Matt hat Trier überlebt...

So a few months ago, I heard that Marie-Claire was participating on a walk to Trier. The only word that seemed to catch my attention was TRIER. And for those who don't know what Trier is, it's a historic city in Rheinland-Pfalz, and closely borders Saarland. (Click on the map from the previous post to see Trier on a map). But I never really considered what the other conditions of the trip were. These conditions included what ended up being:
-80 km (50 mi) hiking through the Eifel (a rather hilly part of Germany) over three days
-A LOT of personal reflection and prayer
-Countless repetitions of the Hail Mary prayer
-Church Services each day
-ALL IN GERMAN!

But the gist of the pilgrimage was: it was four days where we walked 20km on the first day, 26 km on the second day, and 34 km on the third day where we arrived at St. Matthias Cathedral. Our days of walking were centralled around this very small village (120 people) called Dodenburg. This village were our hosts and our group was a third of their population. But the village was basically a street and they also had a Castle, also called Dodenburg.Click here to learn more about Dodenburg.
And so we woke up early to walk and then when we returned in the evenings, we ate and drank at the Inn. But there are quite a few details in between...

So even though, I didn't really grasp the point of this pilgrimage, I feel like my feelings toward this experience are a bit contradictory.
-I got sick of walking so much rather quickly (after the first day).
-In the moments on silence that were about 15 minutes each time...the same thoughts ran through my head such as this upcoming period of transition..the difficulties of the German language...about my family and friends (in the states and Germany).
-I reached this point which I think is normal for each exchange student: I got sick of speaking (and hearing) German. And when you don't have the motivation to speak German, your language skills go downhill pretty quickly. So at some points I was rather quiet and just walked through the woods in my thoughts.
-My heels were red because my sneakers rubbed against them due to my low socks and every adult (every woman at least!) asked me if I needed a bandaid to prevent from getting a blister. Well I continuously reassured them that it didn't hurt and it's normal when I wear the sneakers. And old German people are stubborn! They insisted on giving me the bandaids. I appreciated their concern, but being continuously asked about it got on my nerves. Even the leader had confronted me about it...even though I never complained about my heels. (However, I feel like I complained each time I hiked up- or downhill.) And then I put on a bandaid on each heel so I'd stop hearing about it, and as the bandaids started to peel off, I couldn't tolerate it anymore! The people asking that is...
-It felt very foreign for me to hear these catholic prayers such as the Hail Mary repeated over and over.

However, on the other side that's a bit more optimistic is:
-Many people were interested in what I was doing here. Simple questions (with complex answers) like: What are you doing in Germany? Who do you live with? How does Germany compare to the USA?
-I was adopted and welcomed into a group of people that I really didn't much to do with before I got on the bus at the start of the trip. I had only been to one church service at St. Clemens and the Christmas party with the Youth Group. They even asked me to carry the cross that led the group as we went to the Abtei Himmelrod Monastery.
-By the end of the pilgrimage, everyone knew my name. Unfortunately, I only knew about a fourth of their names.
-After completeing the 80km as a first-time participant, I received a necklace with with a "medal" symbolizing that I reached St. Matthias (St. Matthew's) Cathedral in Trier.
-And the best part is: I had a new experience, and even though I don't want to take part in another pilgrimage for awhile, it was overall a good experience because of the following reasons:
-I got to see another perspective religiously. Yeah, Catholicism is a little different than being Presbyterian, but I still got the chance to reflect.
-I served as an altar boy in a service with the rest of the youth. Although to be honest, it felt a little bizarre to participate in the service because I had no idea what to do. But I did fine reading the prayer I read aloud. :-D
-The weekend left me with a good feeling inside...similar to like the Presbyterian Youth Triennium in 2007.
-The group that I was with were genuinely nice people. After the gathering in St. Clemens, everyone gave me a huge or a firm handshake wishing me the best of luck. That really made me feel special. Additionally, the group gave me a candle so that I think of them next year and that I'll be with them in spirit.

St. Matthias Cathedral, Trier, Germany.

While I didn't feel like the pilgrimage was so special when I took part on it, it was in the end and in retrospect, a well-worth experience!

So you've probably recognized by now that I take quite a few pictures...and so with that I've been able to see how much my physical appearance has changed. I'm referring to my fashion style, hair cut, skin (the acne), etc. I'll let you judge for yourself.




Bis dann,
Matt

P.S. HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! Germans have no idea what that is!