Retreat at Dalmally

This sheep is not glad to see me

Last weekend, I went on a retreat with the Catholic Students Union. The retreat was held at Craig Lodge in Dalmally, which is a three hour drive from Edinburgh. I was supposed to back out at the last minute because I had dizzy spells, or a viral hangover as the doctor described it, the entire week last week. But since it was my idea, I had to go or else Bianca, my Filipina friend, also a member of the CSU, will kill me. So by 5:30pm, we were on the road. Father Tim was our designated driver and oh my, I really hate how the British people drive. They like to drive fast and only use the breaks when they feel like it. So imagine poor little me with my head all light and fuzzy having to deal with the winding road and Father Tim's "hard-breaking" driving skills. That was by far the longest car ride I have ever been on my entire life. The minute we got to the lodge, I ever so discreetly sneaked out of the dining hall where the welcoming committee was, to, well, welcome us, and just vomited in the bathroom until there wasn't anything left in me to vomit. I immediately felt better afterwards. Maybe that was what I needed after all.

Anyhow, we kicked off the retreat with supper that consisted of soup, bread, and tea. Ooooh boy. By this point I knew I will be starving the entire weekend. Thank God Bianca brought dried mangoes and other goodies with her! Otherwise... Well we all know what happens when I get hungry. So the retreat's theme was about the 7 deadly sins but because we didn't have enough time to discuss all of them, we only focused on 4 - Pride, Envy, Covetousness, and Greed. We had a lot of time to ourselves too which was perfect because the Lodge was literally in the middle of nowhere so you are forced to be alone with your thoughts a lot. My favorite part of the retreat though was when we did the Stations of the Cross up a mountain. Yes, a proper mountain, where one false move could send you rolling down like Maria in the Sound of Music. Every time we stopped to pray, I was panting and gasping for air. That was no easy climb. Naturally of course, the last station was at the top of the mountain. And from the top, the view was breathtaking. You could see snow peaked mountains, lochs or lakes, rivers, green fields, and a few houses. We took our time and a lot of pictures before heading back. For our last night, we played Charades with the staff and volunteers of the lodge. After that, we played Sardines in total darkness, which I think cured my fear of the dark forever. We couldn't really drink because they had a strict "No Alcohol" rule. No matter, when we got back in Edinburgh, we met up again at the Southsider pub to finally consume some beer and cider.

For most people, Valentine's Day means going on a fancy dinner date, receiving beautiful flowers, cheesy Hallmark cards, or an ugly red heart-shaped pillow from Blue Mountain. Clearly, I am not most people. I went on a date with Jesus instead.

with Father Bruno, Father Tim, and Julienne