to share :)

Arrivederci and Ciao!

More Orientation!

Today was a lot of orientation! We started at Bernardi with breakfast and more talks with just basic information about the building and traveling and lots of random stuff. We then took a tour of the building which we were supposed to get yesterday but didn't since we got back so late!

After we grabbed a sandwich (which I had no idea what was in it...it was kind of gross!) we headed to the Angelicum where we will be taking classes. We had more food there and then got a small tour and more orientation. We then had Italian class for 2 hours. We were split into two groups though so only half of us had the class and the other half had the rest of the afternoon off. The class is a lot of fun and I am excited to learn it. I just hope I will pick it up quickly!

After class those of us who were left headed back to Bernardi. We were able to stop by the Trevi Fountain which is beautiful! It was dark by the time we passed it but it was lit up so nice! We also passed by a shop with gelato so we couldn't turn that down :) YUMMY!!

Then we got back and freshened ;) up a little and went down for a full Italian meal which was delicious! Way too much to eat though! Its a good thing we walk a lot!!! :)

This was only our first full day in Rome and I have to say I am falling in love with it already! I wish I could share it with everyone! I am soaking up all that I can :) I know I have so much more to see and look forward to it as the semester keeps unfolding!

Until next time :)....Ciao! (my Italian is already coming to use ;)

Finally in Italy!

So, after an extremely long day ...over 24 hours to be exact I finally made it to Italy! There were delays after delays due to the weather everywhere! We were scheduled to take off from Minneapolis/St. Paul Tues at noon and we got on the plane and started to pull away then were told we had to go back because we couldnt fly into Chicago...this happened in Minnesota three or four times until we finally departed at about 3:30p or 4p.

Because of this though we missed our flight from Chicago to Frankfurt which was supposed to be at 2:30p. Through tons of help with a very patient travel agent we were able to catch a flight in Chicago that was scheduled to depart at 6:20 which due to whatever we sat on the plane til 9p before we finally took off. This then caused us to miss our flight from Frankfurt to Rome so we had to sit in Germany for a good three hours or more and wait for our flight to leave from there. It was extremely exhausting but everyone kept very positive and it really wasn't bad at all! We finally arrived in Rome at about 6 and got to our residence at 7 and brought our luggage in and had pizza! (yummy! its was amazing!)

So needless to say our 12 hour journey turned into over a 25 hour travel...but we are here and safe and Rome has been amazing and it is only the first night! I will keep you all updated as often as I can :)

Arrivederci!