Nac Orientation Part IV - A Day at The Beach

So, I know that I still have a couple posts of past events that need to find their way onto my blog, but I just got back from the beach and figured I might as well take care of current events and fill in the gaps as I can. All the first-years, a handful of the older men, and a large portion of the monsignors and priests of the faculty went to the beach today. I thought this was especially post worthy, since I think some can forget that priests and seminarians are people, too. [:) We left for the beach at 9:30 this morning (3:30 AM back in Kalamazoo) and spent most of the day there, lounging in the sun, swimming, reading, talking, and playing frisbee, football, and volleyball. It was a lot of fun, though I was probably ready to come back to the college two hours before we finally did. I'm so used to Lake Michigan that the salt water of the Mediterranean was a bit of a surprise, though I was told by my Aussie friends that it's good for your skin. Go figure. So that's really about it. We ate cold cuts for lunch and really enjoyed ourselves. A couple of my friends are definitely going to be feeling their sunburn tomorrow. Thankfully, one of the other Franciscan guys thought to bring sunscreen to Europe so he let me use some of his. Here are the few pictures I took from our adventure today. I would have taken more, but it's difficult to take pictures when you're in the water or eating lunch.

Here are most of the guys swimming and throwing a football, beach ball, and a couple tennis balls and frisbees around. I had just gotten out of the water at this point.

Here are most of the rest of the guys reading, sunbathing, or napping.

Most people make sandcastles when they go to the beach. Seminarians make Sand St. Peter's Basilicas. He even represented the fountains in the plaza. [:)

Finally, just as I was posting this, I heard a crash of thunder, which has been so uncommon around here that it confused me until I looked out the window and noticed that it had started to rain rather hard. Just for the sheer heck of it, here's what it looks like out my window right now.

That's it for now. Please remember to pray for me and know that I am praying for everyone back in Kalamazoo and many who aren't (as best I can, anyway). [:) God bless.