pat loughery

Summary

Writing this journal a few days after the Trail ended, I’m conflicted about the class. On the negative side, of our ten days in the course, four included at least ten hours’ travel time on the bus. During our travel days, we struggled to maintain a reasonable schedule, didn’t eat well and had less than regular stops for rest. The class itinerary wasn’t realistic, and many of the highlights from the itinerary were removed as we realized what was possible and what was not.

Because of these changes on the fly, the course didn’t meet its initial objectives while at the same time, the students were tired, hungry and struggled to maintain a positive outlook.

On the positive side, we had experiences of a lifetime that I could never expect to have any other way. I had never been in a Muslim country before or been awakened by the Imam’s call to prayer. We saw the early days of Christian monasticism with our own eyes and feet. We walked through Ephesus with an excellent guide. We met the Patriarch of Romania with special access to the podium and to the relics that were arranged for the occasion. I walked where Paul, John and Mary had walked; I passed by Paul’s bones. We had wine as the guests of a Romanian monastery’s abbot. And we experienced these things as a group of students on a learning journey together through the good and bad.

Do the positives outweigh the negatives in this situation? Of course they do. But I find myself wondering how much better the experience would have been if the glaring negatives were not so glaring.

In the end, I’m very happy that I participated in this course, even with my suggestions for improvement for future Trails.