Saturday, July 17, 2010

Somewhere in Michigan

Howdy folks

I forgot a huge detail about walking on the old dirt highway- for probably a good 3 or 4 days the part of the highway we were traveling was infested, and I mean INFESTED, with grasshoppers! Sounds harmless right? Well yes OK they were harmless but they were gross! Grasshoppers are cute to look at and maybe even to catch and play with for a minute but these little buggers were EVERYWHERE and every step we look was into another bunch of them. They do a pretty good job of getting out of your way, but every now and then one would jump up and hit you in the ankle. UGHHH! It was such an unsettling sensation and every time it happened I shuttered in disgust and actually yelled out loud a couple of times. I ran into the middle of the street to escape them but they were alllll over the street. That was not fun. It was funny...and I could laugh at it even at the time. But it was nonetheless disturbing and super distracting! I remember that week it really started to warm up, and we were sweating like pigs on the last few shifts of the week just from the sun's heat alone. I also forgot to mention the little diner that Barbara, Mike and I went to on Monday of that week. We passed it while walking and after finishing up our first 7 mile shift of the day we drove back and went to have lunch. I think the funniest reactions we've gotten from people are those when we are traveling in small groups and especially when we go out to eat. When our waitress asked what we were up to and we told her the typical "we're walking across the country for Pro-Life we started in Seattle and we're headed for Washington, D.C." she seemed stunned and in disbelief. She was young and very nice but had a serious sort of character and it was funny to watch her walk away and come back with more and more questions as if waiting for us to say "OK we're only messing with you." It was laughs, but it really is amazing all of the attention we get for just wearing our matching Pro-Life tees into a place. Imagine all of the thousands of people who have seen us walking, the thousands of those who have seen us speak at their parishes, the hundreds who have seen us in local restaurants and checked us out at the grocery stores. When someone finally speaks up and asks us questions it's never a dull conversation, and it just makes me think of all the people who were dying of curiosity at who the heck we were and what on earth we were doing but never approached any of us. At least their wheels are turnin'! That's all I can hope for...that people THINK about it. It's not a lukewarm issue.
So yeah yeah yeah enough about that week. The weekend in Sioux Falls followed those days in BFE. We stayed in Tea, a small town right outside of Sioux Falls at St. Nicholas parish. This was a find-a-spot-on-the-floor kind of weekends, the sort which we hadn't had since Seattle, fortunately. The church was air-conditioned so we were happy. This was the weekend I gave my very first parish talk in Spanish! I offered to give the talk because I had take classes for nine and a half years and only had to read off of a piece of paper with a nice accento. We went to Our Lady of Guadalupe and I spoke twice that day. The first mass was at 7 AM and the priest asked me and Faith to sit right up front, so not only was I still half asleep during the mass but also completely lost- I can understand some Spanish if it's spoken slowly, I can comprehend it in written form, and I can write it fairly well myself. But I think the ultimate test of fluency would be to attend a Spanish mass and be able to talk about the readings, the Gospel, and trickiest of all the homily! I knew what was going on for the most part obviously, especially because we go to mass every single morning. But it was hard to follow nevertheless. At communion time they do it old school style where everyone comes up to kneel and receive the Eucharist. Faith and I had no idea what was going on and when we were supposed to go up- we waited for an usher but apparently there were none. It seemed as though the congregation was lining up back rows to front, but I think it was all just random. We kept looking at each other and around at the other people and then back at each other and then at the altar boys to see if they could help us out. Hahaha we just looked so out of place- lost and confused little English speaking girls in the middle of a Spanish mass. Ay yay yay! That morning Barbara left to get some lunch and to pick up the other group from a church nearby and on her way out of the parking lot some kook sped around the corner and almost hit the Dingy (the minivan, in case you forgot). She had to swerve out of the way and nicked a car parked on the street right outside of the lot. She came inside the church where we were waiting for the next mass wish a distressed look on her face..."I hit a car." "Was it your fault??" "Yeah...it was a parked car." Lol. So we had to deal with that nightmare!

The next week was fun too. I'm realizing that these blog posts are probably way too lengthy and not too interesting so I'm gonna try to make them short and sweet from now on. I'm going to TRY...
The next week was alright, we walked through a piece of Minnesota and then scooped down into Iowa. The parts we were walking through in Minnesota had miles and miles of wind turbines! It was crazy I'd never seen so many in my life especially not all in one place at a time. We had beautiful weather and nice scenery for the days (or day perhaps) in that state, but once we hit Iowa things changed a bit. Iowa was probably my least favorite of the states we've walked through so far- I actually even forgot that we walked through it until I asked Barbara what we did during the week between Sioux Falls and St. Paul (sorry Iowa). It was so stinky! Literally the whole state smelled of horse poo and...well pretty much horse poo. I was on night shift for the last part of Iowa and during my first walk of the first night Curtis, Margaret and I had a sour encounter with a truck o' cows. The truck drove by and I prepared myself to bask in the breeze that big trucks always provide for a couple seconds after they pass. It passed, and I felt the breeze, but we all felt something a little unexpected slash into our faces! We don't know exactly the details...but we're pretty sure a cow was takin' a leak right as the truck was passing by. It was repulsive...to say the least. The rest of the week went well and as Thursday night approached we were all very excited to hear that Curtis was giving us the last night and day shifts of the week off! We were parked at a really awesome KOA (Kampgrounds of America...yes with a 'K') in Jackson, MN. The family running the place was so incredibly friendly and generous and they were so excited about what we were doing. We got ourselves one of the few cabins in the lot and cooked up some yummy brats (spelling?...the sausage. The really good sausage.) for dinner. Afterward we all suited up and went in the pool! It was so much fun and we made a huge scene for about an hour and a half. We played all sorts of crazy games and I'm pretty sure we were a source of entertainment for the entire campground for as long as our childish pool adventures lasted. We got to hang out around the fire pit and make s'mores that night...it was nice to just chill and not have to worry about walking or speaking a parish or anything the next day.
That weekend was St. Paul and Minneapolis. Walking-wise we were still traveling in Iowa but we drove up Friday afternoon to the twin cities where we had delicious local pizza at this great place in St. Paul. After that we went to the Franciscan Brothers of Peace (I hope that's right...) monastery for a Holy Hour (an hour spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament). There were several other locals there and it was a really great experience to share that time in prayer with them and the brothers. Afterward we were invited for coffee and danishes and got to chat with everybody for a little while. Kate, Amy, Miriam and I left soon after with Sr. Joan from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet at whose convent we were invited to stay for the weekend. The rest of the girls stayed with the Little Sisters of the Poor, and the boys stayed with the Brothers. We had such a nice time at the convent. Sr. Joan was just amazing; she made us feel right at home and introduced us to quite a few of the sisters there. This convent was an "institution", as Sr. Joan would say, which I think meant that there was more than one order living in the building and so breakfast, lunch, and dinner and such daily activities were all on a schedule; during these times we got the chance to meet quite a few of the sisters living there, and that was such a treat for us. They were all so full of joy and life. I didn't know until after we left for the weekend that Sr. Joan was 80 year old! I woud've guessed probably 73, 75 at the most. She was so active and lively and spry I never would've guessed 80. There's something to be said about the health and length of life of religious (sisters I mean). That is definitely something I've noticed on this trip for sure.
We all loved the cities- on Saturday everybody but me and Amy went to the Mall of America. It has a water-park and roller coasters and everything INSIDE. Pretty cool...but I still wasn't interested lol. I took a much needed nap in my own little room in the convent and then Sr. Joan drove us to the church where we were speaking that night. That night and the one before the ladies and I went down to the kitchen and enjoyed ourselves some late night treats : ) ice cream and cookies and the like. We were sad to leave the convent that weekend : ( and I know that if I ever return to the cities I am definitely going to visit Sr. Joan! She rocked. She even called Curtis "Curty" when she was asking him about lunch plans and wanted to get down to the point. We love Sr. Joan!!!!
Sunday was the Fourth of July, and although we were let down with the fireworks, Curtis let us take the night off from walking. That started our new no-Sunday-night-shift-for-night-crew policy, if you will. I think we're on schedule enough, or possibly ahead although Curt won't let on to that, that it isn't necessary to walk Sunday nights. So night crew only had 4 shifts a week! And I benefited from the change two weeks in a row : ) and this week could very possibly make it the third haha. Hopefully not...I need some sunshine. So for the 4th we headed back the the KOA in Jackson and hung out there around the fire again with s'mores and cigars and relaxed for another night. It wasn't the most exciting Fourth of July I've had in my days but nonetheless it was enjoyable for what it was.
Tired now...I'm actually in Ann Arbor (actually, Ypsilanti a town right outside) Michigan and have mass early in the morning. I've been trying to play catch up on the blogging...so that's why the locations in the titles don't match up with the content of the blog. Oh well! I'm doing my best!

Peace and love <3

1 comment:

  1. Fun reading this morning Mimi! Between the cow stench, flying cow pee and grasshoppers you are the envy of 5th Ward! LOL! Sr. Bisson would be SO proud to hear you read at a Spanish mass. Keep up the great work. You must be only a few weeks from completion now.
    Love,
    Aunt Brigd

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