Me and my homegirls
I have a decade or so history with nuns. I'm not Catholic, but in high school I took a flying leap away from public school (not because I wasn't happy with the education, but because I wasn't happy with how crazy middle-school girls could be and needed a fresh start) and started my Catholic education. The school I went to freshman year was run by a traditional Catholic diocese and had a few priests on staff to teach classes they were uniquely qualified to teach, you know, like Human Sexuality*.
My second high school, which came about in a turn of events I briefly touched upon here, was run by nuns. But not just any nuns - no, these were nuns who liked to live on the wild side, meaning years previously they had broken away from their order (the rebels!) and now operated quite autonomously running our dear educational institution. The rumours abounded - but what we did know was that while they maintained the vows of chastity and devotion to God, they appeared to have given up the vow of poverty - as one of them drove an acura sports car, and they were rumored to have a condo in Pebble Beach. Of course these things had been "donated" but suffice it to say, they were a bit outside the confines of traditional habits (not that they weren't dear and devoted to our school, well except the one with the Nike airs who was more or less terrifying).
Anyway, I have no idea how traditional nuns should act - and perhaps traditional nuns don't exist anymore. Either way - I was delighted to get copied on this email from Sr. H, the main social worker The Africa Project is working with in Nkandla, and who will be hosting me when I go.
(the email was to our the TAP Director who is helping me arrange my trip):
"My best friend
I wanted all the time to say happy New but I could not, please take it as if it 23h59 Dec 2006 and you hear Sr H saying Happy New Debbie.
It seems I am always in conflict with time, as a result I leave it as it is.
What I am happy about is that Megan arrives in R'Bay so I do not need someone to collect her for me. I will do it myself. Tell her that she will see a Young Beautiful Nun and she will know that it is Me.
Goodbye.
Sr H."
I think I could learn a lot from a nun with a sense of humor in the middle of South Africa!
*I loved my teacher for this class, Father Malo, but I was reprimanded (and I think my parents called) when I challenged him once in class when he responded to a kid's question about whether a man who'd had a sex change could have a baby. Father Malo's response was, "I don't see why not?" I almost fell out of my chair I was so quick to raise my hand and ask him, increduously, to "THINK ABOUT IT." I don't think he appreciated my tone. But thank God for public school sex ed - if I'd waited until high school to learn about the birds and the bees from the likes of Father Malo I'd probably have a son of my own expecting his first child by now.
My second high school, which came about in a turn of events I briefly touched upon here, was run by nuns. But not just any nuns - no, these were nuns who liked to live on the wild side, meaning years previously they had broken away from their order (the rebels!) and now operated quite autonomously running our dear educational institution. The rumours abounded - but what we did know was that while they maintained the vows of chastity and devotion to God, they appeared to have given up the vow of poverty - as one of them drove an acura sports car, and they were rumored to have a condo in Pebble Beach. Of course these things had been "donated" but suffice it to say, they were a bit outside the confines of traditional habits (not that they weren't dear and devoted to our school, well except the one with the Nike airs who was more or less terrifying).
Anyway, I have no idea how traditional nuns should act - and perhaps traditional nuns don't exist anymore. Either way - I was delighted to get copied on this email from Sr. H, the main social worker The Africa Project is working with in Nkandla, and who will be hosting me when I go.
(the email was to our the TAP Director who is helping me arrange my trip):
"My best friend
I wanted all the time to say happy New but I could not, please take it as if it 23h59 Dec 2006 and you hear Sr H saying Happy New Debbie.
It seems I am always in conflict with time, as a result I leave it as it is.
What I am happy about is that Megan arrives in R'Bay so I do not need someone to collect her for me. I will do it myself. Tell her that she will see a Young Beautiful Nun and she will know that it is Me.
Goodbye.
Sr H."
I think I could learn a lot from a nun with a sense of humor in the middle of South Africa!
*I loved my teacher for this class, Father Malo, but I was reprimanded (and I think my parents called) when I challenged him once in class when he responded to a kid's question about whether a man who'd had a sex change could have a baby. Father Malo's response was, "I don't see why not?" I almost fell out of my chair I was so quick to raise my hand and ask him, increduously, to "THINK ABOUT IT." I don't think he appreciated my tone. But thank God for public school sex ed - if I'd waited until high school to learn about the birds and the bees from the likes of Father Malo I'd probably have a son of my own expecting his first child by now.
Labels: Africa
posted by Mood Indigo at 12:26 PM
5 Comments:
I like how you worked a habit joke in there...
"they were a bit outside the confines of traditional habits..." ba-dum-bum!
"I'd probably have a son of my own expecting his first child by now."
Ha! Nice. I'm a Catholic - give or take - but didn't attend Catholic school. I also didn't ever take a sex ed class. (One brief assembly in... the 7th grade.) I think the class clown in me would went crazy with that kind of material.
She definitely sounds like a cool nun though.
Love this one. I didn't realize you had gone to Catholic school. I only did Catechism classes. I love reading posts like this because it gives me a better understanding of who you are. (And who you are is pretty darn cool.)
Pretty nuns are more common than most people would think... Or at least that's how the movies would like us to believe things are. That last teacher though makes me worry though. :P I get the feeling that you'll get along with smashingly with Sr. H. Sounds like a cool code name from a secret society... I guess it kinda is in some sort of way.
Cherry - I'm SO glad you got that :)
Peter - ya, it was hard to hold back. Especially when he broke out the condoms and the banana.
Megan - I know what you mean - certain posts do offer a bit more insight into "the blogger behind the blog." Thanks so much!
James - I can't wait to meet her. She was, of course, being saracastic about the beautiful young nun part (though she's not exactly old - probably in her forties?) - I have a feeling she will inspire a good amount of writing in the future!
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