Pudenziana and Pressede

Today, or rather yesterday, was such a wonderful day that I don't want to go to bed without sharing it. Being Sunday we had a quiet morning, and the Abbot Primate Nokter ? (it is late!)can for Eucharist and lunch. He was charming, very easy. The sisters from the North American College also came and stayed to chat after lunch. They are so pleasant, and knowledgable about Rome, that I look forward to dealing with them next year.

After three we took off for today's excursion, the churches of Sts Pudenziana and Prassede. EArly 1st century saints who looked after St Peter and cared for the martyrs. The frescoes in both churches were stunning. St Prassede's date from the 9th century and we went to that church first. When we went on to Pudenziana, there was a concert in progress. It was a Filipino choir and they were wonderful. The church had been given over to the Filipino community in Rome and three sisters look after the needs of this group. If you look to the photo above (which I cannot yet get into the text) you will see a 4th century mosiac at the top, Baroque artwork in the middle and a Fillipono choir of the 21st century singing their hearts out at the bottom. They were excellent. The members of the choir are not only not professional musicians, they are domestics, people keeping Rome clean and sending their wages back home. People at the bottom of society that used song, not only to praise God but also to proclaim their own dignity and to give joy. After the concert we met and talked with the sisters who described the huge club they have running, offering youth club, basketball, singing, baby care, social support etc all in the complex housing one of the oldest churches of Rome. For me, it was a wonderful experience of Church.

We stopped to have our tea (rolls and jiuce) in their courtyard, and as the choir were leaving after having changed, I asked them to sing a Filipono song as we had missed that part of the concert. They happily agreed and sang two songs, both hymns, the second so beautiful that it reduced some of us to tears! We all agreed it was better than any experience that could have been planned

So we then went on the the Trevi fountian which was nice enough. Baroque really isn't my style. And there we were treated to another impromteu concert. This time by a group of teenage boys from a Benedictine School in New Jersey! They are on tour, and this morning had sung at the Sunday Mass at St Peter's at the Vatican. They were on such a high, they just wanted to keep on singing. Again the music was wonderful, even the beer drinking song (sad but they were underage for that).

With both groups, from such different social groups, vibracy, joy, and the ability to communicate on a level deeper than words was so evident.

Well our group of happy campers, did not break into song there though we did do a couple of "Happy Birthdays" on the bus coming home.

By the way, we have got Rome traffic beat. A couple start out crossing the road and the other thirty follow in snake file. The cars have no choice but to stop for what must seem and extraordinary period of time. Good night or rather good morning

Rome

Well you may have wondered where I have been for the last two weeks. In Rome, busy, out and about and fully occupied - also trying to get internet access. That was a saga. While there is wireless in the house here, I didn't know how to set up the computer to access it. I now know, press a button and change the default codes.

The Benedictine sisters in this program are a great group of people - from US, Canada and Australia, ranging in ages from 38 to 73, from all sorts of ministries and backgrounds. They are happy and enthusiastic and we have had fun. The 'staff', which I am joining really know their material about Rome. The program is a mixture of classes, excursions and reflection days. So far we have only been about in Rome and then mostly in churches, except for our pagan day - Forum etc. Even though we have been busy, we have taken the excursions at a far slower pace than is usual for tourists and I have appreciated this greatly.

The place we are staying at is a pensione run by the Tutzing Benedictine Missionary Sisters. It is attached to their Generalate, and the compostion of the community reflects their world wide compostition. Our Mass books have hymns in German, English, Tagalong, Portuguese, Korean, Swahili, Latin and Italian. And we have used some of these so far. Italian is the language of this house, even though there isn't a ITalian in the congregation, and English in the language of the Congregation, even though there is no English women either in the congregation. (Americans yes). Their multi-lingual skills awes me. I asked a young Namibian sister how many languages did she know - four? "At least" Seems they need that many just to live in her local area. English is the national language and she is now learning Italian for care for the guests in the persione.

The pensione is a way they earn money for their work. It it a type of hotel. Certainly the rooms are modest in decore are still the best I have had so far. Nothing fancy, but space, decent bathrooms etc. This place is in a remarkable location, 10 mins by train from St Peter's, yet set in the green area of Rome. Okay, the train only runs hourly during the day, so you have to watch your time. But to be this close to the centre of Rome, and still have the birds singing etc (the etc is the snake that was seen in the garden) is the best of both worlds.

The pensione takes anyone as guests, the prices are very modest, but there is no TV, access to phone etc. So if you just want a quiet base for seeing Rome, I doubt that this could be bettered.

I have enjoyed Rome this time around. It will be impossible to give all my reflections so just one or two.

St Peter's Basilica. If you look at the picture above, (which I have not been able to inset in the text). You will see St Peter dressed in a Roman toga, carved in the 15-16th century, with a 21st century TV screen in front. And I think that encapsulates the best of church tradition. Being feed from the past, not for one's own sake, but in order to preach the Gospel to all. St Peter's impressed me for two reasons. One, it is still a work in progress. Even in our time, art works have been added. For example, most of the doors were commissioned in the time of Paul VI and are excellent examples of modern art. I liked the one depicting the sacraments. Two, the place was swarming with people, ordinary people, who could get in, without charge. The best art, available for all, free, for the glory of God. I really had a sense that this was a people's place, which is ironic, because it could, and probably can and is, be a place of clerical privilege. The other thing about these people swarming in the square and in the building is that most possibly aren't even church-goers but here they were seeing this church as a highlight of their holiday!

Now dear friends and family, time for Sunday breakfast. This morning the Abbot Primate is coming for Mass. This time next week I will be back in the land of Oz.

This is a photo taken of Geoffrey at the pertrified forest.

Well now I'm back in the blog but now from a very noisy internet cafe in Athens. If you are coming to Greece give athens the miss and go straight to the northern side of the island of Lesvos. Every thing there moves at a much more human pace.
Before I tell about that I must say how I found Geoffrey - Geoffrey is still Geoffrey, loveable but still infuriating in his impracticality. I took him shopping for some work clothes, but he insisted on buying two tyres for his pushbike first and carrying them over his shoulder through the shopping district of Myteline. Yes, their standards are not ours, but we still drew looks, but I was able to have the shop assistants treat us with complete seriousness.
The troubles he has with his work, or what seems his work, is a very different situation to what we have thought. His employers are not ripping him off, in fact the owners of Eftalou Hotel, the whole family really care for him. The problem is bureacracy in Greece - it is insane. The hotel owners are crippled by all the petty permissions they have to get, farmers who run just a few goats have to fill out forms and and pay for every one, form and goat. On my fight from Myteline I spoke with a school teacher who started teaching in Jan, ie not at the beginning of the school year, she allowed to teach 12 hours a week, no more, is paid by the hour, supposedly by the end of the month and has not been paid yet...and there is nothing she can do. That is Greece.
The people who feel this acutely are the Greeek Australians. The ones who emigrated had the spunk to go and try something on the other side of the world. And they succeeded. Those who have gone back, usually for family reasons, find the system there very difficult. To a person, once they realised where I can from, said Australia is the best place in the world - and they loudly and regularly tell Geoffrey that he is mad wanting to live in Greece, especially when it is so difficult to make a living here.
Speaking of Aussies in Greece, if you are ever passing through Matamados, ther is a very modern looking cakeshop there with simply the best profiteroles that I have ever tasted. There other cooking also is divine. (from that I wasn't overly impressed with the cooking, in fact in impressed on me how lucky we are with the standard of fruit and veggies we get at the Yeppoon market.) The wife (of Greek extraction) comes from Pascoe Vale, Melbourne, and was so obviously homesick I told her that Yeppoon desprately needs a shop of their quality. Promised her a similar climate and scenery to Lesvos. So people from home, if they turn up let us make it worth their while.
Before my internet time runs out, I must mention one thing about the scenery in Lesvos. I have said how like Yeppoon it is, with one variation. Turkey is closer that Great Keppel Island and it looms up from the sea far higher. Dominates the horizon out to sea. And the people of the island have nothing to do with the Turks, nor do they want to. All sorts of economic opportunities are lost because they want nothing to do with Turks, and yet one can see that that may well be where their economic future liew.
Before I turn into a pumpkin
Good Night
Kym

First post from Lesvos

So finally I get to add to this blog. Or rather really begin it. It is now Thursday afternoon and I think I am finally alive. The trip over was gruelling. The Air-con in the planes does not do my eyes any good and after 24 hours ie by the time I got to Dubai they were in a very bad way. Only today after a swim in the sea have they come right. Enough complaint. Emirates is a good airline to fly and I find Dubai airpot fascinating. I wonder if there is any other place in the world where there is such a number of different nationalities and ethnic groups together in the one place. From women in full burka to the most wayout westerner all move about peaceably. Given the number of flights and people passing through, it is a fairly quiet airport, so I imagine it could be easy to miss your flight. One of the good things I discovered there was a quiet lounge - yes for those of us who have travelled cattle class, there is a relaiviely quiet area where you can semi-recline, with your bags next to you and get a little sleep.
Athens and Olympic Airlines was a different affair. Athens airport portrays itself as a quiet airport - God help us. And Olympic Airlines is a fantastic advertisment for the Greek Ferry Service. Maintainence is not in their language - or rather not as we know it. There was TAPE, BLACK TAPE on the engine, the bolts on the seat were chipped (how do they do it) and the way the cabin crew (one) gave the safety advertisement, I realise were "Effie" was taken from. I must say this was the first person to demonstrate putting on the life jacket with ridicule. Did we really think we were had a chance of getting out of the plane to use it? The descent into Mytilene could have been interpreted as the descent into Hell except that I intend going to heaven and prepared myself accordingly. I swear we came in at over 30 degrees angle. I just shut my eyes and prayed. For the second only time in my life I was scared flying. There is still the trip back. Even the GReeks here snort when they hear the term Olympic Airline.
As some of you know, Geoffrey was not here to met this tired, tired little bod when she arrived. I had no phone card, the airport closed down with rapidity at 11pm and, in tears, I threw myself on the kindness of a cleaner to try and ring Geoffrey - and his phone was off. So in no fit state to do anythingI took myself off in the hire care - on the right side of the road, ie right in terms of our wrong. The car is bigger that ours, good but with sticky gears. The complication with driving on the right side of the road is that everything from the waist up is the opposite of what we know, eyes, hands, turning etc - but the feet remain the same. So one needs to be careful corodinating accelorator and clutch. Mmmm. I leave that to your imagination. I found a hotel, probably paid more that one should, had a good nights sleep, finally contacted Geooffrey and then took myself accros the island by the quiet route but only after having to go through the capital of the island. The roads are unbelievably narrow. MOst streets were made for donkey, the wide ones take just the width of a car and as there are pedestrians as well as weaving motorbikes, travelling slowly is acceptable. In fact after four days of (sometimes very inept) driving I have not felt pressured by other cars and have rarely been tooted. (Tell that to the Italians) I realisied that I had to switch to 'intuitive' driving and in trying to get through the maze of the Mytilene followed a line of traffic thinking 'this is it' . After a few rounds of the ferry car park realised my mistake. Then I took off round the castle, got lost but just kept going (in desperation) and then found they had opened a new pass and I was free of the city. The quiet road is so winding that I rarely travelled over 40 kph...and so after 2 hours got to Molynos, Eftalou hotel, Geoffrey.
The family that run the hotel are kind and the place is quiet. My accomodation is basic, clean, firm bed but with plenty of quiet, which is what I needed. I can see why Geoffrey likes working here. There is a sense of collegiality amongst the staff and they treat each other gently.
There are sooooomany hotels/ apartments. studios etc around here. Some of the hotels are very modern. But what is wierd is the abysmmal infrastructure the moment you step out of the hotel. There are cracks in the roads with weeds everywhere. Narrow, narrow roads which are two way and would barely be one way by our standards, and rarely with safety barriers. As for paths etc, Workplace Health and Safety is from another planet. But it does not have to be like this. Today we went (amongst other places) to Sigri where there is the Museum for the Petrified Forest. Without any hesitation it was the best musuem I have even been in. Wonderful displays, beautfully laid out, well and truly 21st century - so the Greeks can do it.
Enough for this first posting of Nuntrek
I will eventually modify the site and post some flicks.
Till then peace joy and ove to you all.

May 24

I am at the O'Donnells home.

Bye

Opening post

Fine day, birds singing and flowers falling from the sky. Here is a picture I took whilst skydiving.


etc etc