God is stalking me part 2: I went to church!

I finally made it to church! I had a really bad case of cabin fever on Sunday afternoon--like I couldn't stay at the hostel for more than twenty minutes before I was back at the bus stop ready to go back into town. Again, absolutely no plan, but by now that shouldn't be surprising. There is a church along the bus route, so on a whim I went to check it out. Sacre Coeur (I can't remember what it is in Italian) is simply gorgeous inside. I don't think the building itself is that old, perhaps since World War II, but the alter at the front and the alters in the chapels and the confessionals were all quite old and had obvious been brought from somewhere else. When I went in the rosary was being said. It felt wonderful to just simply sit in church, knowing that I did not have to understand Italian to know what they were saying and take part. After the rosary ended, it was clear mass was going to start, and I felt there would be no way I could leave. The order of the mass was printed in a program, so I mumbled my way through the Italian pronunciation and filled in the other prayers under my breathe in English. I realized I was in shorts and a black t-shirt that barely covered my shoulders, so I wrapped my purple Kenyan scarf around my shoulders. I probably didn't need to, but I was in a Catholic church in Italy. It felt so nice to be sitting in church at the same time my friends were, plus I told my dad last Sunday that I would go to church this Sunday--in Italy. Again, no one really knew that I was a tourist who spoke no Italian; when my program dropped on the floor the (really cute) guy next to me moved his over so we could share. That's when I realized I was just like every other worshipper there, and also wished I knew Italian so I could start a conversation with this guy. Once again, I was just another Bolognese, which made me smile.