Portugal: Better Late than Never

Back during my epic semester break trip, I ended in Portugal and I just got super behind in posting pictures and stories.  Theresa told me I really need to post an entry about Portugal because it was the *best* part of the trip.  I don't know if can compete with Morocco in terms of cultural awesomeness.  However, being with two amazing friends definitely made it the best part!

Theresa and I flew into Lisbon to meet Lissi, another friend from CMU who's spending the year in Germany.    Our flight got in a lot earlier than Lissi's so we went to discover Lisbon.  I was really sick!  Having woken up at 3 am to make our flight, I wasn't the most energetic and adventurous person, but we made it work.

Since it was Ash Wednesday, our first order of business was finding a church for services. We weren't sure
if we'd make it to Fatima in time for the last Mass of the day...so we were playing it safe.  By the grace of God, the first church we stumbled upon was having Mass in ten minutes.  This was obvious because lots of people were going into the church and none were going out!

After Mass, we started roaming through the street of Lisbon and came upon the ocean.  We didn't have a map and I didn't really know Lisbon was on the water!  But we sat by the water and enjoyed the sun for a little bit.

Our wandering led us to find out that Lisbon has a large castle overlooking the city.  Theresa (being new to Europe) wasn't tired of castle seeing like me.  But we made a decision that we would walk up the giant hill to find the castle.  Remember how I said we didn't have a map?  Well, our wanderings led us around and around (perhaps in circles) Lisbon's residential districts.  However, we never found our way to the castle!

The residential area in itself was neat to walk through.  It looked like there had been a huge party the night before for the beginning of Lent. The streets were lined with confetti and streamers.  And it kind of made me wish we had been there!

The closest we got to the castle

It was kind of disappointing that we walked for hours and never found the castle, but Theresa will never let me live down my "I'm going to pass out if I don't sit down right now" moment of breathlessness.  I couldn't breathe and we were climbing up mountains!!!


When we got Lissi, we met up with a car rental agency...because I thought it'd be a good idea to drive around Portugal.  I'm sure the rental guy panicked a little when we called him for advice on how to use the GPS system and he asked if we had turned it on.  Whoops!  In my defense, my parents never use GPS....ever!  If he gave me a map, we would have been fine!

We arrived in Fatima in time to go to another Mass...which was no big deal because we were IN FATIMA!

We also wandered around for forever trying to find dinner and stumbled into the home of the Fatima football club.  This wouldn't had been so strange if the only people there weren't exclusively men or if we spoke some Portuguese.  Regardless, we got a good and cheap meal and went back to the hotel for bed!

The next morning, we went to Mass earlier in the day and then decided to take a road trip.  We were less than an hour from the ocean and it WAS Valentine's Day!  So we picked up some picnic materials and headed out towards the ocean for a picnic.

It was a fantastic decision!  The beach in the small town we went to was gorgeous.  So we took our sweaters off and rolled op our jeans and played in the water.  Unfortunately, none of us realized how large the waves actually were and we got rather wet.  But it was WARM!  Even in February so we didn't mind too much.  Just laid out on the sand and ate our sandwiches, letting the sun dry us off!

We broke the rules and walked out to the edge of a pier.  It was safe enough because all the Portuguese people were doing it!  Then Theresa decided she wanted to be even sillier and started to climb on all the rocks on the pier.  Breaking the rules of common sense wasn't enough, so she convinced Lissi to join her!!!

After drying off, we moved on to the largest monastery in Portugal.  It was really close to the beach town and so we thought it'd be cool to check it out.  Unfortunately, the inside was closed because we spent so much time having fun on the beach.  But just walking around the outside of the monastery made quite an impression of the scope of the building.

On our way back to Fatima, we were passing through the beach town as the sun was beginning to go down. Since we were independent with the car, we decided to swing back by the ocean to watch the sunset...a very romantic Valentine's Day with two wonderful ladies!

Calvary

Friday was the first Friday in Lent, so we decided to stick in Fatima.  There was a special Way of the Cross that went towards the villages the children lived in and actually went through one of the locations of Mary's apparition.  It was incredible to realize that Mary had been THERE right were we were at one point.  So we prayed the Stations of the Cross and a few Marian prayers.  It was pretty cool to explore the houses of where the shepherd children lived.

My experiences here in Fatima led me write blog post for The Apostolate that more closely examined the spiritual growth I felt during this trip.

Early the next morning, we left Fatima and headed back to the airport it Lisbon.  Lissi went back to Germany and Theresa came with me to Poland where we spent two more very short days together!  Portugal was BEAUTIFUL though!  And it was the perfect escape from the cold Polish weather in February.

Amsterdam: A Real World Spencers

I knew Amsterdam was a sort of Las Vegas of Europe, but I honestly wasn't prepared for the unedited debauchery that fills the streets.  Normal souvenir shops have adult-style toys and postcards with intimate bits of human beings.  It's seriously bizarre.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't that great yesterday, and it looks like today is going to be filled with rain

One of the many canals of Amsterdam!

again.  The positive side of this is that it's not snowing.  Spring has sprung in the Netherlands, which is made very apparent by the number of tulips everywhere.   The pictures of the tulip fields are SO pretty, but I want to see the city so I'm putting the 40 euro trip on my bucket list.  I'll probably never want to come back to Amsterdam, but I like the Dutch.

Everyone speaks English here.  The shop keepers talk to each other in Dutch sometimes, but they wait on all the customers in English.  Bus drivers speak English.  Train ticket sellers speak English.  Random people on the street speak English.  And everyone is super super friendly.  They're kind and considerate.  Sometimes people just smile as they walk past you on the street.  It's the closest I've felt to home this entire 8 months!

I got into Amsterdam around 3 pm, missing the last walking tour of the evening by a hair.  So I decided to just wander the city for a little while.  Right around the corner, I came upon two old men playing chess.  Not really a strange thing in a city, but it was LIFE SIZE chess!  You can't argue me...that's pretty cool!

My end goal for wandering was the main train station so I could find out about train tickets going to Antwerp, Belgium on Thursday.  The map the hostel gave me kind of sucked.   So I REALLY wandered.  Which was great because I wandered into a giant flower market.  There were tulips everywhere.  And, later when I found a better map, I realized it was the only floating flower market in the world.  Pretty sure my souvenir from here is going to be these wooden tulips that look like they're real.  I'm obsessed because it'll always look like I have fresh flowers in my flat.

After I got my train ticket, I decided to do a guided tour of the Red Light district.  I knew that I would never adventure there on my own, so I thought the tour would be an interesting way to see the side of Amsterdam that I would never in a million years experience.  It's far from my thing.  While people tell me that these women are empowered, I can't understand how standing half naked in a window waiting for a guy to "pick" you is okay emotionally.  One of the girls that just retired, estimates she was with 1200 men a year.  It just boggles my mind...

When the tour was over, the guide took us into a bar (a clean sports bar), for a complimentary shot.  I'm pretty sure it was just juice...there was no alcohol in the shot at all.  And then, I looked up, and the Detroit Tigers were on TV, LIVE from Detroit.  I was beyond excited and some German guy tried to convince me that they were really playing in Canada.  So I was like "Dude, I LIVE in Detroit and go to Comerica Park...I know what it looks like!"  Plus, the Detroit D behind homeplate was a dead give away.  One of the girls from the tour stayed around with me so I could watch the rest of the game.  And it was awesomeness!

Holy Week in Poland

After a peacing out of Poland to spend major holidays with my cousins in Lithuania, I decided to stay in Poland for Holy Week.  As luck would have it, my lovely cousins in Katowice decided to invite me to their house for the holidays, so I still was blessed to be with family!  The day by day breakdown is below!

Holy Thursday

Lodz Cathedral

This is possibly my favorite Mass during the WHOLE Liturgical year.  It's filled with so much rich symbolism, tradition, and beauty that it's hard to believe that the next day is the death of Christ.

For the first time, I was at the seat of a diocese, the Archdiocese of Łódź.  Hands down, it's the most beautiful Mass I've every experienced in Poland.  It's also the first time I've seen incense used properly and there was a Eucharistic procession around the church.  My friend Dara joined me for the service and I always love having someone to point out some of the symbolic actions present in the Mass.  

Bishop washing feet

As usual, the bishop washed the feet of 12 men from the congregation.  There was lots of incense and holy water and beautiful things.  Singing the Gloria in Polish, or listening rather, was beautiful.  I was SO excited that they ring all the bells in the church during the Gloria.  It's one of the best memories I have of altar serving at St. Hyacinth.  After Mass, the procession away from the altar was accompanied by wooden clackers, just like home.  Disappointingly, they didn't strip the altar, which has always been one of my favorite symbolic gestures towards Good Friday.

Good Friday

Unfortunately, my train to Katowice was smack dab in the middle of Good Friday (11 am-2pm ish).  Thus, I missed the normal Good Friday services.  Usually, my family would be at the church from 12-3 pm, commemorating the time Jesus was on the Cross.  But, I kept the fast and abstinence part of the day!

Holy Saturday

Back home, our churches have three or four times for Swieconka, the blessing of the Easter baskets.  At my family's church in Katowice, they have blessings every fifteen minutes!  Families decorate their baskets with flowers and beautiful crocheted/knitted/embroidered doilies and all head down to the church for the blessing.  Because there are so many people, the blessings occur outside, not in the church.  Before I found out that this was a logistical thing, I thought it was another really cool symbolic way to show that Christ wasn't in the Church anymore.  

Luckily, the weather was fairly good when we went to stand outside!  Easter Sunday wasn't exactly as cooperative.

Easter Sunday

We went to Mass at the local church in the morning.  It was nice because everyone was dressed up and I got to wear my pretty new dress :)  After Mass, we had an Easter breakfast.  It started out with a piece of bread and hard boiled egg which we ate altogether after wishes for health in the rest of the year.

Walking Grzegorz's puppy
  in a winter wonderland!

After breakfast, we watched some of the Mass in Rome, which was pretty cool to see the new Pope!  Then
we went to hang out with some of their cousins that live in Katowice.  Being with a close family was really cool!  It did make me really miss my aunts, uncles, and cousins who were celebrating Easter back at my house.  But never fear, because by the time we got home, everyone was at my house and I got to Skype in and say hi!

The weather on Easter Sunday was SO WEIRD.  There was a crazy amount of snow.  On a good day, from the flat, you can see some mountains in the distance.  In the afternoon on Sunday, you couldn't even

Cousins...caught in a snowstorm

see the forest we went for a walk in earlier that day.  Over the course of the whole day, we had over half a foot of snow.  Funny thing is, Poland had a green Christmas!

Easter Monday
In Poland, Smigus Dyngus falls on Easter Monday and traditionally involves boys throwing water on girls as "good luck" in finding a husband.  These days, it's just an excuse for mischievousness kids to get into mischief.

Around noon, we went over to another family member's house to hang out.  In Poland, Easter Monday is still a national holiday, so no one had to work yet!  Since there was a bazillion inches of snow, I found myself in a few snowbanks on our walk around the neighborhood.  I might be somewhat at fault for that though seeing how I started a few snowball fights!

On the Difficulty of Great Friends

Long story short...I really just want to be hug-sandwiched again.

My four years at CMU were filled with the BEST people imaginable   From my peers in the Honors program, to professors that challenged me, to my roommates, to friends from St. Mary's, to friends from different countries, to the College Republicans,  I couldn't have asked for more love and support from my university "family".

Freshman year reunion!

I knew I had great friends.
I knew that graduating from CMU was going to be difficult.
I knew moving to Poland would make it even harder.
I knew that I'd miss everything about CMU waaaay too much somedays.

However, only recently have I truly begun to grasp how precious the friendships I had at CMU were.  I've
made friends in Poland, but over the course of a few months, it's difficult to truly cultivate the honest and complete friendships I enjoy with my closest friends from CMU.

Guys' apartment...Tigers in World Series
I watched them on my own this year...

If I was bored, with nothing to do, a quick trip downstairs usually found one of six roommates watching tv or
"studying".  If that didn't work, there was always the guys apartment across the street and another apartment full of girls.  Whether it was for a serious talk about our faith or college football (yes, football is serious), or a crazy late night of Pirate dice and euchre, I always had someone to turn to and talk to.



Now, with a six hour time difference, it's nearly impossible to have regular conversations with everyone.  I
don't have a church lounge to drop into between classes.  And I miss it.  I miss it more than I ever imagined I would.  And I'm starting to realize that this is one reason those four years are the best years.  You have everyone you care about at the tip of your fingers.  A four am trip to Walmart in your pajamas for ice cream isn't strange, you're a college student.

Granted, I have friends here in Poland!  And I love them for putting up with the mood swings of a crazy
American.  My American friends would happily sympathize with you!  My mom said it's the difference between college and adult friendships.  Thankfully, I'll be a college student again in t-minus four months. I'm making friendships in my adult life a priority...must have friends that will do things like this:

Who wouldn't miss these weirdos?

Whenever I talk with high school students in Poland about American universities, I mention this family-making phenomena.  Unlike Polish students, *most* American students are away from their parents and brothers and sisters.  That means over the course of four years, we create a massive network of friendship through a number of different organizations.

Friends are truly a blessing in our lives and sometimes it's easy to take those precious moments together for granted.  While I've moved away, I haven't moved on.  And I still value the time my friends spend on Facebook Chat and Skype with me.  

If I had to do it all over again, I would still come to Poland.  While I've struggled with loneliness a lot this year, it has made me realize the true value of friendship.  Not only the value of friendship, but the intensity that we can love people with.  I'd come back to Europe in a heartbeat, but maybe I'd try to squeeze at least one friend in my suitcase next time!

Into the Big League!

The things big sisters do to make their brothers jealous...

Last week, I went on a six hour bus ride to Warsaw to see Poland take on San Marino in a World Cup Qualifier.  Seeing as I highly doubt I'll make it to Rio next summer for the actual World Cup (although if I happen to inherit $10k, it'd be a sweet graduation present for my lil bro!), this seemed like a good place to get in on the action.

So on Tuesday night, I ventured to Stadion Narodowy, or the National Stadium, for my first experience of an international game.  Prior to this game, my only experience with soccer was my brother and sister's high school and AYSO games and ONE fantastic afternoon with my hometown NSPL team, Detroit City Football Club.

A quick shout out to the awesomeness of Le Rouge supporters via a Youtube clip.  If this is how Americans support a semi-pro team, my expectations for a European World Cup qualifier were for it to at least be in the same ball park of crazy.

Pre-game anthems

Understandably, smoke bombs aren't allowed in the National Stadium; however, there was no raucous celebrations for goals or disdain for the opponent.  Granted, Poland won the match 5-0...but even the first goal, everyone cheered with their Polska scarves raised high, but there wasn't the insanity of cheering I expected.   Perhaps if I had attended the game against Ukraine it would've been a different story!

The best moment of the whole evening was before the game, singing the Polish National Anthem.  Over 100 years ago my great grandparents left Poland, and that sacrifice of family to venture into the unknown country, language, and culture of America is something I remember every day that I am in Poland.

Took forever to find the drums!

 Once upon a time, I proudly performed the Polish National Anthem in front of a bunch of Polish-Americans at my graduation from Polish dance and thought THAT was a great tribute to my great grandparents.  And here I was, on the other side of the world, singing with 40,000 Polish people.  Goosebumps is an understatement.

A soccer game can no longer be complete without a little love for Hooligans for Heroes.  This is an organization that a dear friend's husband and a group of DCFC supporters started to raise money for the Wounded Warrior project.  Hooligans sponsors fundraisers in the Metro Detroit area, but it's spreading across the U.S. right now.  Supporters of EVERY soccer club can rally behind this great cause, and a trip to a Polish National game is no different.