Serendipity

Yesterday, I got to check off another item on my D.C. to-do list: Attend Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I have been feeling a little tense this week, and the serenity of the shrine was exactly what I needed. It is beautiful! I especially liked the crypt church. It struck me as a little more intimate than the upper church, what with the lower ceiling, dimmer lighting, and nooks that weren't too closed off from the rest of the church space. The crypt was great, too; I liked the statue of Mary in the center, and lit a candle at her feet with a prayer for my family.

After exploring every nook of the church, I nonetheless ended up with about an hour and a half to spare before Mass started. I decided to go for a walk, even though yesterday's high was 42 degrees outside, brr! I was wandering along the edge of the Catholic University campus (where the Shrine is located), when I spotted a sign that said "Pope John Paul II Cultural Center" with an arrow pointing in the direction in which I happened to be meandering. I had never even heard of the place, but I decided to follow the signs and check it out. Ha ha, I literally entered the building, walked up to the front desk, and asked the receptionist, "Where am I?" She was very helpful, if not bemused by my utter lack of knowledge.

What serendipity! The center doubles as a museum and an ecumenical and scholastic center of sorts. I loved so many things there. They had an amazing collection of crèches from around the world, ranging in size from thimbles to several feet tall. My favorite nativity was a small, adorable one from Uruguay, which struck me as quite a cozy little family:


The center had a chapel in the back of the museum, which had a kneeler in front of a crucifix where Pope Benedict XVI knelt when he visited D.C. last April! I knelt on it, and thought about what the pope might have been praying for when he was there. So cool. There was also a room that intertwined the history of Poland with the biography of Pope John Paul II, who was Polish, of course. The room meant a lot to me, in light of my own Polish descent. It also featured a collection of things that JPII used (like his red leather papal shoes), and a huge number of photographs from his international visits, which I found very moving.

I really enjoyed my adventure yesterday afternoon. I will definitely visit the Shrine again. The Mass that I attended was in crypt church, so I still want to attend a Sunday Mass, which will have more expansive music--though, I must say, the organist who played yesterday in the crypt church was quite talented. What a blessed afternoon.

Global Context

Why, hello there! I am back in the blogosphere after a two-week hiatus for winter break. My time in California was peaceful and rejuvenating, and it was so great to spend a significant amount of time with my family after missing them for 17 weeks straight, yikes! Highlights of the break included Christmas morning with my family, a traditional secret Santa exchange with high school friends, watching the Golden Bears win the Emerald Bowl with my dad, seeing Newman and ADX kids as I trekked around San Francisco, Berkeley, and El Cerrito, spending hours baking monkey bread with my mom, and getting enough sleep at night.

I flew back to D.C. on Sunday, leaving my house in Sunnyvale at 3:45 am Pacific and arriving at my apartment in D.C. at 6:00 pm Eastern. What a long day. The best part was when I was waiting to deboard the plane, and a man and his young daughter were ahead of me, searching for their carry-on bags amid the chaos of the overhead bins. The daughter, who seemed to be 9 or 10 years old, found the bags while her father was fumbling in the wrong bin. Upon finding the bags, she called to her father loudly, "Dad, the bags are over here! [exasperated sigh] What are you going to do when I get married and move away and you have to take care of yourself?!" Everyone on the plane stifled laughter as the pair continued up the aisle, the father looking sheepish.

I wrote out a short, but earnest, list of New Year's Resolutions for 2009:

• Keep in touch with friends
• Get to know D.C. like a local
• Read for pleasure
• Use my time wisely
• Pray without ceasing
• Make healthy choices
  

I love the start of a new semester. It is brimming over with such potential! This week, I am taking a required one-unit, one-week, pass-fail course called Law in a Global Context, which is essentially an introduction to international law. It seems fairly interesting thus far, though off to a slightly slow start... although, I admit that my mental engagement in class might have been slightly impaired by jet lag, which made my 9:30 am class feel like it was taking place at 6:30 am, ouch. I'm excited for tomorrow's class because we're discussing the ICCPR! International human rights is, well, kind of my "thing." I spent a lot of time studying human rights at Berkeley from an International Political Economy standpoint, so I am thrilled to begin to address the legal quandaries that surround human rights.

I bought my books today. $704.30! Oh, my goodness. I mean, they look quite handsome on my bookshelf and all, but that is not cheap! I already have reading assignments for all of my classes, which start next week, so I'll be putting them to use right away. Plus, I need to get ahead in my reading so that I can have fun during the week of the inauguration! I will be playing host to two of my good friends from middle and high school, Alissa and Morgan, which should be splendid. Two weeks and counting!