Yesterday, as I'm sure you're all aware, was Easter. When I was a kid, I loved Easter almost more than Christmas. But the older I've become, the less exciting it is. But some things still make Easter Easter, like going to church. (I never thought I'd be, nor did I ever want to be, a Christmas and Easter church-goer, but I think I've turned into one, unfortunately.) So yesterday, for the first time since coming here, I went to church. There's a church downtown that I walk past every day, but I've never bothered to go inside. I arrived about ten minutes before starting time and strategically chose a seat near the back and at the end of a row. Near the back so that I could see when everyone else stood up and sat down and follow their lead, and at the end of a row in case something went horribly wrong and I wanted to leave. To be honest, I was nervous. First of all it's a Catholic church. I've only ever been to a few Catholic services, so I didnt't know if maybe something totally different would happen. Second of all, everything would be in French, and I surely wouldn't understand everything, and I wanted to make sure that my lack of understanding wasn't obvious. It's hard to hide in a church full of people who routinely do the same thing each week. My 18+ years of going to church every Sunday really came in handy, though. I was actually able to follow along quite nicely. Although I didn't understand everything that was said, I understood a lot, partly because speakers in a church typically speak slowly. I couldn't see a thing going on up front because there were a million rows, and I was maybe eight from the back. But I was able to figure out what parts of the service we were at. Like, "Oh, this is where he's praying for people of the church," and "Okay, this is definitely the Lord's Prayer," and "Okay, I think we're going to have communion soon." It was cool that it was so similar to what we do at home. And the Lord's Prayer part was really cool for me. As everyone said it, I said it in my head in English, and I was listening to them at the same time and staying at the right spot, constantly making the connection between their words and mine. I was saying to myself, "Ah, okay, that makes sense!"
What I was most nervous for was the shaking hands with other people part (or sharing peace). I hate doing that at my own church. Sorry, but it's the truth. My hands are very often really sweaty, so it's not fun to shake hands with people. And whenever I know it's coming, they get sweatier. But this time it was more a fear of not knowing what to say when I greet them. But I just smiled at them, and most people who shook my hand didn't say anything to me either, so it was fine. Lastly I turned around, and behind me were two of my students. :) So I shook hands with both of them, too. It was kind of awkward though. I mean, I feel like I'm always on display. They probably all go home and talk to their friends about where they saw the English assistant in town! (I don't doubt it gets brought up.)
Anyway, I even had communion. In a Catholic. What are you gonna do about it?! NOTHIN'! Haha sorry, I like tricking those Catholics into thinking I'm one of them.
Here's the church, followed by a picture of everyone hanging out outside aftwer the service.
After church was a baptism, so I decided to go to it to see what it was like. It was strange. I don't know if it's a Catholic thing, a French thing, or a Lure/this church thing, but there were eight people being baptized, and there were tons of kids running around the church being really distracting. I didn't enjoy it, but I stayed for the experience. Here's aare some pictures inside during the baptism.
After church, just to make it feel a little more like Easter, I made crêpes. I ate six of them. And it was too much. But it was so worth it, because crêpes are delicious!!! I also had hard boiled eggs, but unfortunately, they weren't dyed because apparently the French don't believe in dying Easter eggs. :(
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