happy sunday, part II

As a Mennonite, going to Catholic mass is always an experience for me. Going to a Catholic mass on the top of a hill overlooking all of Santiago, sitting at the base of a huge statue of the Virgin Mary, listening to the Spanish translations of the Creed and the Hail Mary, watching girls in braids and brightly skirts perform dances to the hymns...well, let's just say I was a little overwhelmed.

Today kicks off the "month of the Virgin", culminating on December 8, which is a national holiday in honor of the Virgin Mary. There's a huge mass at the top of Cerro San Cristóbal on the 8th that I wanted to check out -- but I won't be around then because my group is taking a trip to Easter Island (I know, my life is rough). So Quinn and I decided to get our dose of Virgin-celebrating in this morning. I wish I had pictures to share, but I didn't think it would be appropriate to bring my camera to a church service (bad call, because everyone else there was snapping pictures...even a priest stepped aside during the sermon to get a photo of the decorated altar).

Living in such an intensely Catholic country is so strange.