My Aunt Helen is a Maryknoll Sister and has lived in Hong Kong my entire life, or at least as long as I can remember. She is also my godmother and even though I only saw her every few years, (if that) while growing up I always had a special fondness for her. She has a remarkable ability to get along with almost anyone and even when seeing her for the first time in years it is as if you just chatted with her yesterday. She is an excellent storyteller and has many stories to tell. Many times she throws in a “See” at the end of a sentence as if she was living in a 1920 noir novel and she has the propensity for sayings such as “She was a big woman but walked with the grace of the Queen Elizabeth coming into port.” She is losing her hearing so can’t hear you (or acts like she can’t hear you) and often keeps on talking and talking. Mostly, you don’t mind because of all the interesting things she has to say.
If there was any sense of danger in Hong Kong it had to do with following Aunt Helen around. People drive much more recklessly in HK than the US but Aunt Helen still barrels straightforward into the street. I jaywalk as much as the next person but Aunt Helen just careens right out into traffic. When I mentioned to her how she was going to be killed by being struck by an truck her response had something to do with how the Chinese respect their elders and watch out for her so she wasn’t worried. Now I had the thought of an errant automobile swerving to miss the white-haired woman and hitting me. Great.
The shock of white hair on her head and the head of most of the other nuns I met stood out the most. Especially when they are surrounded by so many dark haired people. I remember people on the street stopping her and mentioning how much they admire the whiteness of her hair.
Aunt Helen lived in a convent with three or four other nuns and an occasional priest on a different floor. The convent was difficult to get to off of a four-lane main drag with a traffic divider blocking entrance form one direction of travel. It was also buttressed behind a gas station and adjacent to a methadone clinic or maybe a mental health clinic. I’d meet Aunt Helen at the convent for breakfast and had dinner with her and some of the other Sisters – Jean, Mary Lou, Mariah, Ann Marie, Susan, and Anne – a couple times. They were all wonderful and being there with them and speaking with them made my trip to HK that much more fulfilling.
I found it enjoyable to walk around with Aunt Helen or the other Sisters, as they knew many people and commanded respect from all others. These short, white-skinned and white-haired women were of endless energy, boundless enthusiasm, and good humor*. They each had unique personalities and all were very worldly and intelligent. They do a tough job and I only have admiration for them and what they have dedicated there lives to accomplishing. As most have been away from America for a very long time they peppered me with questions and wanted to hear my opinion on the state of things, which I was happy to give. Being 2007 I provided a lot of Bush bashing that they seemed to enjoy.
I’m not sure how Maryknoll produces such nuns but I am glad they do. If your only experience with nuns is getting your hands ruler slapped in the third grade I suggest a tour of HK or Macau with the Maryknoll sisters.
*They all enjoyed the joke I came up with when I was younger and Aunt Helen was home in NY. I believe I told it over a family dinner. The joke:
A priest had consumed a bit too much Eucharistic wine and could no longer contain his amorous feelings for a Sister he knew. He brought this up to her and mentioned how he would “like something.” The Sister reproached him, “You will get none.” To which the priest replied, “Excellent. That’s what I am looking for.”
No comments:
Post a Comment