Mermaid on Land

The lyrics "She couldn't wait to get goin' but wasn't quite ready to leave" were how I felt leaving home for my first year of college. Three and half years later I relate to those lyrics just as much as I did as a nervous 17 year old. But now I'm 21 years old, still nervous as heck, but I know there is a greater plan for me than what I have for myself.  In 2 days I leave this beautiful place I’ve called home for the last 4 months. It’s a bittersweet feeling. When I was preparing to come here, and even for the first couple weeks I was here, I kept telling myself, “I don’t understand why people say the Kartause became their second home.” Of course I’ve always thought it was great and beautiful and I’ve felt comfortable here and I’ve loved it but it took a little while for me to call it home . But now I understand. I distinctly remember coming home from Prague and seeing the spire of Maria Thron and feeling so relieved that I was finally home. And my weekend in

There is an Irish proverb that says, “Your feet will take you where your heart is.” My feet took me to Ireland and that is where a piece of my heart will remain.  My 10-day break came and went marking the halfway point of my semester abroad. I’ve left my heart in so many places: with the victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in the canals of Venice, on the streets of Prague, atop the mountains of Salzburg, and now a huge part of my heart remains on the edge of the Cliffs of Moher, walking along Salthill Promenade, and singing along to Galway Girl in an Irish Pub. There are no words to describe the joy and peace that Ireland brought me. I didn’t think it was possible to feel so at home in a place so foreign. The homey feeling had to do with more than things like the use of ice in water and Coke or being able to read road signs and menus (I’ve never appreciated the English language so much). It’s the affectionate demeanor of the Irish people and the loveliness of the Irish landscape.

I’m in the middle of my midterms week so naturally I’m choosing now to sit down and write about how my classes are going. That should be an indication of how classes are going—procrastination at it’s finest. Overall, classes are going really well. I think the best way to talk about them is individually so here’s a short breakdown of each class.  The Medieval World - Dr. Hass  I really love history but have found that I do much better when the history class is specific as opposed to general (The Medieval World vs. History of Civilization). Plus what better way to prepare myself for the places I’ll be traveling to and exploring on the weekends? Dr. Hass has set the class up English-style meaning that on Tuesdays he gives a lecture and by Thursday we are expected to do the assigned reading and prepare 3 discussion questions. On Thursdays we participate in a class discussion based on the questions we have prepared in advance. So far, I’ve really liked the class and it’s small enough

The trip to Poland made for a very heavy weekend so I’m splitting the weekend into two blog posts as an attempt to give justice to it all. To be honest, I don’t know where to start so please bear with me as I wade through the brokenness of my heart while writing this post.  On Friday we visited Auschwitz concentration camp and Birkenau extermination camp. My family was not directly affected by the atrocities that occurred at either of these or any other concentration or extermination camp. Despite having no concrete attachment to any of the people who suffered through these camps, I was profoundly impacted by what I experienced. What we learn about the holocaust in history classes in high school is far from an accurate description of the torments these people withstood.   I think Auschwitz has always been a place of puddles. 75 years ago the puddles were of blood and tears; today the puddles are of a cleansing rain that allows the grass to grow green. Despite green gr

“We must learn to trust and depend on Him to take care of us and guide us. We place ourselves in the hands of our Father by submitting to God’s mercy and forgiveness. Our hope and confidence is fixed on God and God alone; therefore we will not hesitate to ask for His help and guidance.” These are the words regarding the first pillar, trust, of the covenant I signed when I was inducted into Daughters of Zion. This semester has taken me back through the pillars of this covenant in a very real way. If last weekend was about abandoning myself to the will of God, this week was about trusting in His Will. Let me start from the beginning. We were supposed to go camping and kayaking in a small town in the Czech Republic. We rented a car, had a solid group, and were excited. Then we learned that you had to be 21 to rent the car (that stipulation was not included until after we reserved the car). None of us were 21 and there was no other way of getting there so our group split up. One

“If you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans.” I’m reminded of this very often but it is entirely possible that I have already been reminded of it more this semester than in the rest of my life combined. Usually I encounter the reminder in a subtle way—in the small things. But every once in awhile He finds me in the big things (I think He laughs harder when it’s in the big things). I can promise you that this weekend, God was doing nothing but laughing at me. Thankfully, when He got done laughing he opened the floors of Heaven so I could be reminded of my Nana Frances. Let’s start with the good stuff—because even in the midst of frustration I was reminded of the beauty and joy surrounding me. We started off going to Mass at Stift Heiligenkreuz (another translation I can’t provide), a Franciscan Church about halfway between Gaming and Vienna. I’m beginning to feel like I’m overusing the word ‘beautiful’ (Dad—you and I get each other now) but I feel like that’s the only word

After spending the day in Salzburg, I will never watch The Sound of Music the same again. I will no longer watch it focused on the classiness of Julie Andrews or the stoicism of Christopher Plumber or how adorable Greta is. I will watch it focused on the beauty of Austria. The movie brings attention to some of the most beautiful scenes in Salzburg: the cemetery in which they hide from the Nazis, the gardens they sing and dance through, and the mountains they climb in order to seek refuge are just tastes of the city.  Waking up at 5:30 to get to Mass at Franziskanerkirche (don’t worry, I have no idea what that means either) ended up being well worth the heavy eyes and uncomfortable half-sleep on the bus. After Mass, we went on a walking tour (headed by Dr. Hass) of the better part of Salzburg. It was really interesting to have Dr. Hass as our tour guide because he’s an American with a PhD in Medieval History so he may not have the affection for the city that an Austrian would

We started our Sunday exploring ruins of a castle along the Danube in Dürnstein, Austria. It was in this castle that Richard the Lionheart was held captive in 1192 during the 3rd Crusade. Besides its incredible historical significance, the castle in Dürnstein is absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. The trek up to the castle is steep but definitely worth the burning feeling in my calves. I climbed as high up on the ruins as I could (sorry, Mom) and it felt like I was on top of the world. It’s in those moments that I can truly feel God’s presence. There was nothing but beauty surrounding me: the people I’ll be traveling with for the next four months, the Danube, the Alps, the vineyards, and the crisp mountain sky. There wasn’t a moment we were up there that I could even begin to doubt the love God has for us. He has given us these gifts of his artwork to explore and completely immerse ourselves in. We were able to celebrate Mass in the church in Dürnstein which was another incredible