Wednesday, August 24, 2011

....And I am back! Although No One Knew That I Was Gone: The Beginning of the World Youth Day Adventures

Hullo Dear Readers!

As many of you know, and most of you don't know, I just returned from a two week journey in Madrid, Spain where I joined the Pope and millions of other Catholic youth in the celebration of World Youth Day. World Youth Day is a gathering of Catholic youth from all over the world that takes place every 2-3 years. Started by Blessed Pope John Paul the Second, it is a continuous pilgrimage created to unite and strengthen the Catholic youth in their faith. It was truly a powerful and life-changing experience and I see no point in keeping it all to myself.

For the next week or so, my blog is going to take a brief break from the funnies and turn to the more serious side of things as I share my adventures abroad with you. I promise pictures, recipes,  and headless people along the way. I am going to try and post two of my travel journal entries a day. So without further ado, I present to you Wednesday, August 10, 2011.

After a year of planning and fundraising I am finally on the plane heading to Madrid, Spain! The reality of it hasn't not yet hit me. I set out from O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois at about 5 pm and I will arrive in Spain at 7:25 am. Our plane is overflowing with pilgrims heading to Spain for the WYD.

Most people seem to believe that the plane ride is the most boring part of the trip, but I beg to differ. Last year when I flew overseas I was attacked by an Indian baby with super-strength, and this time, although so far nothing too interesting has happened to me, I have been observing others and creepily eavesdropping. For instance, I watched as a 60 year old, red head woman befriended a group of Mexican teenagers and now has one of the guys sitting next to her. Also, the man next to me has been glaring at the page that I am writing on for the past 10 minutes. I would glare back only he has a mustache and is therefore far superior to me. And the food on this plane could take you too whole new levels of excitement. Airplane food is somewhat similar to a lump of garbage. They gave me tuna on top of a solitary piece of lettuce which resembled cat-food after digestion. I was also able to literally peel off a layer of strawberry jelly from my cheesecake. However, this is Iberia airlines, a European flight, and so therefore the food and service is fantastic compared to how it would be on an American flight. I get a feeling that the flight attendants are a little freaked out by me though. I just happen to be one of those overly enthusiastic tourists and I am possibly way to fascinated that the flight attendants  actually speak Spanish as their first language and therefore my gleeful response that "Yes! I would prefer the carne de res over the pollo!" is probably making it so that the attendants pray that I never fly with them again. I can't help my excitement. I have been learning Spanish since I was five and so it is about time that I actually use it!! Well I should go. I need some sleep because my first day in Spain will be packed and the red-headed old lady keeps looking at me like she wants to talk so I better shut my eyes sooner rather than later so as to avoid being told about the woes of her dentures. Farewell!



2 comments:

  1. Gabri, you are my hero. This is amazing. :) I love you and this post tons!!! ~Molly

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  2. Gabri i love the vido you put up made really exited!!

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