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Hey! Sorry that it's been so long since I posted, I just didn't have access to the internet. Now that we are in Cairns (and going to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow-sweet!!!!), the hotel that the Arlington group is staying in has internet in its lobby. Hopefully, I'll be able to post something more frequently for the next few days, although I don't know about the videos- they might have to wait until I return to Virginia.

Well, World Youth Day 2008 is technically officially over. The Evening Vigil and Final Mass were celebrated last weekend. Seeing hundreds of thousands of Catholic teens from all over the world was the most amazing experience of my life. The Arlington journal posed a question that asked whether we thought of the church in terms of our home parish, Rome, the world, or people. I used to think mainly in terms of the home parishes and dioceses that I have lived in. After the Vigil, I now think about the Catholic people all over the world.

It was a lot of fun trading t-shirts and pins with kids from all over the world. I received t-shirts from Paraguay and Germany and am looking forward to the doctoring necessary to ensure that the shirts fit. Trading my little dollar store America keychains with Australians was a ton of fun. My group leader's daughter Erin is a trading machine- she is practically going back to Virginia with a new wardrobe.

The Vigil was freezing! Once the sun sets in Sydney, the temperature in the winter drops incredibly. We were in six or seven layers to try to stay warm. There were approximately 225,000 people out at the Southern Cross Precinct that night. It was space blanket city as we all desperately tried not to freeze. I know now to always pack winter hats and gloves if I intend to visit Sydney in July again. The candles that we received at the Vigil helped a little bit with the warmth, but the symbolism in the candles was incredible. We are all lights for Jesus out in this dark world and when we stand together, the world is full of light, on fire. I gave my candle to Clarissa after a few minutes because I couldn't handle the hot wax, but I enjoyed taking pictures of other people and their candles.

As the Qantas magazine said, there were crowds of young people singing through the streets and cheering up the city. At the Vigil, people kept singing into the night- mainly chants of Ben-e-dict-o! Ben-e-dict-o! It was annoying when we were trying to sleep, but cheering that everyone was so excited to see Pope Benedict the 16th. He was incredible to see (only via the jumbotrons [large video screens] unfortunately- I am too short and I was too far back to actually see him, although apparently Erin actually saw him) and listen to, since he is the successor of St. Peter. Unfortunately, his voice was kind of monotone, so I will have to print out his speeches to truly understand what he was saying. I caught during his homily at the Final Mass that he called for unity within the church. That is so true- pay attention St. Leo's and St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax!

The Final Mass was amazing. It lasted for two and a half hours (after we had morning prayer with half a million other people). The music was really powerful and nearly everyone was really into the Mass, except for one guy near me who appeared to sleep through most of the Mass. The Mass helped remind me that Mass truly is a celebration each time we attend.

Arlington got to see the sights of Sydney on Monday and Tuesday. Sydney is such a beautiful city- I have already taken 720 pictures. Taronga Zoo and Manly Beach are the main attractions I went to. They were so cool!