April (English: April)

I'm still in the process of trying to catch up on this blog post, but mom just left (more to come on that soon) so hopefully I'll be able to write enough so that I'm back to writing about the present day and not about a month ago!! I did realize, though, that in the past 3 weeks, I've either been traveling or had visitors for all but about 3 days. A little bit crazy, but I'm not bored!

So midway through April our actual classes (not language course) at the university finally started. The way classes here are set up is that they meet for 2-3 hours once a week, and grades are given based upon either a paper or a test at the end. This is nice because week to week there's not so much due, but it gets crazy at the end of the semester. We're encouraged to take only 3 classes during the semester. I'm taking a history class with other students in my program taught by our program director (it's called American perspectives on German history from Bismark to Hitler), a course specifically for international students called Film in the DDR, and a philosophy course. For my philosophy course, I was debating between the philosophy of animation or the philosophy of lying and ended up choosing the lying course. The lecture is typically me and 30 60-70 year olds, which is very funny to me because classes are not like that at Notre Dame. If anyone has a great idea for a paper topic about the philosophy of lying, let me know!

The end of April was Easter. I finally met up with my friend Madeline this weekend. She was studying abroad in Berlin as well, but in a different program. We met last time I was in Germany at our language course, but she's also from the US. It was so fun to catch up with her for lunch and meet up with her friends, etc. On Easter Sunday, Chris and Michael came over for Easter brunch. It was nothing like Easter at home, but luckily I was still in good company.

The next weekend, I traveled to Rome for the Beatification of John Paul II. The weekend was so much fun, and Rome is so beautiful. I flew by myself to Rome, but met up with a few friends who were studying there. It was the perfect mix of being able to sight see by myself but not getting lonely. Rome is a great place to see alone because there are so many churches, etc. It was also fun to be around so many Notre Dame students again. I saw all of the big tourist sites, ate lots of pasta and gelato. One of my favorite sites was a church that has a statue of St. Teresa of Avila (she is my confirmation saint) carved by Bernini. The church itself is small, about the size of Holy Trinity's chapel, and the front was being renovated, so it was slightly hidden, but it was absolutely gorgeous inside.

On Saturday night when I was there, they had a vigil for the beatification. I was debating going because I imagined it would be in Italian and I wouldn't be able to understand anything, but I decided to stop by anyway. It was at the Circus Maximus and was SO CROWDED! I didn't stay long (because it was, in fact, in Italian), but it was cool to see so many Catholics in one place, but it was also cool to see the Circus Maximus so full (like it would have been in its glory days).

The next day, Killian and I went to the beatification Mass and it was also so crowded. We were more than a street block behind St. Peter's Square, and it was still packed. Afterwards, they had the opportunity to venerate JPII, so I thought I would leave and come back. The veneration started at noon, and I came back at 9pm. At 9pm, the line was as long as it had been all day -- a 4-5 hour wait. Needless to say, I did not think it would be a good idea to go back to my hostel at 2am, so I did not wait in line. I did, however, get to see the Vatican as the sun was setting, and it was the one of the most beautiful things I've seen. It was the one time during the trip when I really wished I had a camera (I ordered a new battery charger, but it didn't come before I left for Rome). I took a picture with the camera on my phone:

a great end to a great trip!