Day 13: A slow day with a great finale

Yo con Sarah, la gata del seminario

It was a very slow day. I did a lot of reading, wrote my sermon for tomorrow, Skyped with my family, practiced some Spanish vocabulary, and even found a little time to conquer a few levels of Angry Birds. Around 4:30, Annie and Sarah left for their respective church communities.

Tonight Kristin and I went out with Mercedes, Laura and Lavinia, all of them Dominican children of priests, and all of them in their early 20s. They took us for a walk down by the sea, where it felt a little like Coney Island: street vendors, lots of kids and kids' activities, young couples holding hands and watching the waves. The sun was setting, and it was gorgeous.

Next we treated them to pizza. My halting Spanish was good enough to understand the bulk of what was going on, even if I didn’t catch all the details. We talked a lot about the difference between the D.R. and the U.S.A., and especially about the differences between English and Spanish. We taught each other expressions in our two languages. We talked about our lives: our current plans, our hopes and dreams, and simple things like how we like to spend our free time. It was a fabulous evening.

Laura y Mercedes

Kristin con Lavinia

Most of the day was slow, yes, but next week promises to be fast-paced. We have told the seminaristas that we’d like to lead Evening Prayer each day next week, and also cook the dinners. This will give us a team project for the afternoons. Also, on Monday we plan to go to the beach with the seminaristas. I’m very much looking forward to that.

Lavinia y Laura, las hermanas