at the end of the beginning

...deep in thought at Corinth...

It's 1:24am. My body still hasn't grown accustomed to the time in Australia, and I have no idea how on earth I'm gonna get up at 6:30am for my 9am class. Eww... uni!

I've just finished uploading all my WYD pics. My laptop got reformatted just before I left for Europe, so I'm in the midst of reinstalling MS Office and Hello, so I can share with you some of my strange visual moments. Atm my desktop pic is a group shot at the very top of the island of Tinos, where we had mass at a small but very pretty Sacred Heart Chapel... The sky is blue in the background, and everyone looks like they just jumped into the shot at the last moment - which they did.

Today I woke up at 1pm. I didn't even have to try sleeping in - it just happened. I'd woken up at 6:30am with a start... almost like I'd awoken from a nightmare. I realised I was in Australia, that it was still Winter and that there was no way I was getting up without having to, so I crawled back under my blanket and allowed my alarm clock to sound out "Vindicated" by Dashboard until 1pm. That's about... 3 hours worth of snooze time... Hahaha...

The boys were right - I did end up finishing my WYD journal. Each page is packed with descriptions of what I experienced, what I felt, what I saw, names of the amazing people I met... and so on and so on. I was scared to admit how much I missed my fellow travellers, but Edz called today and asusured me that missing everyone wasn't lame at all. There was something disconcerting about waking up in my own room to such a quiet place. Being in my own bed and looking out my own window was weird... and it might sound strange, but my heart actually aches when I reminisce over everything that just happened. Even now, as I listen to 104.1FM, they're playing the tunes we were all singing on Bus 2. *sigh*

My heart is aching for the Summer sky, the clatter of cutlery on plates, the laughter of young people, the accent in the voices of Fr Dennis and Jose-Miguel, the sound of Vincent's voice calling us to hurry up, the feeling of not having to think about uni readings, tax returns, mobile phone bills and cleaning the bathroom.

I really believe the bonds we built, the places we saw, the hours of experience, and the jokes that were shared are all etched into the fabric that holds together my life. Can you tell? I'm having sentimental withdrawal symptoms!

The faces of fellow pilgrims keep flashing in my memory... especially those who shared the music, jam sessions and laughter in the back few rows of our pilgrim bus. And even the girls who were in our classroom at the Eric Gutenberg Business College... all people I miss so much already.

I have an enormous pile of clothes to fold.. Last night was my attempt to organise my life (a failed attempt, mind you)... and it was a strange feeling. Somewhat surreal to be honest.

I guess the next adventure is just beginning - trying to put into practice all that was learnt from the World Youth Day Experience... which will be hard, because there was so much that was packed into one single day that I don't even know where to begin.

But here's a small snapshot of life as it unfolded from Athens to London. =)

...waiting to board our 24hour flight to Singapore/Bahrain/Athens on GULF AIR...


Athens is known for the Olympics... so here it is!!


modelling the ancient ruins near the plaka @ the ancient AGORA


paddling at the shore of the Aegean Sea - the same place St Paul departed Corinth for Ephesus...


my favouritist place ever - the House of Mary just north of Ephesus...


ancient latrines... just like in the history books!

Poland - change of weather and change of atmosphere... is this the most space-ship-like church you've ever seen or what?!


Shrine of saint & martyr Maximillion Colbey @ Auschwitz...


outside the house of the late JPII


on the streets of Brno - stopover & mass at the first city in Czech Republic


Prague at night.... WOW


just a fraction of the crowds at Cologne Cathedral...


Marenfeld... the REAL WYD


My Ashton Kutcher ice-cream salesman (check out his Tshirt)


Paris by day...


...Ancient Rome...


art at the Vatican...


...And finally - my mates Paul & Stephen at Buckingham Palace...

And that's not even half of it... you'll hear more about it later. But for now... enjoy the snaps.

Missing... Alessandro Palace in Rome/the nice bus-driver in London/cute guy who played Galileo in "We Will Rock You"/all the priests who joined us at pilgrimage/Bus 2 travellers/the busking session on the boat to Tinos/all the jam sessions at the back of the bus/worshipping with everyone on the deck of MS Perla/taking stupid photos in the middle of the night at Marenfeld/playing cards in room 202 at Acropol Hotel/EJs riddles/Nereus and his swabs of Listerine/Edwin's shoulder and MP3 player/the German "backerie" that gave us shelter in the rain/Mass everyday/having people to wake up with and go to sleep next to/waking up to a new view and new country every few days/Summer/ancient ruins/the Pope =)/everyone in Vincent's group/our Baby Alpha group/squatting at toilets (not!! I do NOT miss that)/discovering love/discovering faith/discovering God/discovering prayer/carefree adventure... *sniff*

green dresses, the Vatican, red roses & wishes by a fountain

So... Chapter 3 of this Eurotrip continues... It is 12:43am, Rome time. We leave for London in less than 6 hours. Next to me, Nereus is trying to scam some Internet access with his left over Euro cents. Three floors above us, in room 35 of the Alessandro Palace, Edwin is asleep, Ags is listening to her Ipod, and EJ is packing. We catch a bus to Ciampino airport at 4:30am.

I have spent the last 10 minutes quickly browsing through emails and having a squiz at Jonna's blog. Right now I'm trying to get used to this European keyboard. Nez is having a sook coz the comp won't let him access his uni email account.

Today... was AMAZING. Rome is, byfar, one amazing city. In think being back into Summer weather has totally upped the excitement level. We arrived yesterday morning and I breathed in the smell of sweat, sunshine and Summer... and realised that the last 22 days have been dream after dream coming true. Here's a brief outline as to what today's adventure around Rome involved...

Woke up to the sound of boys getting ready in the hustle and bustle of our beautiful hostel room. This is my favourite place to stay because we've all been together, we get free coffee in the morning, it's pretty, and the Italian guys at reception seriously crack me up. I got changed on the top bunk because one of the guys was hogging the bathroom. GREEN DRESS from Paris... (oh no... what's going on? is that GIRLYness??? uh-oh...) We finally went down to breakfast at 8:15ish and left for the Vatican just before 9am.

One thing I'm incredibly proud of during this trip is discovering my ability to get around foreign countries. I didn't know if I'd cope... but I've managed to get us around the metro and bus systems of Paris and Italy without any mishaps.

So today... we caught the metro to Vatican City. WOW!!!! Omg... I went into another country today... hahaha... And was amazed by St Peter's Square... enchanted by St Peter's Basilica. You know what was funny? I knew to really appreciate the Vatican, you need at least a day in that place... but I thought "nah... these guys wouldn't want to spend a day in here..." but we got into the basilica and EDWIN of all people was the one who said "hey let's split up and look around for another hour" ... so in the end, after the a couple of hours of being mesmerised by everything in the museums AND ESPECIALLY the Sistine Chapel... me & the boys had lunch just outside the Vatican Walls while Ags went shopping.

This afternoon involved a walk around the city streets, a photo by the Mouth of Truth, a visit to Castel Sant Angelo (dunno if that's it's real name, I might be making that up), breathtaking Roman monuments and an unlucky attempt to find shoes just as the shops were about to close. Today's funniest moment though... was the Trevi Fountain.

This place is beautiful at night... lit up and spectacular. If I'm allowed to show you the photos, then you will laugh and marvel too.. because tonight I got two red roses and a lot of love from three fine young gentlemen who have made this trip to Europe one I'll never forget. Hugs, flowers, jokes, riddles, farts.. the lot. These guys crack me up... seriously.

We had our last Italian dinner just a few minutes away from the Trevi..and bused back to Termini station.

Now I'm just trying to kill time because I need to wake up Eddoes in an hour and a half. Nez is looking up stuff on Ebay. We just bought our tickets to the airport... and tomorrow is London.

I MISS YOU EVERYONE!!! Household, Amardeep, Cobes... and a shoutout to my family.. esp Roanne... whose gibberish I have missed over these 3 weeks. And of course to all the pilgrims. I READ YOUR EMAILS AND OMG I MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH.

And you know what?? I fell in love during this trip... really I did. In a way you'd never figure... but more details about that later! *oooh...you're excited now ay?! ha! too bad... gotta wait til I'm home on sunday...*

Miss ya Australia!!!

i'm in a foreign laundromat

There is a breeze flying through the doors, and I am in a singlet and board shorts. It rained in Paris yesterday, but the sun is out this morning in Rome. Right now we're listening to Jennifer Lopez and getting our clothes washed. Chucked in all the shirts, jeans, dirty undies...
Eddoes is checkin his hotmail account a couple of computers away. Ags, Nez and Ej went to get food. This morning I woke up on the top bunk of a train that had swept straight past Switzerland from France... and now I am on a computer in an Italian laundromat and the sun is out and I am the happiest person in the world!
I haven't even had a chance to check my mail... but I thought I would post this and say HI!!! to everyone at home, who I miss so much... my famz, my household, my YFC mates, Amardeep, Cobes... and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEREE.

There has been A LOT of things that have happened everyday since we left on Thursday 4th. I've wanted to BLOG, and my journal is chockers full of our daily adventures through Greece, to the Parthenon, Acropolis, Corinth, Ephesus, Turkey, Czech Republic, Prague... the list if endless, with a new set of memories for everyday. The bus rides, the funny fast food, es cargo, laughing laughing ang laughing some more... getting sick... buying clothes... sending all the pasalubong home by German mail (if you read this please pray for your presents, which should get through customs without problems, but I'm paranoid now that I'll get home on Sunday night and nothing I sent by mail will arrive for another 10 months... *grimace*)

Australia, I miss you and your beaches, your familiar roads... but nothing beats the amazing metro stations, Roma Termini station, Paris Champs Elysè and the company of four ... hundred amazing Catholics who have made this adventure one that I will share and cherish forever and forever AMEN.

Can't wait til I get home and tell you all about it.

PS. The Eiffel Tower sparkles at night. And I am the luckiest girl in the world to have 3 fine young men to share the 600step walk to the 2nd floor... and the rain when we got to the top... the photos with *lovers!* omg..

Ok... gotta go coz my free internet will run out in 2min 30 secs.

LOVE YOU ALL...

11:51am ROMAN TIME

the final countdown

WARNING: You may turn green after reading this blog

We leave my house in about 2 hours, and we pick up two of my bestest friends in the whole world... so we can start a journey that's going to change us, inspire us, challenge us, excite us and move us in a way that we've never experienced before.
We'll join hundreds of people in Athens... and then thousands of people in Cologne... and then suddenly there'll be five of us backpacking around 3 of Europe's major cities in a 5-day amazing race adventure.

The plane leaves in 7 hours and 42 minutes. And my watch is ticking... but my heart has been preparing itself for this adventure for over two years. And now it's here... and we'll be leaving... and oh my gosh... the stress is gone and I'm just happy. HAPPY AND EXCITED!!! *hahahhahaha... does anyone remember that?!*

The past 9 days since the last entry has brought with it many new stories, funny memories, and a looot of inspiration, despite the challenges that I've faced. A lot of emotions going crazy, and a tornado of things to do... many of which still haven't been done. But you know what? It's ok... because GOD WILL BRING ME THROUGH IT.

Meanwhile, I just finished putting some chocolate in a bag to bring on the plane... *yum* Should be an intersting 24 hour flight... hahaha... oh the laughs! You should see my backpack. It's hilarious. I have no idea how I'm going to carry it for 15kms because it weighs about 15kg... and I'm a stick. Well... a stick with bits of fat coming out the front and back end. =)

Hmmm... so the last few days included...
- The Patrician Bros reflection days. These were tiring, but amazing. The team was awesome, and I honour everyone who came to serve on those two days. The boys were a fantastic crowd, the band went off, the skit was hilarious, the games were fun... and the response to the experience of God... was AMAZING.
- Camp Training @ Loyola. That was fun, and as always, Ray did a great job.
- The YFC "unified!" CAMP!! *WOOTWOOT!!* Hehehe... check Jane's blog for exciting revelations about how cool the weekend was.
- Water fight with Ryan. *Ahem!* Ehpp... I luuurv my mission partner! Especially when he tries to hide after smashing a water bomb into my jacket, and I still get a glass of water on him. Haaha.. =p
- Uni. WHOA. Praise God for my group, and if you get a chance please pray for our major project this sem. It's a big task, and even bigger purpose, and will need BIG FAITH and COMMITMENT to make it happen.
- The haircut that killed my hair... but turned it a funky shade of red. Hahaha... you'll see it when I get back (unless I get adventurous and cut it all off...) ;)
- Jean's birthday... awwww.. she's a funny one. A smiling, bubbly and FUNNY wife so totally in love with her hubby. Those two inspire me to get married. Hahahaha... (and speakin of...)
- Last night's dinnz at Chillis - where the only farewell I got was a series of winks, nudges and instructions to come back from my pilgrimage with "many stories".
But all of that is 2nd place to what I'm really excited for... and that's witnessing God in a way that I never have before. Hundreds of thousands gathered to express their faith... WOW!!!

No doubt about it - this definitely will be an exciting chapter. I'm jittery and unprepared, and totally scared... but HEY! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, UK and Bahrain in a matter o 24 days. Ehp..

Pray for me while I'm gone ok? And email me links to all your blogs, coz Edz formatted my laptop and all my blog links are gone *sniff!* This way if I get Net access, I'll know what's going on with everyone. =)

Auf Wiedersehen, au revoir, arriverderci, hasta la vista and see ya'll soon!!!

*hugs & prayers...*