ABBEY 2010...WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER...

This abbey program is not a vacation..To those who you who dont know...It's school, it's work, it's life, it's experience, but it's also friendship. When you arrive at the abbey you may not like everyone here, may not ever talk to them, and alot of people you wont for at least the first 2 months..Then there's spring break. It was like a revolution here at the Abbey because we were all happy to see each other. We all had just been around the world with our closest friends here and we were anxious to see how everyone else's trips were. Then there are the creative things we organized and made our own together as a group. The parties, the talent show, the secrets for Jessica....Somewhere between all the drama and the schoolwork we became a family. That's most important when youre on this abbey trip. Not about where you come from, not about your background, It's about the person you are now, and that is what makes you special and brings you to the Abbey. It didnt matter that at first you thought your roomate was wierd, or that she isnt in your sorority, or that he just wont stop talking, even when theres no one around. It's just the fact that we all are here, and we made it to the end because we stuck together. When that old creepy man at the bar won't leave you alone...theyll say excuse me sir this is my girlfriend...Whether youre the last one stuck in Le Commerce on a tuesday night with a beer in one hand and a french guy in the other...youre abbey family watches over you...if your that girl at the disco who is throwing up and passing out because you had too much to drink...youre abbey family helps you to the bathroom...When youre crying they'll be your shoulder to lean on....When you dont want to be the only American in the store...theyll come in with you....That's what being at the Abbey is all about...Us all being different people, but when we come together we come and make each other strong....And it wont be until the end when you realize that WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER..even though I just finished watchin high school musical, this is true...Life is what you make it, and if you choose to make it at the Abbey...live in the moment..frienships here have potential to last forever....:) when you sign up for the abbey youre signing up for so much more than you bargained for...

http://theabbeyprogram.org/

The truth about Eurail Passes

For Spring Break I got a 3 country eurail pass, I'sm still deciding whether i saved money or spent more. I paid $496.. for France, Greece, and Italy. I thought that would be the end of it, I would just show it at any ticket window and as the french say, VOILA!! But not even, I experienced my first trial after Normandy when the Abbey group came back to Paris for the split. My friend Jaffe and I, both were excited to catch our overnight train to Venice, Italy. We have everything planned out, we would catch the train that leaves in 30 min. and well be in Venice for 3 days, hostel booked and everything. We get to the window after waiting in a long line, and she tells us they dont have a spot on this train for eurail pass holders. And wouldnt have another train going for 3 days. Which messed up our entire spring break trip that time and each time after that we tried. To make a long story short, If you decide to take this route to travel during spring break..keep this in mind. YOU MUST HAVE THE PASS SENT TO THE U.S. THEN SENT TO YOU, OR YOU CAN BUY IT BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME. YOU WILL RECIEVE A MAP...AND I CAN TELL YOU NOW ITS NOT JUST FOR SHOW AND TELL...USE IT...YOU WILL RECIEVE A TIMETABLE BOOK THAT TELLS YOU ALL THE TRAINS THAT THE EURAIL PASS COVERS AND THE TIME THAT THEY WILL LEAVE...KEEP WITH YOU AT ALL TIME, THIS WILL BECOME YOUR BIBLE. FOR EVERY TRAIN TIME LISTED THAT HAS A LITTLE SQUARE BOX WITH A..R.. INSIDE MEANS YOU NEED TO MAKE A RESERVATION. IF YOUR TRAIN HAS A RESERVATION REQUIRED MAKE SURE YOU MAKE THE RESERVATIONS AHEAD OF TIME. SOME TRAINS ARE FINE TO MAKE THE SAME DAY, BUT MAJOR STATIONS LIKE ..PARIS TRAIN STATIONS AND SOME IN ITALY..YOU NEED TO MAKE RESERVATIONS. THERE ARE ADDITIONAL FEES TO MAKE THE RESERVATIONS. THE EURAIL PASS DOES NOT FULLY COVER A SEAT ON THE TRAIN, IT ONLY PROVIDES A DISCOUNT TO THOSE WHO HAVE THEM. FOR CERTAIN TRAINS SUCH AS EUROSTAR ITALIA THE FEE IS 10 EUROS, THE TGV IN FRANCE IS 3 EUROS AND SOMETIMES THE FEE IS DIFFERENT....FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE A TGV OUT OF PARIS, THEN CATCH A EUROSTAR IN ITALY YOUR FEE WOULD BE 13 EURO...THE COST CAN GO UP DEPENDING ON THE TRAINS YOU CATCH... ALSO THE PASS INCLUDES FERRIES FROM ANCONA ITALY TO PATRA GREECE. THIS IS AN OVERNIGHT FERRY AND IT DOES HAVE A 7 EURO PORT FEE.. BUT IT IS SO NICE, IF YOURE GOING TO GREECE THIS PROBABLY WOULD BE THE CHEAPEST WAY TO GO..THEN CATCH A FLIGHT FROM ATHENS IF YOU NEED TOO....THE EURAIL PASS WORKS FOR SHORT DISTANT TRAIN TRIPS.. IT WAS HELL TRYING TO GET EVERYWHERE WITH A EURAIL PASS AND IT WAS EXTRA MONEY WE HAD TO SPEND THAT WE DIDNT HAVE...BUT WEN YOURE IN FRANCE AND YOU HAVE SPRING BREAK AROUND EUROPE YOU JUST TRY TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT...as they say...

http://www.eurail.com/

"I will tell your story to the future group of Abbeys"

A French resistant holocaust survivor speaker came to enlightment us "Americans" in the abbey. You hear a million stories, watch tons of movies that make you cry, and read the books of the holocaust survivors but It just so happens it never occurs to you how terrible it is until you see the actual pictures from someone who has been there. Our guest speaker became a member of the resistance at age 15. And at 15 he was captured and interrogated by the police, then sent to a concentration camp. Although he spoke no english and his story was translated it caused everyone in the room to remain silent. He was given a number and told to always speak that number in German. His number was in the 4,000's. Everyday wake up call was early in the morning, followed by gruesome excercise that forced even the old and disable to perform. Food was given in the smallest portions, and the old who knew they would die soon, would sacrifice and give their food to the younger men so that they could survive. Luckily for our guest, he became the shoemaker, so he got twice the serving he got before. Being the person he was, he would split his 2nd serving evenly between his friends and himself. Only in secret because this would have been severly punished if the guards would have known. That's about the time when he passed around the pictures, similar to the one's I've posted. These pictures on the web are shocking enough, but it kills your heart and turns your stomach when you know the person in the picture. If youve never experienced this, it's a entirely new feeling. From the moment that you hold the picture in your hand you cant even wrap your mind around what these people experienced. And our specific guest didnt leave this camp until he was 18 years old. At that time he had to renew his health. Imagine being in the health of someone in the picture, then having to come back to society and try your best to get your health back to everyone else. And spending your adolescent years in a concentration camp. Coming back home to your family whom you havent seen in what seems like forever and having to overcome tuberculosis. "One day in the camp, felt like a year", quoted from our guest. Imagine what 3 years would feel like. This was an eye opener to me, to what millions of people were subjected too. And he is a French man, not Jewish, but he suffered most of the same gruesome pain. "Never Forget but Never Hate", is what he left us with. Many died and many gave up. He survived because of his faith and determination. Which becomes my motivation. This man's story inspires me, and it is something that I will take with me for the rest of my life. When I go home I will tell my mother, and my grandparents, and later I will tell my children. http://www.qualityinformationpublishers.com/naziconcentrationcamppictures.aspx