Posted by Katie, UST junior, Business Leadership and Management, Communications, and Catholic Studies
Katie is one of about 30 UST students studying on the semester long
Catholic Studies Rome Program. Follow her Rome blog.
The Bernardi community is reuniting from a week of travels for the excitement of a blessed Holy Week in Rome. I cannot yet imagine the magnificence of spending this week in the eternal city, but hopefully in a few days the experience will earn some words to help describe it! Look for an update to come!
These past few weeks have been nothing like the weeks before. In short, it has been a family-meeting and Europe-traveling good time. After a few weeks traveling by plane, train, and automobile in foreign lands, I have a new appreciation for the phrase, “the one thing you can plan, is that things will not go as planned.” True. My most recent traveling experience in Prague, Czech Republic, could not be a better testament to that statement. But in all truth (just like in Subiaco), everything turned out for the better! Every day, actually every hour, Laura and I wondered how it could get better… and sure enough… it did!
There seems to be a pattern of adjusting to a new culture. First, you stumble around town in awe of the beauty of the city and the richness of the culture. Then, you pick up your map and read up on Rick Steve’s guide to prioritize the major sites of the city. Plan on finding them, but realize that you probably won’t. Or at least when you planned to find them! Instead, you will probably encounter a new hidden gem that you didn’t expect finding, and that is what makes it exciting! Soon, through time and repetition, you begin to identify personally with these popular destinations. In Prague, the singing and dancing of the Easter festival and the hourly chime of the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square transformed from an incredible photo-op to a meeting place for our new fellow traveling friends. In our first visit to the square, 3 hours was not enough time to sit, observe the gothic architecture, people watch, and take in the festival with all our senses. By the end, the clock was the first step to a fun social evening on the town with friends. Though certainly tourists of the city, we were yet a part of a smaller community of English-speaking student travelers searching for a cultural and social experience! In stead of recycling the “where did you go to high school” and “what are you studying” questions, you ask the “where have you been in the world” and “where are you going next”! It’s a different world! I am still deciding if it is the check list of world famous monuments and places, the letting go of control/ comfort zones and surrendering to uncertainty, or the social experience that makes me love traveling so much. I do know, however, that I have a serious case of the travel bug!
Good news, world! Though I’d love to see all of you, I’m going to have to return home to lovely Minnesota at some point. Hopefully someday I can make my way across the border again. For now, I am thankful for my time here, and I look forward to the chance to share my experience abroad with my family and friends back home! Luckily, I have been blessed with the chance to share a week of the Bernardi experience with my family (or 4/8ths of them) already. And I am not alone. Time with visiting families has been a special treat for the Bernardi community- although Wednesday night community night has undergone some transformation with the over-capacity of guests! As we say, “we’re all family here” 🙂
On my week with the family, I played the role of tour guide, spoiled daughter, and lucky big sister. We visited major cites and enjoyed full Italian meals (and of course the youngest member of the Lahti family requested more than enough gelato outings… thanks Anna!). We celebrated the successful completion of the Rome Marathon by Bernardians and extended Bernardians: Nicole and her Mom, Ryan, Fr. Beaudet, and Gwen, a former Bernardian! That deserved not only a few cheering sections along the 42 kilometer route, but also a celebratory dinner and outing with the a gathering of 15-20. Congrats! As a family, we also took advantage of the coastal beauty of Italy at Sorrento and the Island of Capri. I could not have imagined a better relaxing escape than the moments on the terrace overlooking the gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvias. Gorgeous!
I trust that all the Bernardians are having similar experiences abroad. From what it sounds, Poland, Austria, Germany, Medjugorie, England, Ireland, France, and the rest of Italy are just as exciting. Even within the city limits, spring break has been adventurous! Just ask Nicole and Holly – they ran into plenty of new experiences in this seemingly familiar city… like surviving an earthquake! (We’re thankful that all of our group is perfectly safe, but please keep the victims from the Italian earthquake in your prayers!)
Following the pattern of life abroad, I’d say that the Spring-09ers of the Catholic Studies semester are successfully in the social stage. We enjoy sharing personal experiences with one another- after a long day of traveling, my first move walking through the campus doors was to see who was home! We enjoy sharing our families with one another- you learn a lot about a person when you get to meet their families! Finally, we enjoy sharing our unique gifts and talents with one another- guitar and singing on the terrace, jokes and insights… where to begin!?!? Even late night paper writing has found a nice place in the community!
A special thank you to all the families that have made the trip to Rome! We really appreciated your visit!
Things to note:
-Rick Steve’s should be a celebrity and a traveler’s best friend. Commonly asked question while abroad= “Did you bring Rick?”
-Expect the unexpected! Did I mention that we happened to see Obama in Prague? Good thing we were watching CNN the night before he decided to follow us to the Czech Republic, or we wouldn’t have even known that Mr. President was paying a visit!
-McDonald’s has tainted the world with greasy fries and McFlurries. Or as the Aussies say, “Mackers”. They are everywhere.
-Multiple flavor-infused variations of the same cola pop is strictly an American fad… I have yet to see anything more than Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, and Fanta in Europe.
It is quite possible to fit 52 people in the basement dining room. 52 of us have lived to tell the tale of the tight and cozy community night on March 25th!
If you enjoyed this excerpt, visit the full Reflections from Rome blog.
