Beautiful Whirlwind

When I first arrived here in Austria, I was honestly a little worried that I would have sooo much extra time, and that I'd be sitting around doing nothing for hours.  In the last 4 days, I have realized that I couldn't have been more wrong, and that is a wonderful thing.

Saturday morning, we woke up early, ate a hurried breakfast, and jumped on board a bus to Vienna!  After the 2-hour drive, we arrived and walked to Mass (which was at a Cistercian Monastery).  Following Mass, we had an hour long walking tour of the city which led to our lunching location- the Twelve Apostles Keller.  3 flights of stairs into the basement, and we were in what seemed like a safe place to be if a bomb went off.  It was a cute bomb shelter, though :D

My friends ordered wine, I got a lovely cup of coffee, and we all had traditional Wienerschnitzel, German potato salad, and apple streusel!

Following lunch, we were on our own for 5 hours.  My friends and I decided to venture to the National Treasury, where we saw Imperial robes, baptismal sets (be warned: my expectations for the Baptisms of my future nieces and nephews have been raised! :P hehe), and lots of relics: a piece of the true Cross, a piece of St. John's robes, relics of all 12 apostles, St. Veronica's veil, and many more!

  

And then we did what every awesome Catholic tour group does: Church hopping!  We visited 4 or 5 different churches; oh, goodness, were they beautiful!  Our faith is just full of beauty upon beauty, and I absolutely love it!

After running around chasing a good place to eat dinner, the group split up: half ate dessert in a small cafe, and the other half (including myself) ate "real dinner" in .... an Italian restaurant.  Except we didn't know it was Italian until we were seated.  I have to say- it was delicious!  I had gnocchi with a garlic sauce, spinach, and tomatos.  We had our first experience of ordering (and paying for) water, and of giving a much smaller tip than we're used to.  European culture is so interesting!

The drive back to the Kartause was rather uninteresting... pretty much everyone slept :D

Sunday was also uneventful, except for Mass (where all the Liturgical minsters were commissioned!) and a wonderful brunch (waffles and Nutella, anyone?).

This semester, I have once again volunteered to be the student head of the Extraordinary Ministers, so I'll be working with one of the sisters here for that.  I will also be her "assistant" of sorts, with other things she may need.  I started today, and I'm excited to be serving in this way again!

And THEN, I said a couple posts ago that I hoped to help one of the families here with their children..... I will actually be helping TWO families!  One will be on Wednesday mornings, and the other on Thursday mornings.  I start on Wednesday, and I am extremely excited...

That's one thing I am loving about Gaming- the professors and their families are so much more present and accessible to us students!  I don't fault the professors on main campus for doing otherwise, but when we're all far away from our families here in Europe, it's nice to have families who are willing to let us into their lives for at least a short time.  Most, if not all, of the Kartause families attend daily Mass with us, and we see the children playing in the snow in the courtyard on a regular basis.  Such a blessing!

Oh yeah, and we've got some homework too :P  Meaning, I have lots of reading to do for almost every class.... at least it interesting!  Yes, even Philosophy, although my encouraging brother has assured me that I will very quickly dislike it.  We shall see, we shall see....

All that being said, there is no possible way that I'm going to be bored while I'm here.

So long for now, I must go clean my room for our room check tomorrow!!

~Allison

Random Thoughts and Ramblings

Time: 11:18
Location: dorm room
State of Mind: somewhat (read:completely) out of it
Why? finals are over!!!!  and therefore I am tired, braindead, and ready to sleeeep.
Looking forward to: sleep. (see a trend?) And home-cooked meals.  And seeing friends and family at home.
Best thing(s) that happened this past week: (1) Stasia and Grace made me half-birthday signs for my door, since I won't be in school for my actual birthday =) (Thanks to the Bunker!) and I got an A on my Biblical Studies paper! Huzzah!

What do the next couple days look like? tomorrow will be completely full of graphic design, and Thursday will be completely full of packing, and Friday will be completely full of packing and Liturgy Committee end-of-year stuff.

Wait.  Finals are over.  Why am I working on design still? Because it's not due 'till Thursday and we don't have a test in that class.

I'll try to post my designs after I turn them in, so that you can get an idea of what I'm doing =)
xoxo,

recent thoughts

Date: October 22, 2012
Time: 10:31 p.m.
What I'm listening to: The Fighter (Gym Class Heroes)
What's been going on: A heck of a lot!  This weekend was Fall Fun Day with Liturgy Committee; we went to a farm and did the petting zoo, a hay ride, and other fun fall-ish things.  Sunday I went into the city with a bunch of other people from school to see Mary Poppins!  It was really, really good; if it comes to your area, I highly recommend it!  And oh-by-the-way I also have 3 tests, a paper, and a project due within the next 6 days.

corn maze at Fall Fun day!!

Recent realization: Evelyn and I have a lack of  pictures of the two of us.  Which, considering that we've been rooming for a year and a half, is fairly pathetic.  So we've decided to remedy this situation by taking more pictures of ourselves!!

What's the weather: The beauty that can only occur in fall...the colors are gorgeous and the temperatures are heavenly.  Although this coming week, we're (supposedly) going from 70s one day to 30s and snowing the next.  Figures.  Typical Steubenville.

What I'm excited about: This book!  I saw it last spring on vacation while Stasia was home with me.... and I just bought it.  On Amazon, of course, because that's where all college students shop for everything!!!!  Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration.  Still.

What I'm reading: the Bible.  No, I'm not being tricky.  Or "holy".  I mean, hopefully I am being holy, but that's beside the point that I'm reading the Bible.  I have to journal my way through the Bible for my Biblical studies class.... so for Wendesday, I have to read and journal on every chapter of Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Judges (Joshua is "read-only").... it takes quite a while!!!!

What I'm passionate about this week: Verily Magazine!!!!  It's an awesome magazine for older teens and women.  They write on relationships, fashion, and other topics relatable to women living in today's world who want to be modest, respectable, and fashionable.

I've actually teamed up with Verily to get the word out... I ask you all to take a look at their website (you can find it here).  There's a complete teaser issue so you can get an idea of what it's like!  If you like what you see, you can order the magazine for $10 off the cover price with a special code (enter CAWOLF30 at checkout).  It's only $3 per issue (to put it in perspective, that's one Starbucks Frap per issue).  Check it out and let me know if you've got any questions!!

What's coming up this week: women's ministry meeting, lunch with Stephanie (from Crossroads), Liturgy Committee (as per usual), and hopefully looking at trains in Austria and Germany!

xoxo,

buzz buzz

Today was utter insanity.  It was the ordination and installation of Bishop Montforten, Steubenville's new bishop.  As a liturgy committee member, I was working it, so after Mass, I ran to get changed for the Mass, then I spent a couple hours setting up, and then I got to greet priests, bishops, and cardinals for 2 hours.  (There were 110 priests, 32 bishops, 2 cardinals, and 8-ish deacons here today!).  And then a 3 hour Mass, take-down and carry-back to the chapel, dinner as committee, and a little homework.  I've been on my feet all day and my brain all swimm-y. (Yes, that's a word.  At least, now it is.)

So pardon the fact that this post is anti-climactic.
love you all, and keep in touch while I'm here on the hill!
xoxo,

Interior Life

"Do not be vain, my soul. Do not deafen your heart's ear with the tumult of your vanity. Even you have to listen. The Word himself cried to you to return. There is the place of undisturbed quietness where love is not deserted if it does not itself depart."
St. Augustine
-Confessions



I feel that I must apologize for my prolonged absence. I know, it's been a while. In the week I was home, I had little time to unpack and pack again, much less to blog. So sorry!
I'm currently on a retreat for liturgy committee, but when I return to campus, I PROMISE I will bombard you (via this blog) with stories and pictures and other lovely things.

Please pray for us as we discover the best ways in which to lead our respective ministries.