A local high school student spent part of her summer making a pilgrimage to Australia, where she gained a wealth of experiences.
Stephanie Wrenn, 16, student at Emporia High School, left on July 6 for Australia and returned on July 23. There’s a 15-hour time difference between here and there.
“When it was 5 p.m. here, it was 8 a.m. there the next day,” Wrenn said. “It was weird. When we came back we gained a day.”
Wrenn was in Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day, which is a Roman Catholic event held to bring youth together. This year’s event drew 223,000 registered pilgrims, including 110,000 from 170 nations. World Youth Day was started by Pope John Paul II in 1986. The first event was held in Rome. Since then it’s been held around the world. This year’s event was attended by Pope Benedict XVI, and included masses, stations of the cross, an evening vigil, and time for the youth to explore the culture of Australia.
Wrenn went with the Riverton, Wyo., group to Australia. She recently moved, with her parents, to Emporia from Wyoming.
“It didn’t matter if I was moving to Kansas,” she said.
The youth did several fundraisers to help pay for their trip. They raised about 70 percent of the money. An anonymous donor paid off the rest.
Wrenn said thousands of people went to the vigil site, which was at Southern Cross Precinct (Randwick Racecourse & Centennial Park) in Sydney. Wrenn said some of the people had tents, but others just slept on the ground. The dew was heavy when they woke up the next morning.
“We woke up wet the next morning,” Wrenn said with a laugh.
While there were a lot of religious-themed events, Wrenn said they had a chance to learn about the culture as well. There were several exhibits that focused on culture.
“There were lots of exhibits about what was going on with the Aboriginal people,” Wrenn said. “They got an apology from the government. They just threw them out. There were no reservations.”
Other activities included concerts and the Day at the Diocese, which Wrenn described as a large block party.
“They had a lot of concerts and different things to try and bring the youth together,” Wrenn said.
There were several cultural differences that Wrenn said she noticed.
“They drive on the wrong side of the road,” she said. “And on the wrong side of the car. They drive really fast and take roundabouts — very crazy driving. They go extremely fast.”
The trip provided an opportunity to meet people around the world. Wrenn met people from Spain, Canada and Africa. Wrenn also got to be near the Pope. Part of Wrenn’s group was near where the Pope arrived.
“He was really interesting,” she said. “Everybody was so excited. You could feel the energy going through the crowd everywhere.”
The trip also included a visit to the Australia Zoo, where youth had the opportunity to view elephants, tigers, crocodiles, and animals that are native to Australia such as kangaroos and wallabies.
“They’re so different because they have so many different types of animals there,” Wrenn said.
Food is different in Australia as well.
“At McDonald’s they don’t have beef,” Wrenn said. “And they have lots of stuff that is gluten-free. The Snickers bars there are made out of wheat not corn starch.”
The weather was different as well.
“It was their winter,” Wrenn said. “It was pretty mild compared to some of our winters. During the night it got pretty cold, especially on vigil night.”
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