Culture Swap

6.24.12

This Sunday was a bit of a “switch-a-roo” for me.  I had made plans to take my landlord’s father to mass with me (he is very interested in all religion), but I was met with a surprise when I went upstairs:   The whole family (except for my landlord).  Turns out, the mom and sister were very interested in attending Mass as well.  They said if I would allow them to come to Mass with me, they would fix me lunch (Indian Style).  Of course, I am always more than happy to take people with me to Mass—the more the merrier! 

So, after having a quick little discussion about some things, we loaded up into my car and I headed for one church that I knew I liked (I didn’t want their first experience to be at a church I knew nothing about!).  Our Lady of Good Counsel was our target destination. 

Upon arriving at OLGC (which I love, by the way), my IF had a few questions, but really seemed to enjoy the Church.  I think my favorite question before arriving at OLGC was if they should wear shoes or not (I learned that in a Hindu temple, you do not wear shoes).  After chuckling a little bit, I reassured them that it was perfectly ok to wear shoes (in fact, probably encouraged). 

I like to get to Mass at least 15 minutes early when I am attending a new church so I have plenty of time to pray and take in my surroundings.  While I had been to OLGC before, I wanted to make sure that my IF had the full experience of the church—and they certainly were not disappointed!

After we had been sitting for a few minutes, one of the Ushers came up to us and asked us if we would be willing to bring up the gifts.  My IF looked incredibly confused, so I jumped in and mentioned that, while I was Catholic, this family was not.  Of course—and say what you will, but I see this as the embodiment of the Catholic faith—the Usher saw no problem with this, and asked all 4 of us to bring up the gifts.  I could tell that my IF was a little nervous but also very excited!  They kept questioning me about how people are picked, and why, of everyone that was there, that we were picked.  My thoughts (from my limited knowledge of seeing how this Church operates):  the Church likes to have a family bring of the gifts, and it was just God blessing them. 

Mass was a little confusing for them, and, unfortunately for them, I was not the best guide during the service.  I seldom follow along in the Missal—choosing instead to listen and pay attention to those reading the word—so I wasn’t completely sure where I could find the step-by-step instructions.  However, they managed to make it through the whole service, engaged and everything.

When we brought the gifts up, I was thrilled to see the joy on their faces.  God is very good. 

So, after Mass, they had a few questions to ask (specific roles, why they were not allowed to take communion, why they were asked to bring up the gifts, etc., etc.  very standard questions) which led to discussion the entire way back home.  The mother was just glowing with happiness.  She kept thanking me for allowing them to attend.  I felt a little awkward, and made sure to let them know they were more than welcome to attended whenever they felt like joining me! 

Upon arrival back home, I went to change, and they set to work on lunch.  I am not going to lie, I was a little concerned.  After all, I can be a…ummm…selective eater at times.  Turns out, my worries were for naught. 

We set down for lunch and I was still a little concerned. I planned on trying everything, so I did not appear to be rude.  This was a great idea on my part, because it turns out I liked everything (except some cold fruit/vegetable salad with a strange dressing/sauce mixed in). I will say this:  Indian food is not meant to look pretty.  We had naan, bean and lentil soup (I don’t know how to spell what it is actually called), chicken in a delicious orange sauce, rice with vegetables mixed in, and the aforementioned salad.  I don’t consider myself a bean’s kind of guy, but I had two and a half bowls of the soup.  Oh, and we had a “side sauce” that was green and very spicy.  I am not sure what it is called, but it was very good on naan.  My IF was amazed this was the first time I had ever had Indian food, which led to questions about what types of food I have had (Mexican? Chinese?  Thai? Etc., lol).

After a delicious lunch, I tried like no other to help clean up, but they absolutely refused to let me help, instead Jenny (spelling?) and her mother cleared the table.  After a little more discussion, I wandered back downstairs and worked on some reading, piddle around, and ended up watching Netflix.  I finally finished off the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.  I was a little disappointed, because Netflix did not have season 7 up! However, I viewed this as an opportunity to actually utilize my time in a more effective manner (ha. We will see how long that lasts!). 

Overall, it was a very good day.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to partake in my culture swap experiences, and I look forward to many more in the years to come.  Heaven knows there is so much more out there that I have not experienced.  And I am finally opening up my food horizons (shocking!) along with expanding my economic and free-market knowledge.  It is going to require quite the discovery process, but hey, I’ve got time.  That’s the joy of being an Intern!