Convent Life

I’ve settled into a routine of rising at 5:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays we all rise for Lauds at 8:00 a.m. and on Sundays it is “free”. During the week, in the convent chapel, we celebrate a combination of Lauds and Mass together. On weekends we attend Mass at our local parish. Our Cathedral of the Assumption and our parish church, Santo Domingo, are both within walking distance. Because Mass is offered on Sundays—some churches offer Mass every hour on the hour—we often hear bells ringing from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. I like the bells.
Our convent kitchen is the heart of the house. Sisters Lupita and Conchita are two of our cooks. They have 3 lay people who help with the washing of pots and pans, etc. These ladies sometimes call me “Sister Juanie”. I think they think they are calling me an English name. Our meals are good but I have not adjusted to eating meat, vegetables and beans in the morning at 6:45 a.m. The noon meal is served from 2:45 to 3:45 as the Sisters arrive at different times from their different work sites. It is a nice meal: rice, beans, meat, salad and always fresh squeezed juice to drink. They don’t always serve desserts. Fruit is always available. The last meal is after Vespers around 7:45 p.m. That meal is not a meal really. We have a piece of Mexican bread, a piece of fruit and a cup of tea made from lemon grass or cinnamon or pieces of fruits.
Sometimes many Sisters come from some of the 40-plus mission houses where the Sisters work and they stay at the Casa Central or Motherhouse. There are enough bedrooms—some have 5 or 6 beds in them. Each bedroom has a shower and bathroom. I sleep in a private room with a bathroom and sitting area. There are NO heaters in the entire house! I think I can see my breath when I get up. It makes me think of my Dad when we were young and lived in Texas. The winters were bad. Dad would get up around 4 or 5 to light the butane gas heaters so that the un-insulated house would warm up before we would get up. I now get up and start the shower so that the steam from the warm water will heat up my room. I say to myself, “I’ll do this for you, Jesus, and only for You.”
The house is full of winding staircases—like the inside of a spiral sea shell. I don’t run down the stairs. I walk gingerly because the tile is slick and dangerous. The reception room is opened very early in the morning by a ninety some year old Sister Teresa. She and Sister Mayra, a young junior Sister, take care of the door and phones all day long. The house is wired for answering the door. They view the person outside the door via a small camera and they push a button to open the door. They have phones on every wing of the house but sometimes no one answers to go summon a Sister. It can be very frustrating.
We walk everywhere—to church, to the store, to go get a haircut—everywhere! Every day seven of us ride in a white van to get to school, however. The Sisters own about 4 cars for different purposes. We were just told not to use the private cars if possible. There is great danger of drug lords stopping big vans, trucks, etc. and asking the people to vacate the vehicle and they steal it and everything in it. They sell it or use it for the drug trade. Many times bad things can happen to people who might be involved or at the wrong time of the night or driving alone, etc. I don’t go anywhere by myself or at night. I feel very safe.
I ended up teaching English to two Sisters only. I started with about 6 Sisters but they get very discouraged and frustrated. They want to learn English in a few days. Sister Teresita needs to learn as she will be assigned to work in Fresno, CA. The other, Sister Mayra, is young and she was told she had to learn English for later use.