A reminder about death

It's always mentioned in the prayer books, in recollections, or retreats. Meditations during November particularly talked about 'the Last Things'.

This year has been a surprising year for me. One of the passengers in the missing MH370 is the husband of my housemate's friend. It seems such a far connection. Nevertheless, it was shocking for us because my housemate just attended this friend's wedding  a month before that. One of the passengers in MH17, which was shot down, was my boyfriend's labmate's sister. Thus, he saw his labmate crying in the lab once she heard the news.

I saw the news about the missing Air Asia plane on TV yesterday morning as I was meeting up with my best friends. My first thought was, "Hey, I have lots of friends from Surabaya". I was a bit worried, and one of my friends said that I could check the passenger list. After I reached home in the evening, I still felt a bit restless, so I searched the passenger list. I've never bothered about 'passenger list' after reading a news, but this time, it felt so close. So there I saw my senior's name. I checked her facebook wall and saw people writing posts for her, expressing prayers for her safety.

Another friend posted, "One of the Air Asia passengers is a friend of mine. We are not the closest of friends, yet it hurts, it hurts." It does hurt. The feeling is like a domino-effect. Not only we know her, but we also know her brother and her boyfriend. Even though we just met for a "hi" "bye", I always know her as a senior who is very good in playing guitar. Her smile and our chance encounters came to my mind these three days, and I couldn't help but feel this 'little' pain compared to the pain of her families.

How many times have we really prayed hard for a miracle? For a cause, which doesn't have no other extra alternatives available other than praying? Here's one of the moments when I really feel the urge to really hope for a miracle.

This news is also a reminder for me. I may be used to listen to the message of living each moment well, doing our ordinary duties extraordinarily well, attend Mass as if it's our last Mass, but here and now, it's a real message for me, as someone I know, someone I've talked to, is missing. I don't know my time either and I should live with this awareness every day.

Please pray for the passengers on board and their families.

Pampered!

My office has been moving to Expo in a week. I enjoyed the peace in the new building as our team has our own lab this time, yeay! I also enjoyed the clear and beautiful sky because we are so close to the airport that our buildings and the surrounding buildings are not too tall (see my post in Indonesian language here). Of course, there are many disadvantages of working at a far east area. I realized that I've been too pampered for the past 2.5 years of working.

I'm very grateful that the location of my current house is somewhat in the middle of the city. Therefore, if I take MRT, I only need to spend around 40 minutes on MRT plus a few minutes of walk (total around 1hour). However, I would prefer to take bus after attending morning Mass because the church is not walkable from MRT, and there's a direct bus from the church. The bus ride takes about 1 hour (excluding walking time). It really feels long, though I enjoyed the time praying in the bus, sleeping, and waking up and doing translation work on the ride. Hahaha. So many things I can do in the bus!

Unfortunately, I need to say goodbye to some kind of 'holy land' location of the previous office. My office was only 20minute-bus ride from a church and another 15-minute bus ride from another church plus another 30minute-bus ride from another church! Hahaha. I could choose Mass timing according to how much sleep I had the night before. Now, the nearest church is 30 minutes away and it starts at 6pm, so it's kinda too early because I need to reach office by 8am to be able to leave at 5.30pm. There's another church which has 6.30pm Mass. I attempted to go to that church, and it took almost 50minutes to that church. Anyway, now it's really a high time to be more discipline. I've been too pampered for the past years!! It's as if God is saying now, "Okay, this is real life. Prove your love even though it's inconvenient"

Thank God Christmas is coming. It's really a good start to be more discipline in this Advent =) Counting down for Christmas already! Yeay!!

Honest thoughts about Natural Family Planning (NFP)

I first heard about NFP when I was in my first year in university. In Legion of Mary meetings, my seniors often shared about how they explained to their friends about the Church stand on abortion, and sometimes it's easier to explain why abortion is wrong than why contraceptive is wrong. I also used to wonder whether it is truly possible for a married couple to not use artificial contraceptive.

I think there was a point of time when I bumped into this blog through my friend. Since then, I started to enjoy blogwalking these mommies' blog. I learned a lot about the true meaning of marriage, of sacrifice, and the beauty of the crosses in various forms in family life. I also slowly get to know married couples who do practice NFP in the real life.

I think these couples really impress me. The thing is the more I read and pray about these issues, the more I realize that NFP is not something that can be prescribed easily like a pill. It is under the big umbrella of understanding what marriage is and  how to deepen our spiritual life.

Therefore, as next year I will 'hit' the age of 25, there is more sense of urgency in me to challenge my friends and create a sense of urgency in them. Those who are engaged are busy preparing their logistics and decorations. With one off explanation (3-days-2-nite experience in Engagement Encounter), I have met quite a large proportion of friends who only heard about the church teaching on artificial contraceptive for the first time during the session. Some think that not using artificial contraceptive is 'impossible', or 'by right,the church says ...but I think it’s impossible to practice NFP.’ 

Honestly...I think all good habits are difficult to pick up. It's very hard to say that "God has a plan" if we are not used to finding out God's plan in every moment. We think that Sunday Mass + 10minutes prayer before going to bed is all that we need. We are poisoned by the idea of ownership of our body is equal to 'I can do whatever I want'. We grow up thinking that it's so 'natural' that after we are married, we can do 'whatever we want'. From my observation, that it seems that only a small percentage of dating or engaged couples truly understand up and down, in and out, about the implication of saying that marriage is a vocation (and I’m very grateful that there are still small percentage of people who do understand about this).

Nevertheless, I do believe that God has his own time. Even though I feel sad that quite a lot of friends entering marriage with the thought that ‘as long as I get the certificate of completion of Engagement Encounter or Marriage Preparation Course à I’m ready to get married’, I believe that it’s never too late to grow deeper in understanding of God’s plan in marriage. For many people, it’s through the children God converts the parents. As I’m trying to put myself in their shoes, I can’t deny that the pressure to have a big banquet in this region is really high, that as much as the young (and  without-much-money *duhh, raise my hand up!*) couples have a good intention to prepare a marriage, not only a wedding, there’s a real challenge in struggling to please parents and big families and save money for the house (that won’t even be ready in 3 years, in Singapore case!), that it’s really hard to focus on the marriage preparation.

Anyway, back to the title, I think we, as young and not-married-yet ladies, have lots and lots of homework to do. Isn’t it so natural for us to talk about relationships and families? The challenge now is to bring up the supernatural aspect of these natural topics for us in our conversations. It’s never too early to know about the beauty of our vocation and to ask our priests or friends that can be trusted if we are not sure.

Day 5 - Arca to Santiago

We needed to leave our beautiful accommodation at 4.30am. The Pilgrim Mass in Cathedral started at 12 noon, so we hoped to enter the cathedral by 11am because 2000 pilgrims arrived at Santiago every day. This time I borrowed Conchita's stick as my legs were really aching.

Welcome to Santiago!

That morning was not the first time we walked in the dark. However, the stars were sooo amazing. (un)fortunately, Wei Lian's and Josephine's cameras were good enough to capture the stars, so we paused here and there to take photo of the stars. Interestingly, that morning we also made a new friend from Germany. She shared with Carol about her journey to find God and that day was her birthday! So, when we stopped for quick breakfast, we sang happy birthday for her.

There was one horrible uphill when we almost reached the Cathedral. It was called Mount of Joy because from the top of the hill, we could see the view of the Cathedral. However, it was cloudy on that day so we couldn't see much. Actually the uphill was not that bad =P

Mount of Joy

When we almost reached the Cathedral, we saw this monument which displayed some images of the saints

We finally reached the Cathedral around 11.20am. Apparently big backpacks were not allowed so after we got our seats, some of us deposited our backpacks at visitors' center. Our guide also lost her mobile phone in the Cathedral :(:(

The Cathedral was sooo amazing. I cried after I received the Holy Communion. I guess this 5-day-walk was really a renewal experience for me. Every morning we were not sure whether we could 'finish' the walk, yet God showed His grace through great people around us, great view, great singing-buddies, and we did finish the walk. I really feel that this pilgrimage is a mini-version of our life as pilgrims on earth. There will be lots of moments when we thought we can't do it anymore, but it's worthwhile. It's worthwhile to continue walking with our heavy backpacks. It's worthwhile to continue carrying our sleeping bags because the night was freezing. Perhaps these sleeping bags are the reflection of our norms of piety throughout the day: the prayer, the rosary, or even our formation. It require sacrifice to carry it, but it protects us from the coldness of the world.

the huge thurible which was not used unless on Fridays and Feast Days or during Pilgrim Masses in Jubilee Years

the holy door

the tomb of St James

a side chapel where St Josemaria celebrated a Mass once here in the cathedral

the inner part of the holy door

It depicted how a priest found the tomb of St James

below was the Necrapolis

heaven was portrayed on the top part

We had a yummy lunch and we dropped our bags at Maruxa's uncle's and aunty's house. Maruxa is our Spanish friend who worked in Barcelona but grew up in Santiago. We tried to encourage her to do Camino because she hasn't done the Camino even though her town is always filled with pilgrims! Then we had a tour in the Cathedral and we also explored the compound around the Cathedral. We didn't go down to the Necrapolis, a mass graveyard of the first Christians where you can see many people buried in the position of facing where St. James was buried (similar with the one that was found under St. Peter's Basilica). That's why the doctrine of Assumption of Our Lady was very evident. If Our Lady was not assumed to heaven, there should be similar Necrapolis around the tomb of Our Lady because it was the first Christians' tradition to want to be buried near to the holy people.

the father of St James

and the mother of St James

We took our bags then took bus to Maruxa's parents house. We had a very late dinner and shower (not too late according to Spanish dinner time, 11pm). The next day we needed to leave the house early to catch our train to Madrid for the Beatification Mass. Thus, the second part of our trip has begun ^^

7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol. 47

- 1 -

My office (read: the whole university) is moving to a permanent campus in December. Last week was HR and Finance Departments' turn. Yesterday was my turn! I spent the past three days packing, and throwing things. I don't really have special memories in this old office. Nevertheless, I am still amused when I read notes of the first few months working. For example, I found a list of kindergartens in Singapore with my hand-written notes. I remember how I called each kindergarten one by one to find one that is interested in collaborating in our research.

- 2 -

Some questions that I often ask my friends these days are, "What's your resolution for Advent? Have you had plan for Advent?" This morning I realized that tomorrow is the third Sunday of Advent already. Now I really feel that it's very important to ask this question earlier. I encounter colleagues who are caught up with work and 'forget' that it's Advent. Well, we know that it's Advent, but so what? I encounter friends from universities who are now working and saying the same things. As for students, it's exam period!

One paper bag is filled with 3 resolutions. Pick 1 each day till Christmas. I started on the Feast of Immaculate Conception. I was supposed to make 25 bags, but no time!! :(

As for me, I don't think that I've been having a 'perfect' Advent. My main resolution is actually very simple: de-cluttering and organizing my room/myself/my time so I have space for baby Jesus. This year's Advent is a bit 'dark' for me because there are so many things going on (moving office = another transition period, new rhythm, never-ending cough for the past three weeks, my boyfriend's never-ending struggle with his dissertation, etc). However, I still have a little hope, peace, and joy because even if I feel that this period of waiting for Christmas is a bit not like what I expected, it precisely becomes an opportunity to step back a bit and to offer up many things for baby Jesus.

- 3 -

I recently read a news about how a local actress expressed no regret that she was topless an a trailer of a movie. As I read more about her sharing with the newspaper, on how she didn't regret it, and how she felt that it was an affirmation how she has moved on from her past with eating disorder (because now she is confident with her body), I feel a... compassion?

I mean, isn't it sad that we need this affirmation that we are not worthless through external things such as acting topless? I really wish that one day she and many other people who have similar issues can feel loved just as the way they are.

Honestly speaking, I don't think that I don't have this problem too. For me, I seek worth of myself through work, or through my achievements. When I start comparing myself with other more 'successful' friends, when I envy others who travel here and there many times in a year, those who love me try to knock my head and wake me up: "hey, your identity is based on the fact that you are daughter of God"

- 4 -

Talking about workplace, my most memorable experience was actually not in the campus itself (I am working as a research assistant). I think it happened in a preschool. My first time helping 3-year-old clean herself after toilet time happened through this work as a research assistant. I found it quite interesting because I was a bit worried that I didn't clean her properly so I used so much toilet papers =P

- 5 -

Orchard Road, the main shopping area in Singapore, is always decorated beautifully during Christmas. Anyway, I haven't gone to Orchard Road to see the decorations this year! Hahaha. I always feel headache and dizzy when I see too many crowds in shopping malls.

However, I think nothing beats the decoration at Orchard Road in 2008. They had big statues of nativity stories along the road. The three Kings, the Holy Family, the shepherds. You can follow the Christmas story as you walk along the road. That's what a real Christmas is. It's such a pity that the decorations' standard every year has been decreasing. In 2009, the decoration was made of various deers with skimpy clothes. >.<

- 6 -

I'll fly home to Indonesia on Friday, 26 Dec after Christmas. I'm looking forward for the new year's celebration with my family + my brother's girlfriend's family + my aunties & uncles from my dad's side + my boyfriend. It's going to be a big gathering + BBQ. hahaha.

- 7 -

Oh, and here's the link to the Day 4 experience of Camino de Santiago ^^

More quick takes at Kelly's blog!

Day 4 - From Arzua to Arca / Pedrouzo

Last nite I dreamed that my mom went for Camino and I accompanied her on the first day. Such a weird dream. I couldn't 'see' the view clearly in my dream, but the amazement was still there even when I was dreaming.

We left at 4.30am from Arzua. Our destination has two names, either Arca or Pedrouzo. Our journey that day was only 20km, but my legs were terribly aching from previous day. Oh, I haven't told you something. Since the second day of walking, I always hung my legs upside down until I fell asleep. I've been using this method since I was young to relief my aching. It worked! But the ache was just too much from the third day so the pain came back after awhile.

I love clear sky!!

Evening Mass =)

Look at the shell. In the past, someone can be given a penance of "walking the Way of St James" and they needed to bring the shell from Galitia as a proof. As people started selling the shells, they changed the proofs to stamp. (of course now the priests don't give heavy penance to walk the Way of St James anymore)

"Enter, we have been waiting for you". What a call for us the pilgrims

We arrived at 2pm (on time! Yeay!). We tried pulpo (octopus!), special local delicacies. Conchita, our guide, also told us a loooong and interesting story about the Way of St. James. (Sorry Conchita, I fell asleep a bit halfway; duh!). Interestingly, we found out that she has been dedicating all her walk for other people. This is her 49th time walking the 5-day the Way of St. James. Instead of writing her own name on the certificate after she completed the walk, she dedicated her pilgrimage to various people, such as the Holy Father, the old lady that we visited on the third day, her parents, and so on and so forth.

The highlight of that day was the most beautiful and homey accommodation we had: Pension Arca!! (Somehow I couldn't find the photos! Argh!) Each bedroom was occupied by only 2-3 people and with attached bathroom. We also had common kitchen and pantry. We bought groceries and had our dinner at 'home'. Qian cooked her chestnut and some of us enjoyed our beloved cup noodle.

And of course.. a very clear sky and perfect sunset make a good silhouette jump shoot! =)

me and my singing buddy!

Thank you Lili for taking my jumpshots with your frame-by-frame phone camera

Unfortunately, we needed to leave at 4.30am the next day to catch Pilgrim Mass at 12noon at Santiago. Bye bye Pension Arca!! <3 br="">

7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol. 46

- 1 -

These two days I have been spending my time at a preschool to conduct experiment. Yesterday I broke my record doing experiment on 10 kids non-stop!

- 2 -

I've been browsing about Advent Calendar on pinterest. I have not really made Advent Calendar, but I love to make Advent resolutions. This year my new year resolutions were not really written black and white. Even though every day I make some 'small' resolutions, I feel that Advent is a golden chance to really get rid of my bad habits and struggle harder against the grain.

- 3 -

I think one good thing about 2014 is I exercise more =P As the preparation to walk the Way of St James, my friends and I walked with 5kg load for 5km once a month. I also tried to run regularly. Well, I haven't run again since September, but I finally managed to go climbing on Sundays =) Last Sunday my boyfriend asked to try an inclined 6a route. He helped me along the way by pulling the rope tighter because I am not that strong yet. However, I really enjoyed that particular route because I felt like doing acrobatic.Hahaha. I must twist my body a lot. I'm also very short (152cm), so even if my boyfriend can reach a tile by extending his hand, I need to move my body higher through other way before I can reach the same tile. Hahaha

- 4 -

I think it's very important to have one or two hobbies, to know what we like and what we dislike. I recently meet a few university students who are still confused in choosing what they want to major in. It also seems that many high school graduates that I know choose a major in what they like or what they are good at in high school only, without knowing what kind of work they'd actually like to do. At the end, when they realize that in university there are much more people who do better than them in the subjects that they are good at, when things get very tough and the nature of the project/future work are not the types of work that they'd like to do, they do not enjoy university life anymore.

I guess, if I could suggest to high school graduates on what to choose for their major, I think it's good to see what kind of jobs we'd like to have (we may not get it though!). Are you people-oriented? Or do you want to work in labs? Or are you like my boyfriend who likes animals a lot (and like to eat them a lot too)? Do you enjoy reading or do you prefer project works? --> I still have bias about reading. I don't really like the fact that some universities do not push the students to read basic theories in their field now. Or..encourage 'holistic' education that makes students have a lot of co-curricular activities that they do not have time to read cultural books (like me!)

Anyway, out of topic a bit, reading is a choice. =)

- 5 -

Yesterday as I took a taxi to the preschool, the taxi driver talked a lot about Indonesian politics (the new president was appointed two months ago). I felt embarrassed because I didn't know about the recent controversial appointment of Prasetyo as attorney-general. Question: so attorney-general shouldn't be appointed from political party?

The recent increase of fuel price has also caused some protests. When I was in high school, I was one of those who were against it. I really don't know how the people with lower income can survive with the rise of price of necessities. I guess we really need to cut the subsidy, but I hope the system is ready soon to make sure that those who urgently need the assistance gets one.

- 6 -

After two months, I just managed to write about the first three days of the Way of St James.

- 7 -

Some thoughts after a conversation with my friend about life and children.

This week quick takes is hosted here!

when my friends are confused..

It's quite interesting to see how our topics of conversation has changed throughout the years. Remember the moments when you talked about your crush to your girl friends? Or perhaps talked about whether you think the guy that you like also likes you in the same manner? hahaha. Now our conversation has changed to how to save for future house, how to know if he's Mr Right or not, what kind of values you want to impart to your kids, and so on and so forth.

Recently my 'normal' catchup with my friends stumbled upon the topic of abortion. I don't know how my friend suddenly shared how she knew a couple who told her that they actually had a third child, but they aborted the baby because the baby was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. She said that the couple thought it would be better for the baby not to be born, rather than having born with Down Syndrome. I was a bit shocked at the beginning, but I tried to stay calm and reminded myself how normal it is to think like that now (even though we claimed to be Christians or Catholics).

I looked at my friend and asked, "Do you really think it's okay?" And she looked reluctant for awhile.

I remember my other friend turned to me and said, "What would you do in such situation?"

So here's my answer. I'm writing this down here and now because when difficult times happen, there will be many people who influence me not to do what is right. Not because they are 'evil', but because the society now really thinks of what is useful, what is not burdensome.

I said it will be tough to make the decision to defend the baby's life.
It's not easy to raise children with certain illness or psychological conditions. 
However, I've met and witnessed more and more courageous parents who decided to bring up these children, who are not influenced by society that tried to dictate us to choose what is the most convenient choice for us. Next time when I say my marriage vow, "...in good times and in bad...", it is a vow to enter a marriage that is not portrayed by most of the Hollywood movies.

I have seen a mother with her teenager who has Down Syndrome. This girl made the most beautiful genuflection in front of Our Lord (I would say better than many adults). Her parents believed that their children, both the typically developing and the one with developmental delays, could grow in virtues too.

When I was waiting for my friends outside a shop in Rome, I managed to have a short conversation with a Japanese lady and her teenager-daughter who has a Down Syndrome. I was a bit 'tempted' to talk in motherese (there's a tendency to treat them as children). However, I was reminded that even if their mental age is lower than their chronological age, at that stage, she was not supposed to be treated like a child. So I asked a few questions just like how I normally talk to the teenagers. I observed how the mother talked to her in Japanese, and I was just amazed on how refine this young lady was!

I also witnessed a young couple defending the life of their first-born baby who 'just' lived for three months. I don't think I can forget how courageous they are and how supportive their friends are from Legion of Mary. For some people, perhaps this is a 'waste-money-decision'. However, for a lot of us, this young couple has become a real example how it is very possible to be heroic to say no even though other people may say "it's better to abort the baby".

To be honest, I felt sad. And a bit scared... I've seen more and more friends are confused despite the fact that we go to Church every Sunday (again...it's not sufficient to just go to Church).

So I pray that I can journey more with my friends. I pray that we can talk more about these issues about life, because life is not a small matter. I pray that we can be strong support for each other if any of us needs to make difficult, but a right decision, just like how I've seen some other mothers supported each other.

Day 3 - From Palas De Rei to Arzua

Hi. It's been awhile since I posted on this blog. My internet is very slow and this creates a new excuse for me. The only time for me to go online is in the morning (like now).

This is the story of the 3rd day of walking the Camino. I can't remember what time we left. I guess around 5.30 or 6am. It was still dark too, but not as cold as the morning of the second day. We walked in the dark for around 2hours, until we stopped for breakfast. As a reminder, this will be our 30 km walk. We'll pass Melide town after around 10km. The aim was to reach Arzua by 4pm and meet at a restaurant called Ultreia. Our guide as also told us that there would be quite horrible uphill and downhill along the way.

During breakfast, we decided to deliver Lilynne's backpack to Arzua. We also dumped our 'unnecessary' stuff during the day (our sleeping bags!!). We still need our sleeping bag at night though. Actually we walked with a good pace on this third day. Audrey and I kept singing and we did an 'experiment'. When we sang upbeat songs, we walked faster. Hahaha. I think the song that made us walk the fastest was "Give me oil in my lamp" =P A few hours after breakfast, we reached a beautiful bridge and took photo for awhile. We also did our half-an-hour mental prayer as we walked from there. On our way, when we passed Melide, we saw a...Sim card shop!! YEAY! I finally got a sim card. hahaha.

morning =)

view from the bridge

this way!

Near this river, a guy who had lost one of his legs sat and provided the 'pilgrim stamp'. I think he was a soldier. After he lost his leg, he participated in paralympics (he was really fit!!)

We also stopped at a Romanic church that had a statue of Our Lady of Snow. There, Carol, our Spanish friend, told us the story about Our Lady of Snow and how we would visit St Mary Major Basilica in Rome that was built because of this apparition of Our Lady and the origin of this title. Anyway, in this Romanic church, a guy stood there and explained about the apparition and he had a thick notebook with various ways to say greetings (hello, thank you, buen camino, etc) and some terminologies of things that they had in that church (e.g., ancient baptismal font). Many visitors from various countries translated the words to English, Japanese, Korean, etc. When Carol told him that I am an Indonesian, I was asked to write down some Indonesian words too. I don't know how to translate "baptismal font" to Indonesian language!!

Our lady of snow!

Inside the church

Some of us took 'profile-picture-worth' photos here

A guy playing recorder at the bank of the river!

We also stopped at an old lady's house along the way. She is Conchita's friend and Conchita brought us there because this lady prayed a lot for young people. This lady also showed us her small chapel. We also sang a Chinese song (朋友 = peng you; friend) for her.

Congrats! We've reached Arzua ^^

We continued our journey and started eating our chips =P I guess it was around 11.30 because soon afterwards we said the Angelus. It was quite a terrible downhill. Audrey and I were really like non-stop-radio. Fast forward the story, I also managed to teach Audrey Indonesian song (kindergarten song =P). I think the funniest part was when we sang Bon Jovi's "It's my life" when we walked uphill and some guys that walked faster said to us, "Continue singing, I like Bon Jovi." Once we stopped singing because we were panting, but our foot were really aching, and we decided that singing was the only way to forget our ache. =P

We reached a wide road and a church that had a big clock and lots of prayer cards in the Church.Okay now I can't remember which one comes first, but at one point, I think Wei Lian took out her recorder (flute, not audio recorder) and played Sound of Silence, A Whole New World, and the Hobbit soundtrack. It was really an amazing experience ^^

Fast forward again, we reached another terrible downhill (a wide road). According to Conchita, our guide, we need to walk zig zag to reduce the pain. That's how we survived downhill so far. However, we were really tired and decided to sit for 5 minutes outside a small store. Lili got her Aquarius here (an isotonic drink). Well, this part may not be significant to you, but this brand (Aquarius), was so nice! Not too sweet like 100+ or Pocari Sweat and less 'gassy'.

Anyway we walked and walked. We passed another bridge and we saw a guy playing his flute at the side of the river!! Hwahhhh.. We thought, aha..just 3 km more, so let's sit and listen to our friends playing flute. Anyway, by 3.40 we continued walking, and I think the signage 3km was a bit deceiving. We walked for quite some time on a wide road after we saw the sign "Arzua". We reached the restaurant at 4.10!! Congratsss! It was the first time we reached our target.

The food was just amazing!!! This time I chose wine instead of water (they're same price anyway). Citing Carmen, we had the "best ribs we've ever had". We also sang the same Chinese song "朋友" for the waitresses. Afterwards, we proceeded to EFA, a school and residence for girls who'd like to study administration / nursing etc.

We attended a meditation and Mass in English!! (yeay!!) Apparently the priest spent quite some time in Australia, so he also had exposure to Indonesian language and he kept telling us that he knows how to say 'book' in Indonesian (buku). =P We also had chance to go confession ^^ On that day, the priest talked about St James because we would reach Santiago in two days.

At first they told us that the students may be shy because they just arrived in the residence a few days beforehand. After a short Q&A sessions during get-together in the living room (they asked us few questions on what we think about Spain, what we like about Spain, etc), we sang the same Chinese song (again!!) plus another Chinese song (Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xing = the moon represents my heart) because Carol could accompany us with a guitar there for this song. After that, seems that the girls 'warmed-up' already. One of them started to demonstrate how she played the tambourine. So fast and skillful!! Then, another three of them danced while this girls played the tambourine. Hwah...so nice!!

Well, the most memorable experience of this Day 3 was I guess the lesson that even though things seemed difficult and I was often unsure whether I could get through a difficult moment (i.e., this walk), God helped me a lot and He sent many nice people along the way. I also experienced the 'loudness' and family atmosphere of Spanish people =) I was not scared to say that I felt much at home when I stayed in EFA, even though it was only for one night.