Help_the_Community

Something Unique I have always tried to differentiate myself from others. I did not really feel like going to the school and working with the children simply because my mother has a daycare, and I do not enjoy children in large numbers. I began looking elsewhere for ideas. I did not have much luck until a Sunday morning. I was sitting at St. Mary’s Catholic Church (probably daydreaming) when the answer hit me. Why not combine going to church and working with the Spanish mass' I brought the idea to professor Cynthia Wells, and she seemed to like the idea. I set up an appointment with Fr. Erberto Costas, a tri-lingual priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. He thought this was a great idea; especially being able to see the cultural differences along with getting to speak with the large Mexican population. The traditional Catholic Church has a greeter when walking into church to open the door and pleasantly greet the people coming into church. Fr. Erberto asked me to start the tradition at the Spanish Mass. Going to Mass The Spanish mass at St. Mary’s starts at noon on Sundays. I arrived at 11:45 to begin my first greeting session. I walked into church finding the choir warming up and practicing. I waited and waited for people to arrive to church. A few early birds came, but not very many. Thinking this was a small congregation, I found out my first lesson about Spanish culture: They are laid back and never really early for events to start. The people started coming into church. I casually greeted them with a smile and “Hola! Como está usted'” Most would give a sincere reply back in Spanish while others would smile and nod. It was quite interesting the wide variety of replies I would get. There are a wide range of people I would meet. Some were very old and others could barely walk. Some people could speak in both English and Spanish, others can only speak Spanish. After everyone was finished going into church, I closed the doors and headed into church. Mass & Cultural Differences The Spanish mass is much different than the normal Catholic mass. First of all, the Spanish Mass really fills the church, and the children are plentiful. I have found that the regular English mass has a lot of empty seats, and there are not many younger children. I also felt out of place dressed in my usual khaki pants, dress shirt, and simple tie. Most of the men wore sweaters, jeans, and/or denim shirts. Most of the girls wore dresses or sweaters. Black leather coats were very prevalent at Mass. Some of the Spanish church words are a little different than in English. We say “Mary” and they say “Maria” is just a small example. I was able to follow along in the readings. I never really understood a whole lot of what they were saying, but I picked out a few words I was able to understand. I noticed a few other changes in the Spanish mass. The Spanish mass gets a large amount of money in the collection basket. The basket was over-flowing every time I attended. I also had the opportunity to watch a couple Mexican girls get baptized. I was baptized at approximately one month old. The two girls that got baptized were at least three years old. The Catholic Church re-creates the last supper and gives out bread called communion. In my hometown-church, everyone receives the sacrament of reconciliation in 2nd grade. This means they are able to get bread because they understand what is happening according to Catholic beliefs. I noticed that 40% of the people at the Spanish mass actually go and get communion whereas 95% of the people in my hometown church go and get communion. Reflection I am currently only in Spanish 101, so my Spanish speaking skills are limited. However, I can speak very general, simple phrases to people. I got to use my Spanish skills in a real-life situation and learn a whole new culture. The most enjoyable part of the Spanish mass is when the little boys and girls from Sunday school come up and wait to be seated at church. They wait in the hall by me until Fr. Erberto tells them to enter. I always like playing little games with them. I like to grab some candy out of the basket and juggle for them. I have shown them some magic tricks on how to make a quarter disappear. Their eyes and smiles get so big that I have no choice but to smile and laugh with them. They beg for me to show them how to do it so they can go and impress their parents after church. After that, I get that feeling that you brightened someone’s day. As a community, Storm Lake is often criticized for its large diverse population. This should not be something to criticize, but should be something to be proud of. We live in a country where everyone has a different ancestry background. We get the opportunity to meet people from all over the world while learning many different cultures. Service learning projects like this one force students to go out into the community and find out first hand that people from different cultures and backgrounds really are not that different. It is really hard to reflect back on this experience because it looks like I am continuing to attend the Spanish mass. I enjoy going to the Spanish mass because it differs, and I enjoy meeting new people. I have already gone well over my four hours of required service learning. This next Sunday, Fr. Erberto is going to introduce me at the end of the mass in front of the entire church and explain what I am doing and why I am greeting people. “Giving Back to the Community” is a Buena Vista University motto. I think service learning projects like this one are important and really give the students an opportunity to use the skills that they have learned in the classroom. I hope the other Spanish students got as much out of their service learning project as I have.