Day 3 in Greece!

Day 3: Early morning rise at 7:30am. Shower, followed by an enormous breakfast buffet. Fruit was not fresh unfortunately and the sausage was odd... sort of breadie tasting, so I didn't eat it. Then, at 10:30am we disembarked at Tessolonica. We boarded our buses and drove to the Catholic Cathedral for Mass. The church was smashed between apartment buildings and off the street. Everything is built VERY closely in Greece. The church was called Immaculate Conception--not the most beautiful church in Europe, but it was pretty.

Then, we drove to the White Tower and took photos. There were really fun looking ships at port that host 'bar cruises'. From there we went to the second tower up the hill of the citadel and close to the Acropolis. We drove past several University campuses, including Aristotle University, which used to be the Jewish cemetery but was destroyed by the Nazis in 1943. We reached the tower which hosted an amazing view of the city and the sea. Mount Olympus was visible across the water. Finally, our amazing bus driver navigated back down the hill to the church of St. Demetrius Martyr. This Byzantine Church is beautiful, adorned with lots of gold, icons, mozaic, and intricate wood carvings. The remains of St. Demetrius are there as well as St. Annysia, who was martyred for her faith.

Our tour guide was very difficult to understand and my jet lag was very bad today, so I'm afraid I did not learn as much as I should. We drove back to the ship where we had a late lunch--I had salmon and cream cheese wrapped in grape leaves with capers, and this GIANT white bean and tomato soup that was absolutely wonderful (seriously, never seen beans that large before). I took a short nap and then attended Mark Brumley's talk on the myths of St. Paul. It was very good, but the jet lag kept causing me to doze off (sorry, Mark...). I made up for it afterward by reading 5 chapters of Pope Benedict's book on St. Paul and then Paul's letter to the Thessalonians.

Eva and I read on the deck of the ship so we could watch it leave port. The ship left port a littler after 9pm. We are headed to Phillipi. I skipped dinner, because I was too full from our late lunch, but then I was hungry 20 mins after the dining area was supposed to close... Tessa convinced me to go in, because there were still people there and she asked a steward if they had food for me. And oooooh did they. They brought me out four courses: cheese, little sandwiches, meatballs and veggies, fruit, tiramisu and some sort of other crazy dessert. I'm gonna be a blimp by the end of this. Another early morning tomorrow!

Immaculate Conception Church

The entrance to the church, between two apartment buildings

The White Tower

A 'Bar Cruise'

St. Demetrius Church

St. Demetrius (sorry, my camera made him look like the Terminator)

Some amazing wood carving in the Church

First days in Greece!

So here begins my posts on my adventures in Greece and Turkey. I'm just copying my journal entries from those days, so it's not the most eloquent writing, but it gets the point across... Enjoy!

Days 1 and 2, October 17 and 18

The journey started off panicked with a delayed flight and some rerouting. But God showed his Providence by sending a new friend to sit next to me on the flight from Greensboro. We had a wonderful and meaningful conversation. She said, "I think this means good things are coming." We are both grateful for a new future friend. So that put me in a cheerful mood for my arrival in Newark. I was the only one on the transfer bus going to the International Terminal. So it brought some laughs from the other passengers when I was the only one to loudly answer "Yes!" when the driver asked if there was anyone stopping at Terminal B. Also had a lovely Greek meal before my flight to Munich. The flight went well--watched a movie and slept mostly. A short layover in Munich and then I was off to Athens!

Everything went smoothly--disembarking, claiming my bag etc., which was good because I was slightly delirious from lack of sleep. Stacy, one of the bus captains, and our taxi driver, Nikkos, met me at Arrivals. Nikkos was hilarious. Either someone paid him to act like the dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding or that movie is very accurate. He informed Stacy and I of the oh so many words derived from Greek, and of course telling us the many wonders of his 2,000 year old home city of Athens. Greece claims itself to be the oldest country in the world... according to any Greek you may talk to. Nikkos drove us the 30 mins to the port of Lavrios on the East coast of the country to board our ship, 'Aura'. Definitely an amazing vessel. The crew is so friendly and helpful helping us with our bags and getting us to our rooms. Actually, I made it to the ship much earlier than most and took a much needed shower in our tiny, but nice, bathroom. Note here: only about 200 passengers are actually on the cruise, and the ship can hold 900--so we all got upgraded to better rooms! Which means Katy and I got a room with windows on the outside of the ship.

I'd like to give you a brief description of the ship: There are 8 upper passenger decks and 2 crew decks at the bottom of the ship. Our cabin was on Dionysius Deck, or the 6th deck. The 7th deck, just above our deck, holds more passenger suites, the reception area, the duty free shop, and the photo gallery. The 8th deck, going up, holds the Mermaid Restaurant, where we ate most of our meals, the Reflections Lounge and Bar, Casino, Library, Internet Corner, and the Stars Lounge. The 9th deck holds some suites, the Beauty Salon, Spa, hospital, and the Horizon's Buffet and pool which is partly inside and also on deck--this is where midday tea is held and where you could grab a drink or snack while we were sailing. The 10th deck has another swimming pool, the sun deck, the fitness center, and the multi-level Venus Bar and the mini-golf course.

Day continued: The group who stayed at the hotel the night before arrived and it was wonderful to see some familiar faces. We explored the ship, enjoyed tea time, and a safety drill where we all mustered to our designated lifeboats. Then, we waited for those who were coming from Rome--they were quite late, not arriving until around 7:30 in the evening. We finally had dinner which consisted of Greek salad, Baba ganoush, tsatziki, some unknown delicious sauce, beets, pita bread, chicken, sliced potatoes, vegetables, feta cheese, followed by baclava, brownie, cheese meringue pie, and fruit. We are on a pilgrimage, right? This was followed by Mass celebrated by Fr Mark Mary in the "Reflection Lounge" which is located in a bar/aquarium/casino...so, that was different. We also had a brief adoration afterward.

Then, a few of us went up on deck to see the full moon and explore. I cannot tell you how crazy it felt to be on such a massive ship in the middle of the Aegean Sea, looking at the brightest moon I've ever seen and the wind whipping through my hair. It was hard to finally go back to my cabin. I will remember that moment forever--traveling on an ancient sea, Greece's mountain range just visible in the light of the moon, and thinking of our Church fathers making this same journey. It took my breath away.

I'm back!

Hello again! Remember me? Yes, I know. It's been awhile. Well, lots has been going on.... First of all, I moved! I'm living in Greensboro, North Carolina. And as I sit here typing in my living room in the sweltering heat, I. am. loving. it. I missed warmth so much in San Francisco. Sigh... It is AMAZING what a change of weather can do for your health and sanity. Anyways, I have been here since the beginning of March and I have been given the wonderful privilege and opportunity of working from home, so now I can write more! Yay! And now that it's been a few months and I'm finally getting my act together, I am starting up my blog again and working on my book. The goal is to write at least one blog post every other week and of course work on my book every week. I'm also still writing movie reviews for Catholic World Report (my Star Trek review should be published in the next few days! Stay tuned!). I know my book deadline has come and gone, but God made it abundantly clear that I needed to get my life in order and find some happiness first. So. That's exactly what I'm doing.

Now that I have moved back to the South, I am reconnecting with my roots and some parts of me I may have lost while out in California. It's like a breath of fresh air. I am where I want/need to be, I am doing what I want to do, I am dating a great guy, and I am blessed with a job I enjoy that also happens to feed and clothe me and keep me from living in a cardboard box. Raise your hand if you're a fan of sleeping indoors! I've also been working on my health by going to see a doctor for the first time in oh... I don't know... probably 5 years or so. I joined a Zumba class. (Sidenote: for those you who don't know what Zumba is... just Youtube it. You might get a chuckle imagining me shaking my oh so non-latin hips like that.) My spiritual health is also being renewed. I'm trying to get into a better prayer schedule, doing some spiritual reading, and some adoration. I've also joined my church choir. Basically, I'm resetting. I'm trying to start over and realize who I really am and not who I thought I was or who anybody else thought I was. Maybe it's my mid-twenties crisis... heck, who knows. Whatever it is, it's happening. God's will be done.

And all of this is just to say that I'm back! Meryl Moments are back in full swing... and I plan on writing what I want, whether it's little thoughts like this, short stories, poems, or a sentence. I'm going to do it. I can't get better at anything unless I practice, right? Speaking of... I'm learning French too! So, look out world, cuz... Backstreet's back! ALRIGHT! Ahem...

The Hobbit

My review of the new film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!

Where sickness abounds, there is a deeper problem...

My heart broke hearing about the 20 innocent children and 6 adults massacred in Connecticut today. There is never enough to say when lives are so unjustly taken, especially so many and so young. Unfortunately, these events are not so uncommon. And why is that? Maybe, in light of these events, we should examine the modern human condition. How was such a shooter created? Why are we mortified at these events, but so few are shocked at the millions of babies massacred everyday through abortion?

We are desensitized. Most have blocked out reality and created their own world of superficiality and technological ‘joy’. We have lost our human connection. Communication is faceless and our time for others is but a moment—in a tweet or a text message. God is dead or does not exist, and therefore there is no right or wrong. Family is no longer a priority, but a burden in the crazy flux and flow of our lives.  It is no wonder then that such a monster was born from our society. Such nihilistic values have shaped us into unfeeling and lifeless creatures.

But we know in the core of our being that this is not Man’s purpose. Our purpose is to love. We must pray, certainly, for the poor souls lost today… especially for the shooter who, clearly, was in tremendous spiritual and mental turmoil. But let today also be a reminder that we are still killing hundreds, if not thousands, of children everyday to serve own selfish whims.

Twenty children were shot today, but many more were torn from their mother’s womb without having a chance to make their mark on the world. Violence is never good, whether it is in the privacy of a medical clinic or in a school—two places where humans, especially children, should feel safe. Ever since the Fall of Man, violence against the innocent has long been a horror. The Slaughtering of the Innocents in the Old Testament came quickly to mind after hearing of the terror in Connecticut. It seems that children, even those who are unborn, suffer the most from Man’s shortcomings. We should be ashamed of ourselves. We are all responsible for the sufferings of these little ones, just as we are all responsible for the death of Christ.

How sad that a man should feel compelled to kill dozens of people to make a statement. This is an extreme, but a very real example of what our disillusionment can spawn. Lack of love produces a lack of life. That is truly the root of the problem—our lackluster disposition toward faith and love, and lacking the passion about what matters in life. We have gotten so caught up in our own Dante-ish whirlwind, that we find ourselves absentmindedly tiptoeing over the dead bodies piling higher. We no longer understand Joy as something attainable—in this world we must simply accept the ugliness and try to patch it over with superficial distractions. We are a hopeless race.

This same attitude of death and hopelessness is what brought Christ to the Cross. The fallen human condition causes us to crucify and kill those things which are most beautiful and most innocent. Our pride blinds us to what we know is greater and more pure than ourselves, and out of envy, we must destroy it. But Christ has conquered sin! Now, with Him, we can accept what is beautiful and remove the real evil within ourselves. The world cannot and will not change unless we first concentrate on what is truly corrupt—our own hearts.

Sin makes us hopeless, but the Resurrection has restored our life. Let us strive then to promote a culture of life in the midst of a world so entrapped in its own culture of death. Satan, sin, and death are very real, as the events of today prove. But Christ is greater than these. The Church is greater than these. We are God’s hands and feet. Reach out to those who are hurting, spread the good news, wipe away tears, shine with the love of Christ, and root out the sin within yourself.

On the loss of brilliance

The world really has lost its sense of brilliance. All anybody does is throw insults at the other or scream about how stupid/liberal/conservative everybody is, or how God doesn't exist, or my life sucks, or fairy tales are full of it, blah blah blah blah blah blah, whine whine whine...

Why aren't there intelligent conversations about the essence of beauty? The real meaning of love? Why don't we discuss great pieces of literature... not the horrors that are known as 'literature' today (aka Twilight, Fifty Shades of Gray, etc)? Why don't we talk about the lives of great historical figures instead of the latest Jersey Shore drama? (Could someone please explain that obsession...because I really don't understand how someone with half a brain stem could watch that for five minutes without slitting their wrists.) Has the world really been degraded to this? 

I'd like to recall people back to their humanity. Put down your smartphones, iPads, laptops, pagers...whatever you kids use these days... and pick up a book! Read Tolstoy or Dickens or Lewis or Tolkien! Strike up a conversation with your coworker on the meaning of life. Start using your intelligence! Go out and watch the stars at night instead of plugging into Netflix. Write in your journal. Talk to a friend you've been meaning to catch up with. Whoa... here's a good one... pray. 

Life is short, but it is beautiful. Don't waste it. Sometimes it means taking some risks or being rejected or hated or lost... but it also means having adventures, laughing, crying, loving, eating, talking, tripping, skipping, flipping, living. I'd like to close my little rant with a quote, ""Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all."-Ten points to Gryffindor if anyone can guess where it's from! 

Megan, you can't answer... 

Broken

Love is unattainable
Unreachable and unbearable
But there is One who can reach

The One who is Love incarnate

Reaches down into the Pit
And pulls us to Himself

Through Him do we attain

Through Him are we given it
And through Him our Cross is Borne