convent

today i only had one interview, with an elderly nun, maria.

after the interview was over, i stayed talking with sister maria for a while longer. she tells me about how she entered the convent when she was about to turn 17. she said that she always knew that she wanted to be a nun. at age sixteen, maria went to a house where she knew there were nuns living and told them, "quiero ser religiosa." loosely translated, i want to be religious.

the mother superior then accompanied maria to her house. maria's mother answered the door and when the mother superior informed her that maria wanted to be a nun, the mother fainted. apparently she was ill in bed for the next week or so. when maria's father arrived, he was indigant, telling the nun, "usted no se la puede llevar. no es una perra como para llevarsela!" you can't just take her! she's not like a dog for you to take!

when everything settled down, maria was able to convince her parents to join the convent and has been happy in her decision to be a nun ever since.

she asks me about my story. where do i live? i explain to her that i'm in austin now, but that i had previously lived a year in la feria. and that in between there was a year in california, where all of my family lives.

"no estás casada?" she asks.
"no," i reply. i'm not married.
she thinks for a moment before asking, "¿nunca has pensado entrar a un convento?"
have i considered entering a convent?
i think for a moment before answering. "la verdad es que siempre he sido muy volada con los muchachos como para entrar a un convento." the truth is that i've always been a little too boycrazy to enter a convent.
"ah bueno, pues no. no entonces no," she says quickly.

though wouldn't it make my life easier?

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