We learned this week of the loss of Brian Adkins an alum of GW and active member of the Newman Center and the Knights of Columbus. His funeral will be back in Ohio. Afterwards we are planning to have a memorial service in the area sometime. We will give details as they come in.
Salut! Forgive me if I butcher some basic English grammar – I’ve been speaking in French for 2 days straight and my brain is having trouble going back to my native tongue.
Hands down, Switzerland is amazing. My host family is wonderful. Tereza and Francois Buensod have 3 kids (6, 12, and 15) and they happen to be Catholic! I was hoping we would all go to Mass together on Sunday but I ended up going by myself in the evening because we went sledding in the Swiss Alps for most of the day. It was an incredible experience – here are some photos for you all to drool over. Yeah, I was right there in the middle of that gorgeousness. (more on this adventure on my personal blog: marissafondue.blogspot.com)
So going to Mass was my first independent experience I’ve had since I’ve been here. The Buensods live in a beautiful, huge, old farmhouse in the country outside of Geneva which is a 5 min walk from the nearest train station. So Francois (my host dad) drew me a handy little map on how to get from the house to the church, St Rita. I took a deep breath and walked out the door by myself. It ended up being a super easy trip. Four stops on the train (no one even checked my ticket… I could basically ride for free) and the church was down the street from the station.
St. Rita is a tiny church where one priest serves several other parishes in the area. I’m not sure yet if they have dioceses like we do (probably yes) but it’s apparent that there aren’t many Catholics around Geneva because they only have 4 Masses each Sunday spread over 4 churches. And daily Mass only on Wednesday and Friday.
For having spoken so much French already, I wasn’t really able to follow the Mass, but of course, I knew what was going on. I thought it was interesting that the hymns and prayers were set to music that I know from other songs. For example, the Holy Holy was sung to the tune of Amazing Grace (and it was called Gloire a Toi, qui etais mort = Glory to You, who was dead).
Communion was the biggest difference. The priest and a Eucharistic Minister distributed the Eucharist but the chalice was left on the altar and we had to go behind the altar and drink from it ourselves (and then wipe the chalice). Lots of people were dipping the host into the cup (tincture… not allowed anymore, technically!)
Before I arrived in Geneva on Saturday, my group stayed at a hostel in Annecy, France. It just so happened that Saturday was the Feast of Francis de Salles, who was the Bishop of Geneva and was buried in Annecy. Crazy, huh? Dieu est partout. I do remember seeing his statue in Annecy but thanks to the breviary, I know why it’s there.
This is long enough. Unfortunately, I do not have wireless at my house so it’s hard to update often but I’ll be sure to share the important things! I miss you all and hope everyone is happy and well.
Baisers,
Marissa
Hi everyone! My name is Julie and I am a junior studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. I thought opening our Newman Center blog to GW Catholic students studying abroad would be a great way to keep in touch with them while also learning more about how other Catholics live in other countries! I am keeping a separate blog for my family and friends to read up on all of my travels in detail, so if you are new to the Newman Center and are interested just let me know. I have been in Madrid for about a week and a half. When I first got here, I went to orientation for a few days in a hotel before I met my home stay mom, Patricia, who is also a practicing Catholic. Patricia lives alone in a small apartment in a nice part of the city 2 blocks from the metro. She is 46 and works for an insurance company in HR but has been considering a career change to becoming a teacher. She has 8 siblings and her aunt, who is also housing a girl from GW and lives nearby, has 11 siblings! Patricia speaks English almost fluently which is helpful when I have difficulty saying things or when she repeats something multiple times and I still don’t understand. My study abroad program is through GW and so all 20 students are from our university. Some have chosen to take classes directly with Spanish students at the Spanish university we go to, but the rest of us are taking separate classes taught by GW professors at the university designed specifically for the program. Right now I am one week into our three week language and culture intensive course but in February I will start my real classes: flamenco dancing, European history since the 20th century, more Spanish, and an art history course at the Prado and Reina Sofia (the two famous art museums in Madrid). Since I’ve gotten here, our group has taken a day trip outside the city to El Escorial and Toledo in addition to exploring the city itself.
Catholicism is completely intertwined with Spanish history and culture. For example, we have off from class at the university tomorrow because it is the celebration of the patron saint of students in Spain. Who knew? The academic calendar at the university shows there are other days off for religious days even though the university is public. Patricia explained that there are about 12 national holidays during the year, and most but not all are religiously based (for example, people get off of work for the Assumption, the Immaculate Conception, Feast of St. James/Santiago who is the Patron Saint of Spain). When we went on a field trip to visit the famous works of art in the Prado, at least 3/4ths of the works I saw were inspired by Catholicism. Our director was explaining the significance and symbolism in the paintings and it’s so much easier for me to understand everything- I’m starting to feel bad for the Muslim and Jewish students in my program because they are so confused! There are churches everything in the city, ranging from small ones that look more like apartment buildings to beautiful cathedrals. Patricia and I had a discussion about Catholicism in Spain and she said like the United States, less and less people are practicing which I found interesting.
Last weekend I went to my first mass in Spain on Saturday evening at a church a few blocks away from the hotel I was in for orientation. I got directions from the concierge and it was only 4 blocks away. Almost everyone in the parish was over 50. The church didn’t look like a church at all (it was brown and nondescript) and so I walked right by it at first. I was a little disappointed that there was no music because I was excited to hear what songs they would sing. I found great comfort in being at mass so far away from home, but at the same time it is very isolating because I don’t know the responses in Spanish and have a lot of difficulty understanding the readings and homily. My new goal is to memorize the Creed and Our Father and to read the readings before mass. Communion was a little bizarre because instead of going row by row orderly, people just wandered down all at the same time.
Today when I visited the city of Toledo I visited the famous cathedral there, Santa Iglesia Catedral Primada. It was absolutely breathtaking! I also toured a lot of other smaller churches, one of which contained El Greco’s most famous painting “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz” which was beautiful. Tonight I was going to go to mass at the little church Patricia goes to only four blocks away from our house, but since I was running late I popped into Madrid’s cathedral, Almudena, for mass. It is right next to the royal palace. They had a great organ and choir and the high ceilings make everything sound very ethereal. I would like to go back during the daytime to see the stained glass at its best but I think I prefer a more intimate setting for mass since many tourists visit. Again, during communion people randomly wandered up. I didn’t go up because no one in my section moved, thinking that the Eucharistic Ministers would move over to ours afterwards since the cathedral is big. That didn’t happen and I was pretty confused because many people never even went up at all. I asked Patricia about it at dinner and she explained that people who need to go to confession, are in mortal sin, ate before mas, etc. can’t receive and I told her I knew that, but almost everyone in the US at mass receives the Eucharist despite following the same guidelines. I can’t figure out if the Spaniards take Catholicism more or less seriously? Patricia and I also had an interesting conversation about Judaism in Spain because many Jews emigrated here during WWII when Franco admitted those fleeing from Hitler. Patricia said many Spanish Catholics have Jewish roots because it was necessary for them to learn the language to work and live in the country, which is so intertwined with Spain’s Catholicism.
I’ve definitely seen more churches in one week here in Spain than I have in my entire life! It is exciting to be studying in a country where religion has been such a large part of the culture for so long.
I arrived in Marseille yesterday morning, a little tired, and very nervous. Since then it has been relatively smooth sailing. My host family is very cool and my French is getting me by. I don’t understand everything that’s said, particularly when spoken fast, but I can understand enough and convey enough to have a decent conversation and to contribute to the dinner table discussion. My host mom’s name is Leila. She is a second generation immigrant from Egypt with an Algerian background. She is a non-practicing Muslim. My host father is also a second generation Arab immigrant from Palestine. He is Greek-Orthodix, but from what I understand, he only practices when his mother is around. I also have a host-brother and -sister. The brother is my age and my sister is 13. She really likes Narnia, Twilight, and Harry Potter, but she also watches One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy- in French of course. I think this is the perfect family for me to live with while I am studying here. I will be taking classes on Middle East politics, history, Islam, and Muslim immigration. I hope to write my thesis on the socio-economic status of Muslim Immigrants to France when I return to GW and this homestay will provide me with ample first-hand research.
This morning (Sunday the 25th) I attended my first French Mass. The Cathedral (I think it is St. Michael’s) is just 4 blocks from our flat and they have a 10:30 Sunday Mass. The Cathedral is old, probably built in the 1700’s. It is the type you often see in WWII era movies- grand columns, high ceilings, but bare, smooth, walls and interior, constructed entirely in a grayish cement material. The church seemed far too big for the small congregation, which was also very old. Not a single person at Mass was younger than I was, and there were maybe 10 people under the age of 60. Maybe. Despite this being the only Mass on Sunday and the age of the parishonners, the service itself was very casual. The priest stopped and chatted with a fw people during the opening procession and the choir director is a young Black woman who danced around a bit and clapped her hands to keep the congregation on beat. There was also a tambarine, but I couldn’t quite determine who was playing it nor where they were sitting. The church is sparsely decorated with extremely basic shrines lining the alcoves around the walls of the cathedral. I didn’t understand much of the homily but was able to follow the Mass with help from my English Sunday Missal that I brought along from home.
In it, was the translation of the opening prayer used this morning that I thought related to the feelings I have being stranded in a new culture and language that perhaps others studying abroad can relate to:
Let us pray: Pleading that our vision may overcome our weakness, Almighty Father, the love you offer always exceeds the furthest expression of our human longing, for you are greater than the human heart. Direct each thought, each effort of our life… to the peace you have promised.
As you may have already heard there was astudent death in Ivory Tower yesterday, Laura Treanor. She was a lector was our 7:30 Mass last year and joined us for the Papal Mass. You may also have seen her byline in the Hachet. We will make the Tuesday Jan 27th 5pm Mass a memorial Mass for Laura.
Welcome back to another semester. The weather is a little chilly outside during this first week, and may make you hustle from building to building as fast as possible. Of course hustling along may mean we miss things along the way. The spring semester will bring plenty of goals and projects to acomplish before May. While you are looking ahead don’t forget to see what is happening now, especially how God is seeking you here and now.
Hello everyone, this is Amanda Ussak. I’m a junior and will be studying abroad in Marseille, France this Spring. Before I get to that though, I had the opportunity to travel to India with my mom over Winter Break. There are truly few words that would give anyone a better understanding of this country than they have now without visiting it. A few that came to mind at first were: chaotic, dirty, and crowded. This description may sound negative, but the experience certainly was not. One of the most unique aspects of the culture in India I found was the functionality of every part of life, from buildings and roadways to marriages, restaurants, and places of worship. It was difficult to tell if a building was in the process of being constructed or destructed, roads were generally paved, but always bumpy. Temples were often found in the form of roadside huts or built into mountains. Almost all mrriages are arranged rather than love marriages, and restaurants often appeared dirtier than most students’ dorm rooms. Nothing is done for asthetic purposes or for oneself. This was reflected in the extreme hospitality of the Indian people. Everywhere you went you were offered Masala Chai (a form of spiced tea) and usually some biscuits.
As far as religion goes, India is home to the world’s second largest Muslim population (just after Indonesia) yet they are a minority. The majority of Indians are Hindu, with only 5-7% of the population practicing Christianity. Nonetheless, we visited a Christian school (Syrian Orthodix) where the students hosted a seminar about the different regions and cultures of the country. It was fascinating to see the mix of Christian and Hindu students in the school and the interest and acceptence each had in the others’ faith. India is one of sadly few countries that can claim an extremely high level of religious tolerence across the board. In fact, it is one of the most cherished fames of the city of Jaipur, where it is likely that each native you speak to will tell you of their open acceptance. And if you feel a little lost in the sea of so many who seem so different, anywhere you travel in India, Mahatma Gandhi will always remind you:
“It is faith that steers us through stormy seas, faith that moves mountains and jumps across the ocean. That faith is nothing but a living, wide-awake conciousness of God within.” -Gandhi’s House, Mumbai, India
Bonjour mes amis! In roughly one week I’ll be jet-setting to Geneva, Switzerland, where I will spend my spring semester studying International Organizations and Social Justice in one of the world’s most advanced societies. I have never been to Switzerland before but have heard glorious tales of mountain ski lodges, chocolate fondue, and streets so clean you could eat off of them. I’ve been looking forward to studying abroad since I understand the meaning of the term, and I’ve been praying that the experience will fill me with purpose, direction, and a new understanding of our world and my place in it.
It’s ironic that I’ll be departing the day our new president is inaugurated in the exact city that I’ll be leaving behind. It will be interesting to see how Europeans react to Obama’s first one hundred days – I’ll drop anecdotes of my experiences with that for all of you political junkies. But this blog does serve a specific purpose and I plan to enlighten you all with my stories of faith and Catholicism in a country that harbored two of Protestantism’s greatest leaders: Zwingli and Calvin.
I do not know anything about my homestay family yet. I mentioned in my program application that I’m a devout Catholic and as long as my family accepts that and points me to the nearest Catholic church, all will be fine. But I’m secretly hoping that they put me in a Catholic household with 7 screaming children that ask me to read them Bible stories in French and hold their hands during grace at dinner. That’s not asking too much, is it? Only 10 days before I find out!
~ Marissa
P.S. I’ll be keeping my own personal blog at marissafondue.blogspot.com if you can’t get enough of me here. 
Well I haven’t been writing for a while. Like everyone else have been caught up in finishing up things for the semester. In addition this is also the time for Alecia and I to look to next semester. We are also trying to get our newsletter out so hopefully you will recieve that soon. The winter break is a busy break with Christmas and New Year’s in there and then suddenly it’s time to come back, and we are all back together again. We will miss some people when we get back, all those who are studying abroad next semester. We hope they have a good time and we will eep them in our thoughts and prayers and know that they are still joined to us by bonds of love through God now and always.
We are back from the Fall retreat, and had a wonderful time. The weather cooperated, but more importantly everyone on the retreated cooperated with each other and with God working on their hearts. To set aside time for just you and God is very important, if you don’t feel you can take a whole weekend at least take time each week especially on Sunday away from all your distractions to focus exclusively on your relationship with God.