I’ve Arrived!

After a small adventure getting the train Sunday morning, I’m in Albuquerque and settling in.

When we got to the train station in Flagstaff yesterday at 5:15 a.m. they told me that the conductor had misread the schedule. Instead of arriving for a 5:40 a.m. departure he arrived for a 4:40 a.m. departure and had already left. Apparently he was very confused about Daylight Savings time! Luckily, the train ended up waiting for us outside of Winslow, AZ (about 45 minutes away), so me and about 8 others hopped in a taxi and met the train at the Winslow station. We had a small scare about halfway through our drive to Winslow when our driver was told that they weren’t holding the train for us and we would have to stay in a hotel. Luckily that was a mixup and we were still able to make it.

Sr. Angela and Sr. Ann picked me up from the train station in Albuquerque and took me to the Cannossian community of Cristo Rey and the Spirituality Center, which are in the southern part of Albuquerque or the Valley. As expected, I had no trouble identifying the Sisters at the station (FYI they weren’t wearing veils). Sr. Angela gave me a tour of the community and I got to meet the Sisters that live there. Cristo Rey is the Provincial House, kind of like the headquarters, and attached to it is Casa Angelica, a home for young adults with disabilities where I will hopefully get to volunteer sometimes. I also learned how to correctly pronounce VOICA (voy-ka) and Canossian (can-ocean), which I have been saying incorrectly since May. Oops!!

I stole these photos from the Sisters' website since I failed as a blogger and forgot to take some.

Additionally, there are two other houses of Canossian Sisters that are about a 20 minute drive from the Provincial House and closer to the Sandia Mountains (which I learned means watermelon in Spanish). I live in one of those houses along with Sr. Angela, sometimes Sr. Kate and for the past few days Sr. Ann. Hopefully the other volunteer will be joining me in December or January, too. 

My room and the house are nothing like I expected, definitely not simple. Paraguay is going to be a major shock! I have my own room with a bathroom and wait for it…WIFI!!! Plus there is a huge kitchen, a nice backyard, an office area, many more bedrooms, a living room with a TV and cable (Sr. Ann said she likes Modern Family!), a fireplace and a chapel. The other house even has a swimming pool! I’ll also have a car to share with Sr. Angela and a bike.

My bedroom

My desk

My bathroom

After unpacking, we went to Mass at a local parish/school supported by the Sisters. Following Mass, we went out for Pizza and wine. The nuns like to have a good time, too! I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome!

More pictures and information about my training to come!

Sr. Anne, Sr. Angela and me enjoying our fire tonight.

Me, Sr. Kay & Sr. Angela