After staying out in Split until 5am last night, it was no easy task this morning waking up at 8am to get my 11am bus ticket to Medjugorje.
Oh yes, Medjugorje. It’s an apparition site where Mary appeared to some young kids on a mountain and now appears to them every day (they are grown now). There’s more to it than that but that’s the jist of it. Anyway, Mom was adamant about me going, and considering I’ve already hit up a few of these sites, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to boost my standings. Ended up being a MUCH longer bus ride than I anticipated though – 4 hours in a poorly air conditioned bus with sleep deprivation and curvy roads is not a fun time.
Finally wound up in Medjugorje this afternoon. It’s nice to now have a quiet little room to myself (with AC!) that Mom was kind enough to buy for me. It’s cheap anyway though – only 15 euro a night for a private which is unheard of in most areas. The family is super nice. My host Vinko dropped me off in town. I kind of prayed along to some rosary and then attended mass. Well, it was mass in Croatian. And I tried, I really did, but you know, it’s not easy when you have NO CLUE what anyone is saying, and the priest seems happy to have an extra long homily.
It was nice enough for awhile because it was outside- the sun was setting and there was a lovely breeze, and I was quite content, even not understanding anything. But then I realized everyone else had headphone/radio things to listen in their own language, leaving me to feel foolish and silly. I also felt like at this point I was doing more harm than good, so I left and grabbed some dinner for my hungry belly. Super cheap – just 4 euro for a whole personal pizza and drink. The restaurant was also close enough to the church that I could still hear it all, so I think it counts.
Now I’m back at my place, getting ready to watch some much needed streaming TV and hit the hay.
Peace!
