Catching up with myself...

I believe I owe you all an explaination or two. You probably have some questions, like: "Why is the Pope bearing down on you?", or "Why did you jump off a cliff?", or (perhaps more importantly), "How did you survive?"

Well, my first response will be calm down, spazz. It's all good. If you take that attitude with me again, I'll never update again. Just sit back and let ol' Joe tell you aaalllllll about it.

So, we get up at an unholy hour... when was it... last wednesday? No, two wednesdays ago. Like, 5:30 AM or something. But that's the sorta sacrifice you have to make when you're going to SEE THE POPE!!! So, we got up bright and early (Liz earlier than all the rest... her discipline was rewarded with a sprained ankle.), and headed for St. Peters. And, believe it or not, we were the first ones in line, save for the crazy Pope-dancing lady, but... no one beats her...


The girls, at least, seemed to be in good spirits.

So, yeah. We waited outside St. Peter's square for quite a while, planning our attack. The plan was that, once they opened the main gate, we'd split into five groups, each running for the front of a metal-detector line. This would maximize efficiency in getting through, since you couldn't buy tickets for particular seats. Fortunately, Mr. Akers gave us the run-down for where to sit, how to get there, and how to ensure no one could get through us. So we were pretty set. I actually have a pretty funny video of Micah demonstrating our plan of attack, but I won't post it here. Anyway, part I went off without a hitch(though not without a Hich) - we got to the front of each metal detector! My favorite part was when crazy Pope-dancing lady's line had to be shut down, since their metal detector wasn't working, and she tried to push her way to the front of OUR line. Fortunately for ALL of us, Noah is a rock when it comes to holding a spot in line. He didn't even FLINCH when she jabbered at him in Italian, and probably threatened him.

My respect for Noah grew that day.

Anywhooo... so, we got through the metal detectors, faded right, found a hole, and BOOKED IT to the outside. We entered our isle, ran to the front row of seats, and with Zac guarding the end of the line, letting only Christendomites through, we filed in.

Mission accomplished. All students were secured in rows 1 and 2.

At that point, we could relax, as long as we held on to our seat. See, when the Pope entered, a lot of people were going to stand up and charge forward. Let 'em. If they don't have a seat up there, the guard's will remove them. So, after the Pope DID enter (See "Viva Papa!" video), he cruised around in his Popemobile for a bit before sitting down.


I'd love to see how that thing does in 4 wheel drive...

Once seated, they announced all the groups in the crowd that would like to welcome the Holy Father. Awesomely enough, we were one of those groups. So, over the loud speaker, they announced "Christendom College", then paused long enough for us to shout "AMAMUS TE!!!" At that, Benedict XVI grinned and gave us a little wave.

Has the Holy Father ever grinned and given YOU a little wave?! (Past semester students, don't answer that.)

Tim was in charge of synchronizing our shout, and he did a pretty good job, I gotta say. So, rock on.

Step 2: When the Pope finishes the Our Father, those in the front row(myself included) were to stand up, stand with a wide base, and cling a wide section of railing each. Meanwhile, those in the second row were to rise, move the chairs aside, and stand behind/between those of us on the railing. On the signal, those on the railing release with one hand and turn right, holding on to the railing with our left arm while allowing enough space between us to allow the second row to move in, holding the railing in the same fashion.


Like so. As you can see, we managed quite well.

And so, we were positioned. All our pieces were in place. All that was left was for the Pope to drive by, touching our hands. We even knew the route he would drive in, so our seats truly were perfect.

Well, as fate would have it, I did NOT get to touch his hand... I wonder if perhaps I didn't try as hard as I could have. Maybe he was just trying to touch the hands of the girls on either side of me, I'm not sure. In all honesty, I'm ok with it... just seeing him so close was enough for me.

Maybe he just senses Liz's injury, and appreciated her great leap more. I tell you what, she friggin' LAUNCHED at him, and got him! So, that's cool. Anyway, that was that day. I'll have to fill you guys in regarding Friday and Saturday later... I've got work to do.


Viva Papa!!!

Ciao,
--Hich