Saturday, July 26
After many hours spent in the airports, on the planes, and on the bus, we have finally made it back to Effingham and Marshall. I can't even describe how happy I was to see my own school. :) As Fr. Daren said, we were delayed for a couple hours going back into Honolulu. This made our plans of going to the beach go down the toilet. We were going to have an 8 hour layover, just enough time to make it to the beach for a break and back. Whenever we were delayed 3 hours, we just couldn't do it all. We had to settle with hanging out with each other in the Honolulu Airport.
The flight back to Chicago was a rough one. I had a lot of trouble sleeping. This airplane did not have as much room to move around. I don't even know how the boys with long legs did it! American Airlines is not much a luxury flight. Well for those not riding in first class. They didn't even give us any free food. Believe me, by the end of our 8 hour flight, some of us were very hungry! But we made it.
A Bales Bus gratefully picked us up at the airport to bring us back to Effingham. We made surprisingly good time, and arrived back around 10:15. Our parents were all there to greet us and help us get out bags off the bus. I was very happy to see everyone!
I know everyone enjoyed the pilgrimage. It could not have happened without the support of our family, friends, Church, and community. So thank you all.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
An updated delay
Our flight from Sydney is now scheduled to leave 2 hours and 45 minutes after the initial time. We are proceeding to the gate now.
The first delay
As of this moment, our flight from Sydney to Honolulu has been delayed by two hours. I'm not too confident it will depart according to this schedule, but we'll see what happens.
This leaves us now - if all goes as rescheduled - a six hour layover in Honolulu before departing from Chicago. We were hoping to escape the airport in Honolulu and play for a few hours before returning to leave for the Windy City. Now we'll see.
This leaves us now - if all goes as rescheduled - a six hour layover in Honolulu before departing from Chicago. We were hoping to escape the airport in Honolulu and play for a few hours before returning to leave for the Windy City. Now we'll see.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Friday, July 25th
Father Daren insisted that I do one last blog before we leave. We are all waiting around before we head to the airport. It is another rainy, foggy day here in Sydney. I was going to go up in the Sydney Tower, but I don't know how much I will be able to see with all the fog. :( We have already checked out of the hotel and now we are hanging out in the mall again.
We leave for the airport at 3:45. Our plane is supposed to leave at 7:45. Hopefully everthing is on schedule. We should arrive in Honolulu about 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning. So we are leaving Friday night, and arriving Friday morning. Quite strange!
There is not anything going on this afternoon. Some people are going to go to the Wild Life World and the Aquarium. I hope they don't get too wet on the walk over.
Sorry it is so short, but there is not much to say today. We were lucky that we were able to leave all of our luggage at the hotel for now. They have all been very nice to us. We know them by name, and they know us by the kids who always need help. But I'm sure they don't mind.
Thanks again for all of your prayers! It has definitely showed in all of our adventures. We have all had a great time together, and haven't been on eachother's nerves too much.
See you on Saturday!
We leave for the airport at 3:45. Our plane is supposed to leave at 7:45. Hopefully everthing is on schedule. We should arrive in Honolulu about 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning. So we are leaving Friday night, and arriving Friday morning. Quite strange!
There is not anything going on this afternoon. Some people are going to go to the Wild Life World and the Aquarium. I hope they don't get too wet on the walk over.
Sorry it is so short, but there is not much to say today. We were lucky that we were able to leave all of our luggage at the hotel for now. They have all been very nice to us. We know them by name, and they know us by the kids who always need help. But I'm sure they don't mind.
Thanks again for all of your prayers! It has definitely showed in all of our adventures. We have all had a great time together, and haven't been on eachother's nerves too much.
See you on Saturday!
Thursday, July 24th
July 24th
This morning we had mass at 8:30. I had a hard time getting up. I think I'm finally getting worn down. After mass, most of us went to Paddy's Market. Taylor O. and Jordan got a suitcase that they are going to put all of their extra stuff in. They bought so much they couldn't fit it all in their original bag. :) I guess that should be a good thing for you back home. Everyone finished up their shopping here. I just found out that they also have a food market in here. I bought some apples here, and they were very good.
We did not have anything planned today, so we all did our own thing. Taylor and I walked to the Art Museum of New South Wales. We were not entirely impressed with it. I guess we shouldn't have expected anything special since it was free. Barb also went and thought a little higher of it than we did.
The boys headed by Brett took a couple of buses around the city. They just wanted to see something that isn't in walking distant. They thought it was very interesting.
Everyone has been getting cranky from lack of sleep. I think the majority of us got in a good nap this afternoon. I slept for a good 2 hours. Taylor didn't get any sleep though. She was took busy feeding the birds in the Food Court. Jordan and her bought a small fries from McDonald's and fed the stray birds that are always in the Food Court.
Today was a very rainy day. Most of us had an umbrella or poncho to keep from getting too wet. I was personally more worried about my purse getting wet than anything else. Fr. Daren was very smart and told me to put it under my coat. He really is a lot smarter than he appears!
At 7:30 we all met in the lobby to go out to dinner. Fr. Daren and Barb had previously gone to St. Patrick's Tavern. They really liked it, so we all went there tonight. On the way there, it rained. We tried our best to stay under awnings, but we still arrived wet. I personally had trouble walking. The sidewalks were very slickery and my flipflops were not cooperating with me. According to Fr. Daren I let out a couple of "squeals" whenever I almost fell over. It was an interesting walk there.
Once we got there, we waited awhile for our food. The boys were very impatient. I had fettucini; some of the boys had ribs; and John had lamb. It looked very good, but I don't think I could've eaten it. One thing that's different here is the water. They serve you large glass bottles to serve yourself with. We found out that they charge you for these. The boys were not very excited to hear this, but eventually got over it. I think most of them forgot to take their happy pill this morning. :)
After dinner, the boys went their separate way. Barb, Fr. Daren, Taylor, and I walked back to the mall. We used the Internet and Fr. Daren and I are doing the blogs now.
Tomorrow is our last day in Sydney. I'm not sure if I will be able to do another blog, but for all those parents that are picking up their kids... We should arrive home on Saturday around 1 or 2. We will probably call home when we are almost there.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. We will see you soon!
This morning we had mass at 8:30. I had a hard time getting up. I think I'm finally getting worn down. After mass, most of us went to Paddy's Market. Taylor O. and Jordan got a suitcase that they are going to put all of their extra stuff in. They bought so much they couldn't fit it all in their original bag. :) I guess that should be a good thing for you back home. Everyone finished up their shopping here. I just found out that they also have a food market in here. I bought some apples here, and they were very good.
We did not have anything planned today, so we all did our own thing. Taylor and I walked to the Art Museum of New South Wales. We were not entirely impressed with it. I guess we shouldn't have expected anything special since it was free. Barb also went and thought a little higher of it than we did.
The boys headed by Brett took a couple of buses around the city. They just wanted to see something that isn't in walking distant. They thought it was very interesting.
Everyone has been getting cranky from lack of sleep. I think the majority of us got in a good nap this afternoon. I slept for a good 2 hours. Taylor didn't get any sleep though. She was took busy feeding the birds in the Food Court. Jordan and her bought a small fries from McDonald's and fed the stray birds that are always in the Food Court.
Today was a very rainy day. Most of us had an umbrella or poncho to keep from getting too wet. I was personally more worried about my purse getting wet than anything else. Fr. Daren was very smart and told me to put it under my coat. He really is a lot smarter than he appears!
At 7:30 we all met in the lobby to go out to dinner. Fr. Daren and Barb had previously gone to St. Patrick's Tavern. They really liked it, so we all went there tonight. On the way there, it rained. We tried our best to stay under awnings, but we still arrived wet. I personally had trouble walking. The sidewalks were very slickery and my flipflops were not cooperating with me. According to Fr. Daren I let out a couple of "squeals" whenever I almost fell over. It was an interesting walk there.
Once we got there, we waited awhile for our food. The boys were very impatient. I had fettucini; some of the boys had ribs; and John had lamb. It looked very good, but I don't think I could've eaten it. One thing that's different here is the water. They serve you large glass bottles to serve yourself with. We found out that they charge you for these. The boys were not very excited to hear this, but eventually got over it. I think most of them forgot to take their happy pill this morning. :)
After dinner, the boys went their separate way. Barb, Fr. Daren, Taylor, and I walked back to the mall. We used the Internet and Fr. Daren and I are doing the blogs now.
Tomorrow is our last day in Sydney. I'm not sure if I will be able to do another blog, but for all those parents that are picking up their kids... We should arrive home on Saturday around 1 or 2. We will probably call home when we are almost there.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. We will see you soon!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wednesday, July 23
Wednesday, July 23
Today was a day to recover and relax. We woke up and had a late mass at 10:00 a.m. Our only plan for the day was to go to the Church that Blessed Mary MacKillop was buried in. Other than that we just hung out or did our laundry.
Taylor and I found a coffee shop that had French Toast. We sat down and had French Toast served with ice cream! It is very good and cheap! Most of the boys did their laundry or slept in. Us girls decided that we weren't going to spend money on our laundry with only 2 days left of the trip. I hope we don't smell too bad!
We took a train to visit the church. There was already a large group of other pilgrims there whenever we arrived. We listened to them sing and sang along once we got the tune down. We got to see where Blessed Mary MacKillop's tomb is located. We also looked around in a gift shop for quite a while before heading back to the train station.
Afterwards, we all headed out for the Internet or dinner. Fr. Daren and John found an Italian place inside of the mall. Taylor and I were going to go with him before we saw that one meal was $30!! We instead settled on a Kebab place just outside of the hotel. The workers were very nice there and we now wave to them everytime we walk by.
At 9:00 we all met in Fr. Daren's room for a discussion on what the Pope talked about on Saturday night. Brett, David, and Fudge all walked in looking very sleepy. They apparently had been sleeping for a couple hours and were very tired from the day. We discussed the Holy Spirit and how He is a mystery. We got into a deep discussion on what a mystery really is. I don't even know if I can explain it. It is a mystery in itself. :)
That's about all for the night. Taylor and I are using the Internet now. Everyone else is back at the hotel resting for our day tomorrow. I know the boys have a lot planned including Paddy's Market and several other shopping malls. I think they like to shop just as much as girls do. Us girls plan on going to the Art Gallery here and the Sydney Tower. We are all going to meet one last time for dinner. It's supposedly some place nice, and not too expensive!
That's about it! Chao for now!
Today was a day to recover and relax. We woke up and had a late mass at 10:00 a.m. Our only plan for the day was to go to the Church that Blessed Mary MacKillop was buried in. Other than that we just hung out or did our laundry.
Taylor and I found a coffee shop that had French Toast. We sat down and had French Toast served with ice cream! It is very good and cheap! Most of the boys did their laundry or slept in. Us girls decided that we weren't going to spend money on our laundry with only 2 days left of the trip. I hope we don't smell too bad!
We took a train to visit the church. There was already a large group of other pilgrims there whenever we arrived. We listened to them sing and sang along once we got the tune down. We got to see where Blessed Mary MacKillop's tomb is located. We also looked around in a gift shop for quite a while before heading back to the train station.
Afterwards, we all headed out for the Internet or dinner. Fr. Daren and John found an Italian place inside of the mall. Taylor and I were going to go with him before we saw that one meal was $30!! We instead settled on a Kebab place just outside of the hotel. The workers were very nice there and we now wave to them everytime we walk by.
At 9:00 we all met in Fr. Daren's room for a discussion on what the Pope talked about on Saturday night. Brett, David, and Fudge all walked in looking very sleepy. They apparently had been sleeping for a couple hours and were very tired from the day. We discussed the Holy Spirit and how He is a mystery. We got into a deep discussion on what a mystery really is. I don't even know if I can explain it. It is a mystery in itself. :)
That's about all for the night. Taylor and I are using the Internet now. Everyone else is back at the hotel resting for our day tomorrow. I know the boys have a lot planned including Paddy's Market and several other shopping malls. I think they like to shop just as much as girls do. Us girls plan on going to the Art Gallery here and the Sydney Tower. We are all going to meet one last time for dinner. It's supposedly some place nice, and not too expensive!
That's about it! Chao for now!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Pictures
Bondi Beach
Where we stayed on Saturday and Sunday
Bondi Beach
Place in the mall where we all use the Internet
Giant Chessboard
Bondi BeachJuly 21-22
Monday, July 21st
After we checked in at our other hotel, we headed to St. Mary's Cathedral. We stopped a chess game that was played on a giant chessboard. It was very interesting. Then we roamed around. Some of us tried to go to the merchandise building, but there was a line just to get in! We were all hoping that everything would be on sale. None of us were able to get in. I walked to a nearby mall, and looked (but was afraid to touch) a $1,795 purse. I did not even know they could cost that much!
We headed back to our hotel to grab more clothing. While we waited, I found the piano and began to play. It has been too long since I've touched the keys. It felt really good. I just wish our other hotel had one too. Anyways, after this we began our walk to the Harbour Bridge. Here, you have a beautiful view of the Opera House and the skyscrapers of Sydney. It was very windy up there. We wanted to wait until dark to see the Opera House lit up, but we would have had to wait a couple hours, so we headed back. We began to walk around by the Opera House in search for food. We failed to realize that any restaurants would be extremely expensive by such a tourist attraction. We walked around looking for a while before we settled on the food court across the street from our hotel. There was a McDonald's and a Hungry Jack's, which is the same as Burger King. The boys found out that they had free refills here, and spent the night getting refills. This is the only place in the whole city that gave free refills. Even the nice sit-down restaurants don't have refills. :(
That night we had mass in Fr. Daren's room. It was not as crammed with half as many people. Fr. Daren told us what all of his "clothing" he wears for mass means. He wears an alb, which means "white," and a chasuble (spelling). After mass, the boys raced down to the pool and hot tub. Apparently, Andrew fell on his butt stepping into the hot tub. He says it still hurts now. Fr. Daren really liked it because it was good for his arthiritis. Brett, David, and Alex all were in one room together with only two beds. They asked for a roll-out bed, but never got one. They complained this morning, and they got a $100 refund on their room. They were pretty excited about this, until they found out they didn't get to keep the money! :)
Tuesday, July 22
This morning, we had mass at 9:00 in Fr. Daren's room again. Afterwards, we all had breakfast in the food court across the street. The boys had Hungry Jack's again. I got a spring roll in a small shop instead.
At 10:30 we checked out, and headed to our first hotel. They didn't have enough room for us for one night, so we had to switch. :( But back at our original hotel, we piled all of our stuff into the only room that was ready. We hung out at the mall until 1:00. Then our other rooms were ready, and we unloaded all of our stuff. Well, the girls did. The boys said we took FOREVER to get ready to go to Bondi Beach.
At 1:30, we took a couple trains and buses to Bondi Beach. It is so pretty. The waves were atleast 15 feet high. I imagined it would be a lot bigger, but it was rather small. A few of the boys (Andrew, Alex, and Greg) went swimming. I called them crazy because it was so cold out. I had my jackets piled on. But they said the water wasn't really that cold. After they finished swimming, we took a walk around the beach. We got a lot of good pictures. I don't have my camera with my now, but I will try and get some pictures on here asap. I know you will agree with me on how beautiful it is.
Now, we are all relaxing and settling into our rooms. We are going to discuss what the Pope said later tonight. Fr. Daren said we are going to reflect on what he said at the opening ceremony on Thursday. Should be exciting! :)
That's about it for now. Fr. Chris called this morning and told us we got a full refund from the rooms in Melbourne. So, this means they have arrived safely. If anyone wants pictures of anything inparticular, let me know and I will try and put some up. Otherwise, we will all see you on Saturday!
After we checked in at our other hotel, we headed to St. Mary's Cathedral. We stopped a chess game that was played on a giant chessboard. It was very interesting. Then we roamed around. Some of us tried to go to the merchandise building, but there was a line just to get in! We were all hoping that everything would be on sale. None of us were able to get in. I walked to a nearby mall, and looked (but was afraid to touch) a $1,795 purse. I did not even know they could cost that much!
We headed back to our hotel to grab more clothing. While we waited, I found the piano and began to play. It has been too long since I've touched the keys. It felt really good. I just wish our other hotel had one too. Anyways, after this we began our walk to the Harbour Bridge. Here, you have a beautiful view of the Opera House and the skyscrapers of Sydney. It was very windy up there. We wanted to wait until dark to see the Opera House lit up, but we would have had to wait a couple hours, so we headed back. We began to walk around by the Opera House in search for food. We failed to realize that any restaurants would be extremely expensive by such a tourist attraction. We walked around looking for a while before we settled on the food court across the street from our hotel. There was a McDonald's and a Hungry Jack's, which is the same as Burger King. The boys found out that they had free refills here, and spent the night getting refills. This is the only place in the whole city that gave free refills. Even the nice sit-down restaurants don't have refills. :(
That night we had mass in Fr. Daren's room. It was not as crammed with half as many people. Fr. Daren told us what all of his "clothing" he wears for mass means. He wears an alb, which means "white," and a chasuble (spelling). After mass, the boys raced down to the pool and hot tub. Apparently, Andrew fell on his butt stepping into the hot tub. He says it still hurts now. Fr. Daren really liked it because it was good for his arthiritis. Brett, David, and Alex all were in one room together with only two beds. They asked for a roll-out bed, but never got one. They complained this morning, and they got a $100 refund on their room. They were pretty excited about this, until they found out they didn't get to keep the money! :)
Tuesday, July 22
This morning, we had mass at 9:00 in Fr. Daren's room again. Afterwards, we all had breakfast in the food court across the street. The boys had Hungry Jack's again. I got a spring roll in a small shop instead.
At 10:30 we checked out, and headed to our first hotel. They didn't have enough room for us for one night, so we had to switch. :( But back at our original hotel, we piled all of our stuff into the only room that was ready. We hung out at the mall until 1:00. Then our other rooms were ready, and we unloaded all of our stuff. Well, the girls did. The boys said we took FOREVER to get ready to go to Bondi Beach.
At 1:30, we took a couple trains and buses to Bondi Beach. It is so pretty. The waves were atleast 15 feet high. I imagined it would be a lot bigger, but it was rather small. A few of the boys (Andrew, Alex, and Greg) went swimming. I called them crazy because it was so cold out. I had my jackets piled on. But they said the water wasn't really that cold. After they finished swimming, we took a walk around the beach. We got a lot of good pictures. I don't have my camera with my now, but I will try and get some pictures on here asap. I know you will agree with me on how beautiful it is.
Now, we are all relaxing and settling into our rooms. We are going to discuss what the Pope said later tonight. Fr. Daren said we are going to reflect on what he said at the opening ceremony on Thursday. Should be exciting! :)
That's about it for now. Fr. Chris called this morning and told us we got a full refund from the rooms in Melbourne. So, this means they have arrived safely. If anyone wants pictures of anything inparticular, let me know and I will try and put some up. Otherwise, we will all see you on Saturday!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Monday, July 21st
Monday, July 21st
It's only 12:00 pm here, so this isn't the whole day's recap. But this morning, half of the group left for Melbourne. (Everyone from St. Mary's and Taylor Worman.) The rest of us (everyone from St. Anthony) stayed in Sydney. We have found places to stay at and are going to finish out "site-seeing" here. We have realized there is so much that we have not seen yet... Including... Bondi Beach... Sydney Tower... Wild Life... And other small places for shopping
Right now we have checked out of our hotel and are in the mall across the street. We can't check into our other hotel until 2:00, so we are going to relax here for a while. We are only staying at our new hotel for 1 day, and then returning to our old one for the remainder of the trip. They were kind enough to let us keep all of our luggage at the hotel, so we did not have to lug it around the city. :)
Today, I asked the concierge, James (he's been really nice to us since we arrived) about tickets for the Opera House. My Fair Lady is playing Thursday night, and I would really like to see it. Because I'm 16 or under, I get my ticket for $45. What a deal? So Barb and I and whoever else wants to come along, will probably go to that Thursday night.
We don't have anything else planned for the rest of the day. I would like to go back to Patty's Market to finish my shopping. But the boys don't want to go for fear of spending more money! Some have spent quite a lot there! It really is a neat place. I wish we had something like that in our area. But Wal-Mart will do for now! :) Also, the merchendise (spelling) place for World Youth Day is in the area. I'm hoping that everything is going to be cheaper now that it is officially over. :(
Tomorrow, we plan on going to Bondi Beach. For those who don't know, Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. I'm glad we're going to be able to see that. We're going to walk along it, because it will be much too cold to swim. But I hear is it beautiful. Brett wants to go to Manly Beach also. He asked a local, and they said we should catch a ferry and see that while we're here. It should be lots of fun.
Well, that's all for now! I'm sorry I don't know what the other group in Melbourne is doing now. But I'm sure they're still driving. It is a 12 hour drive there. It's also supposed to be colder (since it is South). I hope they enjoy it as much as we are enjoying Sydney!
That's all for now!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Saturday and Sunday, July 19-20th
Here's you group picture that was requested...
Top row... left to right. Jordan Bales, John Kay, David Orr, Alex (Fudge) Lustig, Andrew Grunloh
Taylor Worman, Cody Sandschafer, and Greg Schmidt
Bottom row... left to right. Allie Kabbes, Taylor Oltman, Allie English, Kaitlyn Parsons, Melissa
Tingley, Devon Powell, Karmon Kuhn, Ashley Sudkamp, Alex Worthington, Andy Guinnip
This is at the Honolulu airport...
And I also want to clarify from my last blog that we were not stealing the food. We have already prepaid for our food. We have tickets that David gave to them. He just does it more effeciently than the rest of us do. My bad on that one!
Saturday, July 19th
I'm actually writing this on Sunday, because we were gone all day yesterday. But yesterday began very early. We left the hotel at 7:30 a.m. We all attended the very first U.S.A. mass. I liked all of the music they played; so you may be hearing some new music in Church soon! Fr. Daren got the priveldge of con-celebrating (again) with the other priests and bishops from around the United States.
Afterwards we began our hike to the racecourse. I say hike because there are several GIANORMOUS hills in Sydney. Also, everyone had big backpacks and sleeping bags with them. It was amazing to see everyone come together to make the 6 mile trek to Randwick's Racecourse. I even saw some people that I met from St. Louis. It was nice to see a familiar face in the huge crowd!
Once we made it to the racecourse, we set up camp. Our seats were not near as good as they were on Thursday. I couldn't even tell who was who on the stage. But you should've seen how big this place was. If you can imagine having to fit 500,000 people with sleeping bags into one small area. Yeah, that big! It just went on forever and ever. I couldn't see the beginning or the end of the people. The only thing I don't like is it is not very handicapped acessible. It is very difficult to carry Judy up and down stairs, but the strong boys are such a great help.
We settled into our spot, H2. We were given a sack of food for the weekend. It was very similar to all the leftovers from the previous days. :) But food is food. Most people ate once we got settled. I, along with several others, took a nap. I was very tired from the early morning and the long hike to the racecourse. Around 7:00, the Pope arrived and we had a prayer service. The security wasn't near as bad last night as it was on Thursday. In a way the prayer service reminded me of the Easter Vigil. We all had candles and the whole place slowly became lit up with small lights. It was very neat because before it was very dark. By the way, in Sydney it gets dark around 5:30 or 6:00. We must remember it is winter here.
Around 10:00 many people began to head to bed. The only problem with this was it was extremely cold. We all piled on layers and layers of clothes. I thought my feet were frozen. I had trouble walking because they were so numb. But the cold wasn't the only reason people had trouble sleeping. Large groups of people decided it would be "funny" to cheer and yell until 3 in the morning!! And this morning, random people would go around and say "good morning" to you (even in you were sleeping) and would keep saying it until you replied!! How annoying??
Sunday, July 20th
Fr. Chris and Fr. Daren both concelebrated this morning with the Pope. The rest of us packed up and moved to a place further away from the stage, but in a better view of the TV screen. Some of the people decided to leave and beat the crowd at Communion. But I, along with most of the people from St. Anthony stayed until the final blessing. We all had a lot of "stuff" to get blessed. I know David and Brett got a ton of rosaries and was eager to get them blessed.
It didn't take us too long to get out of the crowd. We made our 6 mile trek back to the hotel. There was a crowd, but it was moving along nicely. It only took us about an hour to get back. Well, we did stop at Patty's Market for the boys to get some more soccer jersey's. They are obsessed with these things. But I must say, they look very nice.
A lot of people have been emailing back home. 2 days without a computer and they all go insane! Haha. I'm just kidding, but there were a lot of them here. At 6:30 we are all meeting to go out to eat for a nice dinner. I am really looking forward to this. We haven't have a nice meal in quite some time. I hope it's good!
Thanks for all of your comments... Lynn Lustig found out that some of us were on TV. "If you want to catch the replay of Taylor and Brett on EWTN, you can view the Papal Arrival Ceremony at the following website: http://www.ewtn.com/wyd2008/watch.htm. Click on video under ‘Arrival and Welcome of the Holy Father’ (at the bottom). You’ll see Taylor and Brett 2 hours and 4 minutes into it. It actually shows another close-up of Taylor immediately after that.
and....looks like Taylor O at 1 hour 52 minutes into it. " Thanks so much Lynn!!
Looks like we've been quite popular here in Australia, and in Honolulu as well. (Read Fr. Daren's post to learn about that.)
That's all for now! Thanks for reading!
Friday, July 18, 2008
In the news
The Crescat informed me that we've made the news again, this time in Honolulu:
HONOLULU (CNS) -- Hundreds of pilgrims from the U.S. mainland stopped in Hawaii on their way to World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, and whether they stayed one day or several, they made the most of their island visit. Twenty-five people from the Diocese of Springfield, Ill., led by Father Daren Zehnle, were the first. They were in Hawaii July 3-7 and stopped by the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu for Mass July 6. Afterward, wearing shell leis given to visiting Massgoers, they took photos by the statue of Our Lady of Peace before heading to Waikiki to hike Diamond Head, a volcanic crater that is one of Hawaii's most famous natural landmarks.
Friday, July 18th
Hey people of Illinois! (and others)
Sydney, Australia has been such a hit with us! I absolutely love it!
This morning, Taylor and I woke up early to go to Patty's Market. This is very similar to the flea market we went to in Hawaii. Only this place was not as junky, and a little bit more expensive. We found a lot of cool stuff here, and I'm almost done buying all of my souvenirs! I know David went back again today to find more stuff. He seems to enjoy the shopping almost as much as the girls! :) I really liked all of the cool purses and clothing they had. I even found a pair of jeans here. I tried them on in a dressing room covered by some sort of curtain. But it did the job! We also saw Melissa, Devynn, Julia, and Barb here. I know Melissa found something very cute for her boyfriend. Well, I don't know about cute, but very cool for a guy! Oh, and I forgot to mention that Taylor and I had a little trouble finding the place. It was inside of a brick building that was four stories high. I was looking for something that was outside, like in Hawaii, but I was wrong. We stopped and asked some locals where it was. But we eventually found it! This place was so big. We spent 2 hours on the first floor before we had to leave. I plan of viewing the other 3 levels sometime soon.
At 11:30 we met in Fr. Chris' room for Mass. We discussed what we'd be doing regarding Stations of the Cross today. We had to choice of staying at Darling Harbour or walking back to Barangaroo (spelling is way wrong!). Only a few wanted to make the trec back, so we all stayed at Darling Harbour which is right next to our hotel. How convenient? The Stations of the Cross were to be acted out by real people all over the city. They began at St. Mary's Cathedral with the Pope. They slowly made their way over to Harbourside where the 7th station was portrayed. We watched all of the other stations on a big screen TV. I got Barb's opinion on what she thought of the Stations. She thought it was more effective on her whenever she was in her room watching it on TV. There were many distractions with people milling around and talking. But she thought the re-enactment was done very well, but not too gory. I think we all appreciated that. One thing that was interesting, was that when "Jesus" was scouraged, he was first scouraged right side up, and then hung upside down and scouraged again. I had never seen it portrayed like that.
After stations, we all met for a night prayer meeting at 8:15. We discussed everything about camping out tomorrow night. We will have a long day and probably will not get much sleep Saturday night. Well, I don't plan on sleeping! So we have all got packed up and ready for the campout. Taylor, Greg, and Jordan went and got food for tomorrow. They left me here at the mall to finish the blog. But, hopefully they pick out some good food! I know Fr. Daren suggested cheese and bread. He claims the cheese will not spoil. I sure hope he is right!
Well, that is all for now. I need to get a good nights sleep if I'm going to be up for the next 48 hours! Thanks for all your prayers and comments! They have definitely been helping!
I want to say a special thanks to Karmen's Oma for her letter! It was so nice to see something handwritten. You are in my prayers!
Aloha!
Sydney, Australia has been such a hit with us! I absolutely love it!
This morning, Taylor and I woke up early to go to Patty's Market. This is very similar to the flea market we went to in Hawaii. Only this place was not as junky, and a little bit more expensive. We found a lot of cool stuff here, and I'm almost done buying all of my souvenirs! I know David went back again today to find more stuff. He seems to enjoy the shopping almost as much as the girls! :) I really liked all of the cool purses and clothing they had. I even found a pair of jeans here. I tried them on in a dressing room covered by some sort of curtain. But it did the job! We also saw Melissa, Devynn, Julia, and Barb here. I know Melissa found something very cute for her boyfriend. Well, I don't know about cute, but very cool for a guy! Oh, and I forgot to mention that Taylor and I had a little trouble finding the place. It was inside of a brick building that was four stories high. I was looking for something that was outside, like in Hawaii, but I was wrong. We stopped and asked some locals where it was. But we eventually found it! This place was so big. We spent 2 hours on the first floor before we had to leave. I plan of viewing the other 3 levels sometime soon.
At 11:30 we met in Fr. Chris' room for Mass. We discussed what we'd be doing regarding Stations of the Cross today. We had to choice of staying at Darling Harbour or walking back to Barangaroo (spelling is way wrong!). Only a few wanted to make the trec back, so we all stayed at Darling Harbour which is right next to our hotel. How convenient? The Stations of the Cross were to be acted out by real people all over the city. They began at St. Mary's Cathedral with the Pope. They slowly made their way over to Harbourside where the 7th station was portrayed. We watched all of the other stations on a big screen TV. I got Barb's opinion on what she thought of the Stations. She thought it was more effective on her whenever she was in her room watching it on TV. There were many distractions with people milling around and talking. But she thought the re-enactment was done very well, but not too gory. I think we all appreciated that. One thing that was interesting, was that when "Jesus" was scouraged, he was first scouraged right side up, and then hung upside down and scouraged again. I had never seen it portrayed like that.
After stations, we all met for a night prayer meeting at 8:15. We discussed everything about camping out tomorrow night. We will have a long day and probably will not get much sleep Saturday night. Well, I don't plan on sleeping! So we have all got packed up and ready for the campout. Taylor, Greg, and Jordan went and got food for tomorrow. They left me here at the mall to finish the blog. But, hopefully they pick out some good food! I know Fr. Daren suggested cheese and bread. He claims the cheese will not spoil. I sure hope he is right!
Well, that is all for now. I need to get a good nights sleep if I'm going to be up for the next 48 hours! Thanks for all your prayers and comments! They have definitely been helping!
I want to say a special thanks to Karmen's Oma for her letter! It was so nice to see something handwritten. You are in my prayers!
Aloha!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday, July 17th
There is so much to say about today, I don't even know where to begin. But first off, I want to say thanks to Craig B., my dad, and Myra. I enjoyed reading your comments. :)
The boys began their day heading off to Patty's Market. They did a lot of shopping for their friends and family at home. I know David got a good deal on some soccer jersey's. And Brett found some boomerangs. The way they talked about it made Taylor and I decide we must go see it for ourself tomorrow!
My day began with the sound of a loud phone in my ear. Fr. Chris called at 9:00 am this morning to tell us when to meet. Taylor and I were both sound asleep when he called. We eventually got up and going and headed to our "meeting spot."
At 11:30, the whole group met in the lobby to begin our journey to see the Pope. It is only about a 30 minute walk to where our places were today. On Tuesday, we were so far away we couldn't even see the TV screen. Today was completely the opposite! We got like front row seats. Well, pretty close anyway. I could atleast see the Pope. Oh, sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Once we got to our assigned places, Peggy, Taylor, Melissa, and I went off in search of food. After much questioning, we realized we would have to go all the way back to the vendor near our hotel to receive our food. This would be a long walk through lots of crowds. We made it half way before we stopped and asked some questions. A volunteer worker thankfully told us the whole town would be on lockdown in less than a half an hour. This means, we would have a very difficult time getting back into our place once we left. So, we decided that we would go without food for lunch.
Once we got back, David decided that he was hungry and would find his own food. There were food stations set up at Bangaroo (the location where we were staying), but we were told they were setting up for dinner, and we would not be able to get food for lunch here. David marched up to this place and just took a couple bags of food. Apparently no one said anything to him, because he came back with 4 bags full of food. We all chowed down on bread and chocolate/brownie bars. David has come in handy many times this trip!
In the meantime, some lady came up to Fr. Chris and complained about our flag!! What the croc?? Anyway, she was very upset and saying it was Un-Christian. So Fr. Chris told her we were the Cumberland Pirates and it was our school mascot. She didn't seem very satisfied by his answer, but she left anyway. I thought it was kinda funny!! I think she's just jealous!
After we all ate, we waited patiently for the arrival of His Holiness, the Pope! The closer it got to the time, the more we got pushed. Soon we were all getting closer and closer to the Pope. I would have to describe it as going to a baseball game and trying to get an autograph. There are people breathing down your back and pushing and shoving their way to the front. I got lucky that I was surrounded by a group of Asians, so I was one of the taller ones (surprise; I know!) and could see over some of them. We watched on the TV screen as the Pope boarded the boat and made his way through the Harbor. When he finally arrived, the crowd went wild! There were girls screaming (similar to girls screaming at their favorite band member) and boys yelling chants over and over. In a way, it reminded me of the Dawg Pound at school. But much, much bigger!
We "saw" a lot of singing and dancing from the locals. And a group of Aboriginie's perform for the Pope. That was very interesting. I couldn't quite tell what the Pope thought of it, but it was definitely nothing I had ever seen before. For those who don't know, the Aboriginie's are like our Native Americans.
After all the ceremonial things (the boring stuff), the Pope finally got to talk. He had a half an hour "speech" for us. I didn't understand his English very well. But then again, I had people who didn't speak any English behind me that were talking a lot!! So I don't know if I didn't hear it, or I just didn't understand it. But Fr. Daren said it was very good.
After this, we all left. That was the tricky part. There were so many people that were wanting to leave too. We made a little train and held on to eachother's backpacks and we slowly made our way through the crowd. We got turned around many a times, and on one occasion, we lost some people. Andrew, John Kay, Brett, and Barb failed to hold on tight enough and got separated. Fortunately, they found their own way back to the hotel. On the other end, a bunch of the St. Anthony boys, Fr. Daren, Taylor, and I decided we needed some food. So we stopped and ate dinner. Once again, David just went up to the people, put our tickets in a bucket and grabbed some food. I don't know how he does it! But I'm glad he does!
We all took the long way back, but got back nonetheless. We met at 7:30 for a Spanglish mass in Fr. Chris' room. Now we are all on our own. Most people are on the computers in the mall emailing back home. Hopefully, everyone has been hearing from us somehow or another.
Thanks for reading! And thanks for the comments! I enjoy reading them!
The boys began their day heading off to Patty's Market. They did a lot of shopping for their friends and family at home. I know David got a good deal on some soccer jersey's. And Brett found some boomerangs. The way they talked about it made Taylor and I decide we must go see it for ourself tomorrow!
My day began with the sound of a loud phone in my ear. Fr. Chris called at 9:00 am this morning to tell us when to meet. Taylor and I were both sound asleep when he called. We eventually got up and going and headed to our "meeting spot."
At 11:30, the whole group met in the lobby to begin our journey to see the Pope. It is only about a 30 minute walk to where our places were today. On Tuesday, we were so far away we couldn't even see the TV screen. Today was completely the opposite! We got like front row seats. Well, pretty close anyway. I could atleast see the Pope. Oh, sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Once we got to our assigned places, Peggy, Taylor, Melissa, and I went off in search of food. After much questioning, we realized we would have to go all the way back to the vendor near our hotel to receive our food. This would be a long walk through lots of crowds. We made it half way before we stopped and asked some questions. A volunteer worker thankfully told us the whole town would be on lockdown in less than a half an hour. This means, we would have a very difficult time getting back into our place once we left. So, we decided that we would go without food for lunch.
Once we got back, David decided that he was hungry and would find his own food. There were food stations set up at Bangaroo (the location where we were staying), but we were told they were setting up for dinner, and we would not be able to get food for lunch here. David marched up to this place and just took a couple bags of food. Apparently no one said anything to him, because he came back with 4 bags full of food. We all chowed down on bread and chocolate/brownie bars. David has come in handy many times this trip!
In the meantime, some lady came up to Fr. Chris and complained about our flag!! What the croc?? Anyway, she was very upset and saying it was Un-Christian. So Fr. Chris told her we were the Cumberland Pirates and it was our school mascot. She didn't seem very satisfied by his answer, but she left anyway. I thought it was kinda funny!! I think she's just jealous!
After we all ate, we waited patiently for the arrival of His Holiness, the Pope! The closer it got to the time, the more we got pushed. Soon we were all getting closer and closer to the Pope. I would have to describe it as going to a baseball game and trying to get an autograph. There are people breathing down your back and pushing and shoving their way to the front. I got lucky that I was surrounded by a group of Asians, so I was one of the taller ones (surprise; I know!) and could see over some of them. We watched on the TV screen as the Pope boarded the boat and made his way through the Harbor. When he finally arrived, the crowd went wild! There were girls screaming (similar to girls screaming at their favorite band member) and boys yelling chants over and over. In a way, it reminded me of the Dawg Pound at school. But much, much bigger!
We "saw" a lot of singing and dancing from the locals. And a group of Aboriginie's perform for the Pope. That was very interesting. I couldn't quite tell what the Pope thought of it, but it was definitely nothing I had ever seen before. For those who don't know, the Aboriginie's are like our Native Americans.
After all the ceremonial things (the boring stuff), the Pope finally got to talk. He had a half an hour "speech" for us. I didn't understand his English very well. But then again, I had people who didn't speak any English behind me that were talking a lot!! So I don't know if I didn't hear it, or I just didn't understand it. But Fr. Daren said it was very good.
After this, we all left. That was the tricky part. There were so many people that were wanting to leave too. We made a little train and held on to eachother's backpacks and we slowly made our way through the crowd. We got turned around many a times, and on one occasion, we lost some people. Andrew, John Kay, Brett, and Barb failed to hold on tight enough and got separated. Fortunately, they found their own way back to the hotel. On the other end, a bunch of the St. Anthony boys, Fr. Daren, Taylor, and I decided we needed some food. So we stopped and ate dinner. Once again, David just went up to the people, put our tickets in a bucket and grabbed some food. I don't know how he does it! But I'm glad he does!
We all took the long way back, but got back nonetheless. We met at 7:30 for a Spanglish mass in Fr. Chris' room. Now we are all on our own. Most people are on the computers in the mall emailing back home. Hopefully, everyone has been hearing from us somehow or another.
Thanks for reading! And thanks for the comments! I enjoy reading them!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Wednesday, July 16th
Hey again!! Everything is going very well here. We still have everyone accounted for. And no one is in the hospital. So I hope that is comforting to you!
On Wednesday, we all got up on our own, and hung out until about 11:30. Taylor and I went shopping for breakfast food. Several others went to the computers or just slept in. At 11:30 we had mass in Fr. Chris' room. His homily was about how we need to follow God's plan for us. And if we are running into walls, we need to find a different way out. We have done a lot of that here, so the homily hit the spot for most of us.
After mass, we went our own ways. Jordan, Taylor, and I went around downtown in search for a camera store. Jordan unfortunately lost his, so we helped him find a new one! It is very nice!
At 3:00, a large group went to see Batman at the Imax. I did not go, because I am not one to see action movies like that. And it was $20. I thought the movies in Effingham were expensive!! Those that went said it was awesome and said that we really missed out. But meanwhile, I was busy going around the town looking for new places to shop at. Taylor and I stopped at a small church that was nearby. It looked really old, but was very pretty in a simple way.
Once 6:00 rolled around, we all met on the bridge outside our hotel. From here, we decided to go the Praise and Worship down below. It was a bunch of different bands playing Christian music. My favorite was the Italian group that played heavy metal. Taylor and I were having a blast dancing with our new friends from St. Louis. Everyone else seemed to leave after they got their food. What fun is that?? Taylor and I wanted to meet so many people. And we met people from South Dakota, Missouri, Australia, Lebanon, Italy, and more!! It's amazing how we can all come together to Sydney. We walked around for hours, and didn't see anyone twice. It's overwhelming! There are so many people here. The different groups fill the streets with songs from their country. And the Aussie's run around shouting their "Aussie Aussie Aussie" chant. I love it! But when we met the St. Louis people, it was really nice to talk to them about the Cardinals. I haven't met many people who know who they are. And a lot of people from the states don't even know who Dee Brown is. We have to try and describe where we live and we tell them by the University of Illinois, where Dee Brown played for. And they don't know who he is!! Isn't that wild?? But I guess not everyone watches college basketball. :(
Anyway, after the music, everyone started leaving. So Taylor and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. It was much needed after a day spent walking everywhere!
On Thursday, the Pope is going to be coming. There are going to be more people than ever! I can't wait!
Chao for now!
On Wednesday, we all got up on our own, and hung out until about 11:30. Taylor and I went shopping for breakfast food. Several others went to the computers or just slept in. At 11:30 we had mass in Fr. Chris' room. His homily was about how we need to follow God's plan for us. And if we are running into walls, we need to find a different way out. We have done a lot of that here, so the homily hit the spot for most of us.
After mass, we went our own ways. Jordan, Taylor, and I went around downtown in search for a camera store. Jordan unfortunately lost his, so we helped him find a new one! It is very nice!
At 3:00, a large group went to see Batman at the Imax. I did not go, because I am not one to see action movies like that. And it was $20. I thought the movies in Effingham were expensive!! Those that went said it was awesome and said that we really missed out. But meanwhile, I was busy going around the town looking for new places to shop at. Taylor and I stopped at a small church that was nearby. It looked really old, but was very pretty in a simple way.
Once 6:00 rolled around, we all met on the bridge outside our hotel. From here, we decided to go the Praise and Worship down below. It was a bunch of different bands playing Christian music. My favorite was the Italian group that played heavy metal. Taylor and I were having a blast dancing with our new friends from St. Louis. Everyone else seemed to leave after they got their food. What fun is that?? Taylor and I wanted to meet so many people. And we met people from South Dakota, Missouri, Australia, Lebanon, Italy, and more!! It's amazing how we can all come together to Sydney. We walked around for hours, and didn't see anyone twice. It's overwhelming! There are so many people here. The different groups fill the streets with songs from their country. And the Aussie's run around shouting their "Aussie Aussie Aussie" chant. I love it! But when we met the St. Louis people, it was really nice to talk to them about the Cardinals. I haven't met many people who know who they are. And a lot of people from the states don't even know who Dee Brown is. We have to try and describe where we live and we tell them by the University of Illinois, where Dee Brown played for. And they don't know who he is!! Isn't that wild?? But I guess not everyone watches college basketball. :(
Anyway, after the music, everyone started leaving. So Taylor and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. It was much needed after a day spent walking everywhere!
On Thursday, the Pope is going to be coming. There are going to be more people than ever! I can't wait!
Chao for now!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tuesday, July 15
This is a picture of our flag. Everyone group has a flag so they know where to find each other. Most people have flags from their country. We chose a skull and crossbones because we knew no one else would have it. And we were right!
WOW!! Honestly, I don't know any other word to describe today. The day began as usual. About 15 people in the group went to the tour of the Opera House. Peggy really enjoyed the architecture, and would really like to go see a show. Taylor and Barb agreed with her. They said the architecture was one of the best things about it. Julia said it seated 2000 people and was "very interesting" to see how it was acoustically set up. It seems like everyone that went really enjoyed it!
The rest of us hung out around the hotel. Jordan and I went to Coles, a nearby supermarket, to buy some food and drinks. We both along with Brett got to call home. Peggy was kind enough to let us use her phone card.
After this, we headed toward the Sydney Harbour, where the 4:30 mass would be celebrated. We got there around 12:00. We got our food, which was meet pies, an orange, and some kind of jam bar. The food is supposed to be from second, third, and fourth world countries. I didn't think it tasted very good.
We eventually met up with the rest of the group, and sat by them. Once settled, Taylor and I walked around looking for new people to meet. We talked to people from Australia, South Dakota, Italy, and all over. It turned out, the people we met from South Dakota we seated right by our group. We ended up playing hacky sack with them. Various people joined and left as we slowly got to know each other. It will be difficult to say goodbye.
Meanwhile, the boys were meeting people of their own. One guy, in particular, stopped and talked for quite a while. He was one interesting man. He had to sneak out of his country to attend World Youth Day. It he had been caught, he would have been seriously punished or killed. He also said that the price of one meal from McDonald's would feed his family for 90 days. It is so sad to see how other people have to live. On the up note, in our fee to go to World Youth Day, we paid for someone who could no afford it to go. That made me feel a little bit better.
Mass began at 4:30. I couldn't see a thing, but I could hear very well. Father Daren had the privelge to con-celebrate mass with a ton of other priests. The rest of us were far away in the crowd. The mass took a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes. They had readings re-read in different languages, and I thought the homily was never-ending. But the fact that we were there with 100,000 other people that shared our faith was overwhelming.
After mass, the boys went to get our food, and the rest of us headed back to the hotel. We ate our "vegetable soup" once we got back. I wouldn't really call it that, but it is good for us to share in the sufferings of other people.
Everyone is very tired after the long day. I'm sure I will sleep very well tonight.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Monday July 14th
I have lots of time to ponder what I would write for today because of the train ride. I decided to also let you know of my thoughts on Australia!
- Everything is mucho expensive! A dollar "McChicken" at McDonald's cost $4!! But I do have to remind myself that minimum wage is $21!!!
- Some people here have very strong accents. Sometimes I can't even understand them!
- You can bargain for stuff in the mall. I've realized Taylor is very good at it!
- People can tell that we're from America. Except for yesterday, I had a scarf around my head and some thought I was from Russia!! How funny??
- Everyone is very polite and friendly!
- Soda doesn't taste the same. A sprite in America tastes different than a Sprite here. And they don't even know what root beer is. And after much searching, Fr. Daren found a Dr. Pepper in a British Shop in the mall.
- They have NO RANCH DRESSING!!
- They have an Aldi's and an IGA!
- They put beets on everything!! GROSS!
- David likes to talk like he's from Australia!! It's very funny!
- People wear leggings for pants.
- Oh, and people aren't used to tall guys! Cause this lady had to take a picture of Fudge because he is sooo tall!
OK- now for Monday, July 14th!
20 of us left for the Blue Mountains this morning at 7:30. We took 2 trains there. Once we arrived, we ate lunch. Taylor and I just got a loaf of bread, but it was very filling and delicious! We were in the town of Katoomba. It was a small town with lots of big hills!! We walked about a mile to get to the mountains. Once we got there, we hiked up and down 900 plus steps. My knees were shaking by the end of it all. The view was so pretty, it was worth it. One the way back up the mountain, we rode a type of train/roller coaster. It was 52 degree angle!! Very steep!! For the way back into town, almost everyone took the trolley back. Fr. Chris, Taylor, and I enjoyed the "hike" back. We stopped at a small cafe for midday meal. I had pancakes with strawberries; Fr. Chris got Eggs Benedict; and Taylor had some kind of bacon/pineapple sandwich. Most of the boys went to Domino's for a $5.95 pizza. They like the original food where they can't go wrong. They definitely don't like to try new things. Either that or they want as much food for as little money!! Fr. Daren spent most of his time in a bookstore. It was extremely hard to get him out of there!! :) We eventually caught the train back to Sydney. At 7:00 we went to Fr. Daren's room for mass. Then we discussed EVERYTHING! Well, just about. Food and WYD stuff. We all split up afterwards. A lot of us went to the mall to email/blog back home.
SPECIAL FEATURE!!
Everyone's favorite part of the trip so far...
- John Kay- going to Hawaii and the beach
- Peggy English- snorkeling; but she kept getting scared taht the fish were going to touch her!!
- Allie English and Kaitlyn Parsons- they both enjoy hanging out with everyone at night. Oh, and by the way... we have two "Allison Marie's" on the trip..
- Brett Seagle- Going to the Great Barrier Reef; jumping off of the cliffs with the boys (he's just a big boy himself!)
- Andrew Grunloh- snorkeling
- Taylor Worman- cliff jumping and the Great Barrier Reef.
Well, that's all for now!!
Make sure to comment!!
July 13
Sunday, July 13th
I fell asleep early last night, so I did not get the chance to blog. But I wrote it all down... So here's what happened on Sunday!
We began the day as all good Catholics begin Sundays. By going to Mass. We walked down to the Cathedral of St. Mary's. It wasn't as packed as I had expected, but it still wasn't especially easy to find seats for 25. But we managed. I couldn't see the Bishop at all from my seat, but I did have a view of the TV screen. Unfortunately for me, I was in a pew that had no kneelers. My knees were killing by the end of the mass.
In mass, there were a group of young people (obviously here for WYD) that were sitting by me. I shook there hands at mass, and they did not speak English. I think they were German, but I could be wrong. After mass, they waved goodbye to me! I looks like making friends here could be easy.
After mass, we walked and walked and walked! We first walked by the Library and some monument for a meeting spot. Then we headed toward the Opera House. We all got a view of the outside and the main lobby for free. Those who wanted to see more are paying $33 for an hour tour tomorrow morning.
After the Opera House, we took a ferry boat to the zoo. To me, a zoo is a zoo. If you've seen one, then you've seen them all. The only exceptions were the kangaroos and the koalas.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped and watch an Aboriginie play on his digeriedoo's. These are long wooden musical instruments. They actually sound really cool with music playing behind it. :)
It was a long way back to the hotel, so me and the boys I was (were??) with stopped and ate at Subway. Originial, I know! But they have a deal there. A football long meatball sub was on $5.95. David was very upset that they didn't have banana peppers. And all of the boys have continued to be mad that no one here has free refills!
We all met in Fr. Chris' room at 6:30 pm for a prayer meeting. These rooms are a lot bigger, so fitting 25 people in them was not quite as much of a task as in Cairns. We discussed what we'd be doing the next day. 20 of us decided to go to the Blue Mountains in Katoomba. Everyone else decided to stay back to go to the aquarium or the Botanical Garden or whatever they find. I chose the Blue Mountains because it was $16.80 round trip on a train for a 2 hour ride each way.
Oh, and as I was writing this all down, I realized that you may not all want to know what I have been doing. So I decided to interview some people about what they did last night.
Andy went to the Imax to buy movie tickets to see Batman. They are $18 each for a 2 1/2 hour movie. I don't believe the movie comes out in American for another couple days! I'll put the ending on the blog!! Haha. Just kidding!
Brett went to the mall with Fr. Daren to use the Internet. He likes to email back and forth with his wife and daughter! He is a very dedicated dad!
That's about it for Sunday...
Thanks for reading! And don't be afraid to comment!
I fell asleep early last night, so I did not get the chance to blog. But I wrote it all down... So here's what happened on Sunday!
We began the day as all good Catholics begin Sundays. By going to Mass. We walked down to the Cathedral of St. Mary's. It wasn't as packed as I had expected, but it still wasn't especially easy to find seats for 25. But we managed. I couldn't see the Bishop at all from my seat, but I did have a view of the TV screen. Unfortunately for me, I was in a pew that had no kneelers. My knees were killing by the end of the mass.
In mass, there were a group of young people (obviously here for WYD) that were sitting by me. I shook there hands at mass, and they did not speak English. I think they were German, but I could be wrong. After mass, they waved goodbye to me! I looks like making friends here could be easy.
After mass, we walked and walked and walked! We first walked by the Library and some monument for a meeting spot. Then we headed toward the Opera House. We all got a view of the outside and the main lobby for free. Those who wanted to see more are paying $33 for an hour tour tomorrow morning.
After the Opera House, we took a ferry boat to the zoo. To me, a zoo is a zoo. If you've seen one, then you've seen them all. The only exceptions were the kangaroos and the koalas.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped and watch an Aboriginie play on his digeriedoo's. These are long wooden musical instruments. They actually sound really cool with music playing behind it. :)
It was a long way back to the hotel, so me and the boys I was (were??) with stopped and ate at Subway. Originial, I know! But they have a deal there. A football long meatball sub was on $5.95. David was very upset that they didn't have banana peppers. And all of the boys have continued to be mad that no one here has free refills!
We all met in Fr. Chris' room at 6:30 pm for a prayer meeting. These rooms are a lot bigger, so fitting 25 people in them was not quite as much of a task as in Cairns. We discussed what we'd be doing the next day. 20 of us decided to go to the Blue Mountains in Katoomba. Everyone else decided to stay back to go to the aquarium or the Botanical Garden or whatever they find. I chose the Blue Mountains because it was $16.80 round trip on a train for a 2 hour ride each way.
Oh, and as I was writing this all down, I realized that you may not all want to know what I have been doing. So I decided to interview some people about what they did last night.
Andy went to the Imax to buy movie tickets to see Batman. They are $18 each for a 2 1/2 hour movie. I don't believe the movie comes out in American for another couple days! I'll put the ending on the blog!! Haha. Just kidding!
Brett went to the mall with Fr. Daren to use the Internet. He likes to email back and forth with his wife and daughter! He is a very dedicated dad!
That's about it for Sunday...
Thanks for reading! And don't be afraid to comment!
Message from the Holy Father
Pope's Message to Australia and Youth Pilgrims
"If You Wish to Remain Young, Seek Christ"
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the message Benedict XVI wrote ahead of his trip to Australia to the people of the nation and the young pilgrims who will take part in World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney from July 15 to 20. The note was released today in Australia.
* * *
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8)
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In a few days from now, I shall begin my Apostolic Visit to your country, in order to celebrate the Twenty-Third World Youth Day in Sydney. I very much look forward to the days that I shall spend with you, and especially to the opportunities for prayer and reflection with young people from all over the world.
First of all, I want to express my appreciation to all those who have offered so much of their time, their resources and their prayers in support of this celebration. The Australian Government and the Provincial Government of New South Wales, the organizers of all the events, and members of the business community who have provided sponsorship – all of you have willingly supported this event, and on behalf of the young people taking part in the World Youth Day, I thank you most sincerely. Many of the young people have made great sacrifices in order to undertake the journey to Australia, and I pray that they will be rewarded abundantly. The parishes, schools and host families have been most generous in welcoming these young visitors, and they too deserve our thanks and our appreciation.
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8). This is the theme of the Twenty-Third World Youth Day. How much our world needs a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit! There are still many who have not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not recognized in this Good News the saving truth that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts. The Psalmist prays: "when you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). It is my firm belief that young people are called to be instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing with others the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that they too will be filled with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good things they have received from our heavenly Father.
Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by the questions that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty and injustice and they long to find solutions. They are challenged by the arguments of those who deny the existence of God and they wonder how to respond. They see great damage done to the natural environment through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live in greater harmony with nature and with one another.
Where can we look for answers? The Spirit points us towards the way that leads to life, to love and to truth. The Spirit points us towards Jesus Christ. There is a saying attributed to Saint Augustine: "If you wish to remain young, seek Christ". In him we find the answers that we are seeking, we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the strength to pursue the path that will bring about a better world. Our hearts find no rest until they rest in the Lord, as Saint Augustine says at the beginning of the Confessions, the famous account of his own youth. My prayer is that the hearts of the young people who gather in Sydney for the celebration of World Youth Day will truly find rest in the Lord, and that they will be filled with joy and fervour for spreading the Good News among their friends, their families, and all whom they meet.
Dear Australian friends, although I will only be able to spend a few days in your country, and I will not be able to travel outside Sydney, my heart reaches out to all of you, including those who are sick or in difficulties of any kind. On behalf of all the young people, I thank you again for your support of my mission and I ask you to continue praying for them especially. It remains only for me to renew my invitation to the young people from all over the world to join me in Australia, the great "southern land of the Holy Spirit". I look forward to seeing you there! May God bless you all.
From the Vatican, 4 July 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
"If You Wish to Remain Young, Seek Christ"
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the message Benedict XVI wrote ahead of his trip to Australia to the people of the nation and the young pilgrims who will take part in World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney from July 15 to 20. The note was released today in Australia.
* * *
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8)
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In a few days from now, I shall begin my Apostolic Visit to your country, in order to celebrate the Twenty-Third World Youth Day in Sydney. I very much look forward to the days that I shall spend with you, and especially to the opportunities for prayer and reflection with young people from all over the world.
First of all, I want to express my appreciation to all those who have offered so much of their time, their resources and their prayers in support of this celebration. The Australian Government and the Provincial Government of New South Wales, the organizers of all the events, and members of the business community who have provided sponsorship – all of you have willingly supported this event, and on behalf of the young people taking part in the World Youth Day, I thank you most sincerely. Many of the young people have made great sacrifices in order to undertake the journey to Australia, and I pray that they will be rewarded abundantly. The parishes, schools and host families have been most generous in welcoming these young visitors, and they too deserve our thanks and our appreciation.
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8). This is the theme of the Twenty-Third World Youth Day. How much our world needs a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit! There are still many who have not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not recognized in this Good News the saving truth that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts. The Psalmist prays: "when you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). It is my firm belief that young people are called to be instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing with others the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that they too will be filled with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good things they have received from our heavenly Father.
Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by the questions that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty and injustice and they long to find solutions. They are challenged by the arguments of those who deny the existence of God and they wonder how to respond. They see great damage done to the natural environment through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live in greater harmony with nature and with one another.
Where can we look for answers? The Spirit points us towards the way that leads to life, to love and to truth. The Spirit points us towards Jesus Christ. There is a saying attributed to Saint Augustine: "If you wish to remain young, seek Christ". In him we find the answers that we are seeking, we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the strength to pursue the path that will bring about a better world. Our hearts find no rest until they rest in the Lord, as Saint Augustine says at the beginning of the Confessions, the famous account of his own youth. My prayer is that the hearts of the young people who gather in Sydney for the celebration of World Youth Day will truly find rest in the Lord, and that they will be filled with joy and fervour for spreading the Good News among their friends, their families, and all whom they meet.
Dear Australian friends, although I will only be able to spend a few days in your country, and I will not be able to travel outside Sydney, my heart reaches out to all of you, including those who are sick or in difficulties of any kind. On behalf of all the young people, I thank you again for your support of my mission and I ask you to continue praying for them especially. It remains only for me to renew my invitation to the young people from all over the world to join me in Australia, the great "southern land of the Holy Spirit". I look forward to seeing you there! May God bless you all.
From the Vatican, 4 July 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Saturday, July 12, 2008
July 12th
G'day mate! We have safely arrived in Sydney. We started off the day with an early morning. We left on two buses at 4:00 am. And on the second bus and couple of drunks got on and I hear it was quite the entertainment. But don't worry, everyone arrived safely. The plane ride was very short and sweet. Well, for me anyways. I slept the whole way. But the 3 hour ride is a lot better than the 9 hour flight!! :) Once we arrived at the airport we took another bus to our hotel, even though the rooms weren't ready at 9:00 in the morning. But I don't blame them. It can be extremely stressful trying to get rooms ready. Don't worry; I have experience!
After we dropped off our bags we walked a block to the mall. It's so nice that it is right next door! The down fall, is that it is also very expensive! I couldn't find a pair of jeans for under $50!! I was trying to find some because it is really cold here. Hopefully the night we camp out isn't very cold!
After we looked around at the mall, we headed to the Cathedral of St. Mary's. It was so magnificent! There was so much to take in and in so little time. After we toured the museum we all said the rosary together. Then we headed back to the hotel to get into our rooms.
We all unpacked into our nice rooms and then either headed to eat or to the Aquarium. I went out to eat at the mall again. Only a few people went to the Aquarium. Me personally, am not much of a fish lover. I saw enough of them at the Reef. But I'm sure they will all have a great time. Taylor and I computers in the mall where we could rent out the Internet. It's amazing that we all take Wi-Fi for granted. You have to pay a lot of money here!!
Keep us in your prayers! The World Youth Day events start on Tuesday!
After we dropped off our bags we walked a block to the mall. It's so nice that it is right next door! The down fall, is that it is also very expensive! I couldn't find a pair of jeans for under $50!! I was trying to find some because it is really cold here. Hopefully the night we camp out isn't very cold!
After we looked around at the mall, we headed to the Cathedral of St. Mary's. It was so magnificent! There was so much to take in and in so little time. After we toured the museum we all said the rosary together. Then we headed back to the hotel to get into our rooms.
We all unpacked into our nice rooms and then either headed to eat or to the Aquarium. I went out to eat at the mall again. Only a few people went to the Aquarium. Me personally, am not much of a fish lover. I saw enough of them at the Reef. But I'm sure they will all have a great time. Taylor and I computers in the mall where we could rent out the Internet. It's amazing that we all take Wi-Fi for granted. You have to pay a lot of money here!!
Keep us in your prayers! The World Youth Day events start on Tuesday!
Friday, July 11, 2008
July 11
As I mentioned last time, today was a day of relaxation. Most of us slept in and had breakfast on our own. I just ate what was leftover from the day before. The boys went to the mall to look around, while others just walked around looking for good deals. I went around the place looking for an Australia jacket. After much walking in and out of stores, I found a bright yellow and green zip up jacket. Since Sydney is going to be cold, this will be perfect. And then for lunch, I found a place in a market with Vietnamese Spring Rolls. I thought they tasted just like egg rolls, only better!
At 2:00 we all met together and went to the Cathedral of St. Monica's. We had mass there (quite different than Fr. Daren's small room). They have beautiful stained glass windows depicting the creation. It was beautiful! We also discussed Acts 8:1 or 1:8... I'm not quite sure. But I do know it was about being a witness for God. You should read it.
After this we all went around looking for food. Most of us stopped at a pizza place. Taylor and I watched them roll and twirl the dough around. I wish I could do it! Everyone else went to the supermarket and bought stuff to eat at Gilligan's (the place we're staying).
Now we're all packing up and getting ready for our bus at 3:55. It will be an early morning. Hopefully we all get a good sleep.
More to come when we're in Sydney!
At 2:00 we all met together and went to the Cathedral of St. Monica's. We had mass there (quite different than Fr. Daren's small room). They have beautiful stained glass windows depicting the creation. It was beautiful! We also discussed Acts 8:1 or 1:8... I'm not quite sure. But I do know it was about being a witness for God. You should read it.
After this we all went around looking for food. Most of us stopped at a pizza place. Taylor and I watched them roll and twirl the dough around. I wish I could do it! Everyone else went to the supermarket and bought stuff to eat at Gilligan's (the place we're staying).
Now we're all packing up and getting ready for our bus at 3:55. It will be an early morning. Hopefully we all get a good sleep.
More to come when we're in Sydney!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
July 10th
Wow!! I don't even know how to describe today. Todaoy was the day we went to the Great Barrier Reef. We had to take an hour and a half boat ride to the reef. Well, it was a little bumpy. Ok, it was a lot bumpy. A lot of people got seasick. After about 15 minutes on the boat, my barf bag had been used; followed by several other people on the boat. but in the end, it was definitely worth it.
When we first got there, we waited around and ate at the lunch buffet. You can guarantee we stuffed ourselves with the free food (well we had already paid for it in our ticket price) and made sure we wouldn't be hungry again soon. The only difference about their food, is that they have a lot more healthy foods; and definitely more fresh. But they did have whole shrimps. EWWW!! They had eyes and everything!!
After lunch, we were free to go snorkeling, or take various boats rides to view the coral. I started off taking a boat ride, where I was submerged underneath the water ( but I was still in the boat). This gave me a better look at the coral and the fish. I wish you could have all seen it. It was remarkable. It seemed like it came right out of Finding Nemo, except it was not as colorful. Afterwards, I went snorkeling. Outside of the water was very cold. You definitely needed a jacket. I was a little nervous getting into the freezing water, but once I got in, I realized it wasn't that bad. So I got to snorkel and view the Great Barrier Reef. Which is, by the way, one of the seven wonders of the world. I saw this fish, which was about a foot long, and very pretty. It was a bright blue and bright green, with purple dots on it. I wish I could've got a picture. but unfortunately, my camera is not waterproof. Also, there were schools of fish that people were swimming with. This was quite a site from the boat. Taylor O, Brett, Andrew, and Alex L got to swim with a sea turtle ( I named him Crush.) And some even got their picture with him. They were really excited abou this! But I would too, it's not everyday you see a sea turtle, or the Great Barrier Reef for that matter.
We took the boat back to shore and walked someplace to eat. A large group went to the mall, which is where we were told was the cheap food. I had a nice meal from Burger King for $4.50. Still kind of expensive, but I will manage. Everything else was much pricier. Then we walked around the mall, window shopping, knowing we couldn't afford the clothes in there. Although Melissa found a cute top on sale. :)
At 9:00 pm we all gathered for mass in a small room again. We made our plans for tomorrow, which consists of lounging around and going to a Cathedral. Then, most people did their laundry. It was $6 to wash and dry one load. I was very impressed with the boys' capability to use a washer and dryer, and to fold clothes. So moms, this could be a new chore for them!!
We are all looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. It should be a day of relaxing and just spending time with our friends. It should be fun!! More to come later!
When we first got there, we waited around and ate at the lunch buffet. You can guarantee we stuffed ourselves with the free food (well we had already paid for it in our ticket price) and made sure we wouldn't be hungry again soon. The only difference about their food, is that they have a lot more healthy foods; and definitely more fresh. But they did have whole shrimps. EWWW!! They had eyes and everything!!
After lunch, we were free to go snorkeling, or take various boats rides to view the coral. I started off taking a boat ride, where I was submerged underneath the water ( but I was still in the boat). This gave me a better look at the coral and the fish. I wish you could have all seen it. It was remarkable. It seemed like it came right out of Finding Nemo, except it was not as colorful. Afterwards, I went snorkeling. Outside of the water was very cold. You definitely needed a jacket. I was a little nervous getting into the freezing water, but once I got in, I realized it wasn't that bad. So I got to snorkel and view the Great Barrier Reef. Which is, by the way, one of the seven wonders of the world. I saw this fish, which was about a foot long, and very pretty. It was a bright blue and bright green, with purple dots on it. I wish I could've got a picture. but unfortunately, my camera is not waterproof. Also, there were schools of fish that people were swimming with. This was quite a site from the boat. Taylor O, Brett, Andrew, and Alex L got to swim with a sea turtle ( I named him Crush.) And some even got their picture with him. They were really excited abou this! But I would too, it's not everyday you see a sea turtle, or the Great Barrier Reef for that matter.
We took the boat back to shore and walked someplace to eat. A large group went to the mall, which is where we were told was the cheap food. I had a nice meal from Burger King for $4.50. Still kind of expensive, but I will manage. Everything else was much pricier. Then we walked around the mall, window shopping, knowing we couldn't afford the clothes in there. Although Melissa found a cute top on sale. :)
At 9:00 pm we all gathered for mass in a small room again. We made our plans for tomorrow, which consists of lounging around and going to a Cathedral. Then, most people did their laundry. It was $6 to wash and dry one load. I was very impressed with the boys' capability to use a washer and dryer, and to fold clothes. So moms, this could be a new chore for them!!
We are all looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. It should be a day of relaxing and just spending time with our friends. It should be fun!! More to come later!
July 9th
So it's official. I'm the new official blog poster. Father Daren has realized that girls put more details into their work. So he has appointed me the blog poster. So yeah. That's cool.
Anyway, on July 9th we split up and took two different plane sto Cairns (still pronounce Cans). The first flight left at 7:05 and was not very nice. They had no TV's, no free food or drinks, and a SMALL bottle of water cost $3. Lucky for me, I was on the 9:30 flight. They have TV's, one free meal, and free drinks. The flight was only 3 hours long, so it went by very quickly.
Once we arrived, we all ate lunch. We've realized that this place is much more expensive than the United States. You can expect to pay $10 for a meal. So, if anyone wants to send extra money to their kids, that would be nice and greatly appreciated! Afterwards, we all split up and went to walk around Gilligan's (the backpacker's place we're staying at.) They have a lot of little stores that are easy to walk to. They also have a big mall, which is much nicer than the Village Square Mall!! But their clothes are also very expensive. I don't see how people afford this kind of expensive lifestyle. Oh, and gas is $6 a gallon!! And did you know that they drive on the left side of the road, and in the right side of the car? Kind of confusing! I always think that the cars have no drivers! And their toilets flush backwards. Very cool!
We all met up together and had mass in a room smaller than a typical hotel room. But somehow we managed to cram 25 people into the room for mass. I will have to say, it's Fr. Daren's shortest mass that I've ever been to. I mean, 20 minutes!! But it gives us a time to relax and remember why we are here. Which, reminds me... there are tonso f people here in Cairns for World Youth Day. There's a large group from Alaska of about 100 kids, and more from around the U.S. And some people I saw on the elevator that spoke a different language! It really is neat to see all the poeple come together. And to think, we are just beginning! There is an estimated 250,000 people going to World Youth Day. That's a lot of people. I hope I don't get lost. And about that... Everyone has to have a flag that will help them spot their group. Guess what ours is?? A black flag with skull and crossbones! Fr. Daren assured me we'd be the only one with it, and we wouldn't get it confused with anyone else's. Haha!! I sure hope not!
Anyway, on July 9th we split up and took two different plane sto Cairns (still pronounce Cans). The first flight left at 7:05 and was not very nice. They had no TV's, no free food or drinks, and a SMALL bottle of water cost $3. Lucky for me, I was on the 9:30 flight. They have TV's, one free meal, and free drinks. The flight was only 3 hours long, so it went by very quickly.
Once we arrived, we all ate lunch. We've realized that this place is much more expensive than the United States. You can expect to pay $10 for a meal. So, if anyone wants to send extra money to their kids, that would be nice and greatly appreciated! Afterwards, we all split up and went to walk around Gilligan's (the backpacker's place we're staying at.) They have a lot of little stores that are easy to walk to. They also have a big mall, which is much nicer than the Village Square Mall!! But their clothes are also very expensive. I don't see how people afford this kind of expensive lifestyle. Oh, and gas is $6 a gallon!! And did you know that they drive on the left side of the road, and in the right side of the car? Kind of confusing! I always think that the cars have no drivers! And their toilets flush backwards. Very cool!
We all met up together and had mass in a room smaller than a typical hotel room. But somehow we managed to cram 25 people into the room for mass. I will have to say, it's Fr. Daren's shortest mass that I've ever been to. I mean, 20 minutes!! But it gives us a time to relax and remember why we are here. Which, reminds me... there are tonso f people here in Cairns for World Youth Day. There's a large group from Alaska of about 100 kids, and more from around the U.S. And some people I saw on the elevator that spoke a different language! It really is neat to see all the poeple come together. And to think, we are just beginning! There is an estimated 250,000 people going to World Youth Day. That's a lot of people. I hope I don't get lost. And about that... Everyone has to have a flag that will help them spot their group. Guess what ours is?? A black flag with skull and crossbones! Fr. Daren assured me we'd be the only one with it, and we wouldn't get it confused with anyone else's. Haha!! I sure hope not!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
July 8th (we skipped a day)
From Allie:
We have safely arrived in Australia. The flight was only 9 hours long, and it flew by. The plane was a lot nicer than the one to Hawaii. We had more leg room and we actually got free food! And ice cream!
Our plane was delayed a couple hours, so we weren't able to catch the flight to Cairns (pronounced Cans) tonight. We were given free hotel rooms and food. Tomorrow morning we will be up and going to catch the next flight.
The weather is much colder than I had expected. It definitely is pants and sweatshirt material. Taylor and I decided we would have to go shopping.
It is very interesting to see all the different people and all their different cultures. My favorite part is their accents. But sometimes it is very difficult to understand them.
Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!
We have safely arrived in Australia. The flight was only 9 hours long, and it flew by. The plane was a lot nicer than the one to Hawaii. We had more leg room and we actually got free food! And ice cream!
Our plane was delayed a couple hours, so we weren't able to catch the flight to Cairns (pronounced Cans) tonight. We were given free hotel rooms and food. Tomorrow morning we will be up and going to catch the next flight.
The weather is much colder than I had expected. It definitely is pants and sweatshirt material. Taylor and I decided we would have to go shopping.
It is very interesting to see all the different people and all their different cultures. My favorite part is their accents. But sometimes it is very difficult to understand them.
Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sunday, July 6th : by Allie Kabbes
Hi again!! I'm actually writing this on Monday while waiting in the airport. Last night was very crazy. We had to pack up our suitcases and clean everything! We also had to leave by 5:15 today. So we were tired!
But beginning with yesterday morning. We all woke up and went to Church at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu. They had a beautiful organ, and their choir was magnificent! Fr. Daren and Fr. Chris were concelebrants with Fr. Jerry from Chicago.
After this, we all went to Saint Augustine by the Sea. There was a small museum of the Blessed Damien of Molokai. Do you know the story of Saint Augustine? Well, he was on the beach pondering the mystery of the Holy Trinity. He saw a young boy who was pouring the ocean water into a hole he had dug in the ground. He did this repeatedly. Saint Augustine told the young boy he would never fit the whole ocean in his hole. The boy said, "yes, and you old man will never fit the mystery of the Holy Trinity in your brain." The boy then vanished out of site.
After visiting the museum, everyone was very hungry. We walked over to a park and had a picnic with the food we had bought earlier. It was very relaxing. From here, we all split up. Our options were the beach, Mount Diamondhead, or Matasumoto's for shave (yes shave) ice and Waimea Bay.
I chose to go to the beach. It was very pretty as always. The water felt especially good because it was very hot. There was only one downfall to our swim. We rented out boogey boards and while we were riding the waves, Carmen was bit by an eel. She had a large slash down her finger and was bleeding very bad. Luckily, the hospital was nearby. Barb took her there, and she got 3 stitches. But other than that incident, the day was awesome!
Mount Diamondhead was a .8 mile hike to the top of an inactive volcano. It was a mixture of stairs and tunnels and steep stairways. Barb was very proud that she completely the whole hike in one hour. The point of it, other than excersise, is the beautiful view once you get to the top.
We all went out to eat someplace different. Brett, Greg, Jordan, and I went to Lucy's bar and grill. It was a little expensive, but after all the fast food I was used too, it was worth it. Everyone else went to a "Pasta Place" (according to Cody). My group got back to the hostel around 8:00 and had the place to ourselves until about 10:30. Apparently Fr. Daren got lost AGAIN!! But the Red Sox/ Yankees game was very good. We finished the day with cleaning and packing for today.
Read later for more on our 13 hour plane flight!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
From Allie Kabbes
July 5th...
Today we all woke up and went to mass in the chapel next to where we are staying. Then we left to go to a swap meet, which had tons of different things for very cheap prices. I got a Hawaii t-shirt for $3... :) Taylor Oltman and I looked around for about 2 hours, and didn't even see half of the stores. There were so many there!! I got a new purse and some necklaces, while Taylor got a traditional Hawaiian dress, which can be worn many different ways.
After that, we left and went to Dole place. This is where they grow pineapples. Did you know they grow in the ground? They had a huge souvenir shop including pineapple ice cream. I did not try this, but I heard it was very good!! There was also a 3 mile maze. Most of the boys went on it, but did not think it was worth it. Barb Konrad bought a uekele (spelling?). It looks really cool and I learned to play a couple chords.
From here, we split up to go to a luau and the North Shore. All of the girls went to the luau accompanied by boys, Fr. Chris and Andy Guinnip. We took a bus to the place. We had an "escort" who was kind of like an emcee for our bus, and was very funny. He kept us laughing the whole way there. He also somehow memorized everyone's name on the bus. Once we got there, we saw a Kalua Pig. (Which is when you cook a pig in the ground!) We saw them pull the pig out of the ground (GROSS!!!). Then we got to try and eat traditional Hawaiian food. There was something there that looked like clear noodles. I didn't want to try that, but everyone else said it tasted like chicken noodles. After we ate, we saw a lot of dancers. We also got to learn to dance ourself. A few of the girls from our group (me, Taylor, Kaitlyn, and Melissa) went on stage and danced a traditional dance. Afterwards we were given "honi honi" by a row of boys. This is where the give you a kiss on the cheek. Very interesting! We also saw people juggling fire and many dances. They were really amazing. I didn't know people could dance like that. :)
The rest of the boys went to the North Shore. Well, almost all the way there. From October to January, the North Shore has very large waves; 10-20 feet high. At this time of the year, the waves are only about 5 feet high. They also found other people jumping off cliffs and decided to join them. Father Daren came back in an extremely giddy mood and was laughing hysterically at something. I'm not really quite sure. But the boys had a great time doing this and have many stories to tell. Something about a "basketball man". You may want to check out You-tube!!
Now we are just relaxing in the common area, listening to Fr. Daren keel over laughing. Who knew? Well, that's about it. More to common tomorrow!! Thanks for reading!
Today we all woke up and went to mass in the chapel next to where we are staying. Then we left to go to a swap meet, which had tons of different things for very cheap prices. I got a Hawaii t-shirt for $3... :) Taylor Oltman and I looked around for about 2 hours, and didn't even see half of the stores. There were so many there!! I got a new purse and some necklaces, while Taylor got a traditional Hawaiian dress, which can be worn many different ways.
After that, we left and went to Dole place. This is where they grow pineapples. Did you know they grow in the ground? They had a huge souvenir shop including pineapple ice cream. I did not try this, but I heard it was very good!! There was also a 3 mile maze. Most of the boys went on it, but did not think it was worth it. Barb Konrad bought a uekele (spelling?). It looks really cool and I learned to play a couple chords.
From here, we split up to go to a luau and the North Shore. All of the girls went to the luau accompanied by boys, Fr. Chris and Andy Guinnip. We took a bus to the place. We had an "escort" who was kind of like an emcee for our bus, and was very funny. He kept us laughing the whole way there. He also somehow memorized everyone's name on the bus. Once we got there, we saw a Kalua Pig. (Which is when you cook a pig in the ground!) We saw them pull the pig out of the ground (GROSS!!!). Then we got to try and eat traditional Hawaiian food. There was something there that looked like clear noodles. I didn't want to try that, but everyone else said it tasted like chicken noodles. After we ate, we saw a lot of dancers. We also got to learn to dance ourself. A few of the girls from our group (me, Taylor, Kaitlyn, and Melissa) went on stage and danced a traditional dance. Afterwards we were given "honi honi" by a row of boys. This is where the give you a kiss on the cheek. Very interesting! We also saw people juggling fire and many dances. They were really amazing. I didn't know people could dance like that. :)
The rest of the boys went to the North Shore. Well, almost all the way there. From October to January, the North Shore has very large waves; 10-20 feet high. At this time of the year, the waves are only about 5 feet high. They also found other people jumping off cliffs and decided to join them. Father Daren came back in an extremely giddy mood and was laughing hysterically at something. I'm not really quite sure. But the boys had a great time doing this and have many stories to tell. Something about a "basketball man". You may want to check out You-tube!!
Now we are just relaxing in the common area, listening to Fr. Daren keel over laughing. Who knew? Well, that's about it. More to common tomorrow!! Thanks for reading!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Day Two
This morning we went to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. It was a moving experience for all to hear again the tale of that fateful day and to remember the men and women whose lives were taken, especially as the United States of America today celebrated its Independence Day.
Several veterans and survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor were present offering a few reflections on the day. Many of the pilgrims listened to them speak and were even able to get a few postcards autographed by the men.
After the tour of the Memorial we went to the Halekulani beach for lunch and an afternoon in the sun, sand and water. A few even wandered around Waikiki, where we stayed for dinner.
We returned to the Halekulani beach for the fireworks and returned home after a full day.
Friday, July 4, 2008
The first sun rise
As morning breaks and the first light of day shines across the skies, we are blessed by a truly beautiful awakening as we listen to the singing of the birds greeting the new day.
Today being Independence Day we'll spend the morning at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial and the evening at Waikiki Beach to watch fireworks.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Catholic World News has confirmed that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has approved the second miracle required to canonize Blessed Damien of Molokai.
While we're in Hawaii we'll visist the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace where Fr. Damien was ordained and also the church of St. Augustine by the Sea where the candlesticks and altar cross used by Fr. Damien are kept.
While we're in Hawaii we'll visist the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace where Fr. Damien was ordained and also the church of St. Augustine by the Sea where the candlesticks and altar cross used by Fr. Damien are kept.
On Oahu
After a very easy and pleasant flight to Honolulu, we are now resting comfortably.
We had some issues today with navigation but we managed to arrive in one piece.
Some of the boys went out this evening to swim in the ocean, which seems to have worked to consume what was left of their energy.
We're all heading to bed earlier that we usually might. In the morning we're off to visit Pearl Harbor.
We had some issues today with navigation but we managed to arrive in one piece.
Some of the boys went out this evening to swim in the ocean, which seems to have worked to consume what was left of their energy.
We're all heading to bed earlier that we usually might. In the morning we're off to visit Pearl Harbor.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The first leg is done
After an uneventful - the best kind - bus ride to the airport we are all ready and waiting to be board the plane. Sadly, we have a bit of a wait yet.
The check-in procedure was, by far, the easiest and fastest I've ever experienced. I suppose this is one of the benefits of traveling with eighteen high school students!
The "normal" passenger check-in was very full and backed up so we were very kindly directed to go through the first class check-in. We simply presented our IDs, checked our bags, and off to the terminal we went. The entire procedure maybe took twenty minutes.
If the rest of the journey continues in this fashion, we're in good shape!
Saint Christopher, pray for us!
The check-in procedure was, by far, the easiest and fastest I've ever experienced. I suppose this is one of the benefits of traveling with eighteen high school students!
The "normal" passenger check-in was very full and backed up so we were very kindly directed to go through the first class check-in. We simply presented our IDs, checked our bags, and off to the terminal we went. The entire procedure maybe took twenty minutes.
If the rest of the journey continues in this fashion, we're in good shape!
Saint Christopher, pray for us!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The great departure
In just a short time we will embark on this pilgrimage of a lifetime.
"Making a pilgrimage," says Pope Benedict XVI, "means setting out in a particular direction, travelling towards a destination. This gives a beauty of its own even to the journey and to the effort involved."
The road before us will certainly be filled with many joys and blessings, but also with frustrations and difficulties. All of these are part and parcel of embraking upon a pilgrimage and will all bear good fruit in our lives if we bear them well.
The journey of a pilgrimage is, as it were, a journey through life in miniature, a journey which is to change us upon our return. As the Holy Father reminds us, "The journey back to our everyday life is also fundamental." The journey itself is important, but so, too, is the way home again.
In these days ahead, please keep us in your prayers that we might remain open to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Pray that we be lead to true repentance and conversion that we might be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. As we journey, we assured of our prayers for you.
"Making a pilgrimage," says Pope Benedict XVI, "means setting out in a particular direction, travelling towards a destination. This gives a beauty of its own even to the journey and to the effort involved."
The road before us will certainly be filled with many joys and blessings, but also with frustrations and difficulties. All of these are part and parcel of embraking upon a pilgrimage and will all bear good fruit in our lives if we bear them well.
The journey of a pilgrimage is, as it were, a journey through life in miniature, a journey which is to change us upon our return. As the Holy Father reminds us, "The journey back to our everyday life is also fundamental." The journey itself is important, but so, too, is the way home again.
In these days ahead, please keep us in your prayers that we might remain open to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Pray that we be lead to true repentance and conversion that we might be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. As we journey, we assured of our prayers for you.
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