Soliloquy in an International Cloister

Watch your step as Brother Lawrence takes you inside the monastery walls of a five hundred year-old international order. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish you had ignored your hormones and joined the monastery.

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Location: Rome, Italy

31 August 2006

Back on the chain gang

The brothers are into the fifth day of their big international meeting. There are about 200 delegates at the meeting, and a support staff of about 56, of which I am one. There are seven languages used at the meeting—English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish—so quite a few of the support staff are translators and interpretors. Since that is quite a specialized task, one tends to see many of the same people at each of these international meetings. The English speakers are fortunate to have probably the most talented interpretor here: Brother C. He is fluent in all of the official languages except Polish, and he can understand a little of that. He is so good, in fact, that we have nicknamed him, "Cunning linguist of the Order."

I have worked with or otherwise known very many of the delegates and staff here, and I am lucky to call some of them friends. It feels really good to see them again and renew old friendships. In fact, there is a very good spirit among all the delegates, at least at this early point in the meeting. That might change after the elections and after two weeks of slogging through reports, meetings, etc.

I have a blog dedicated to the meeting (called a "chapter" in ecclesiastical terminology). I invite you to visit the blog, but I must ask a favor of you. In order to be free to write the immoral, heretical entries found on this blog, I must retain a certain anonymity. Although I am writing under the pseudonym of Bro. Lawrence on the other blog, many of its readers know my real identity. In order to prevent those readers from tracing me back to this blog, I beg you not to include links to YOUR blog if you leave comments on my other blog. Promise? Okay, here's the link to Chapter Glossary.

8 Comments:

Blogger Kathryn Craven said...

you amaze me. i am officially of the professionally presbyterian persuasion and going to large meetings of my kin scares the hell out of me. then again it could be because my parents met at one of these things so they all seem like a blind date. i am glad that you are enjoying yourself...even if it is maybe too much for propriety as per your last post.

isn't blog anonimity a pain? i don't know what i'd do if my congregation found out about my blog. they don't think i curse nearly as much as i do.

01 September, 2006 05:16  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brother C the polyglot - mah'vlous. Off to read your chapter blog - incognito, of course ...

01 September, 2006 09:37  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can you really trust the likes of Christina & Nik? Bonne Chance!
-Anon

01 September, 2006 15:34  
Blogger Nikki said...

ANON - LOL

I'll be good. *sulks*

It's gonna be that Christina chick if anything happens. She's terrible.

01 September, 2006 20:14  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Should we make up capuchin blog names? I could be Brother Claude from Rome or maybe Brother Sarcastic? Or how about a capuchin rap name like Brother C.i.am?

What do you think?

03 September, 2006 20:10  
Blogger BroLo said...

OGC: How about "Brother I. Claudius"

04 September, 2006 15:27  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nikki, you have a great sense of humor.

and, obviously i am very good about incognito...i.e. anonymous.

06 September, 2006 17:04  
Blogger Nikki said...

*bows to Anon*

07 September, 2006 21:30  

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