Merging Two Cultures; The Mission Continues; Catholic Blogs.

I interrupt my studying/homework thing for a much needed blog. Okay, so the blog isn't necessarily needed but I need this break for the sake of my sanity. I only have about two more pages to write (or roughly 500 words) and then I am done. So close... so close! lol.

I know it's not Music Monday, but, darn it, I am having music problems... sort of. It's music and cultural problems. First, I have to find a way to merge Mexican folklorico with Spanish flamenco into one dance. How I'm going to do that, I have NO clue. All I know is that if I don't find a way, there's a good chance I will offend either the Mexican or Spanish side of the familia. I've already been advised to just stomp my feet a lot. Haha! Yes, they have that in common but doing too much of that will only make my feet angry at me. I don't even want to think about the music, or even what I'll be wearing. Oy. I'll figure something out.

This is something I have to do quite often, and sometimes it's hard because I think there's still some bad blood between both countries/cultures. If I say I really want to go to Spain (especially for the World Youth Day in two years), but decline an invitation to vacation in Mexico, I get "the look". I want to eat posole but not paella, or vice versa, I get "the look". It doesn't help that when I speak Spanish I don't have an accent... and when I do, the dialect is more Spanish (Castilian) than Mexican. The only safe thing that I can talk about, without offending either, is the religion. Thank goodness both are primarily Catholic (though Spain seems to be more and more secularized than Mexico). I can show my love of St. Teresa of Avila (a Spanish saint) and St. Juan Diego (a Mexican saint) and have everything be fine. I love that there's no religious intolerance between these cultures.

While there are no religious issues between countries, I am still struggling with it in my family. One parent refuses to go to Mass (and even puts up a fight every Saturday I go to confessions and every Sunday I want to go to Mass). The other is a little more willing but I've probably gone to Mass by myself more often than not recently. I even volunteer to go to the Spanish Masses so they can go, but nothing. When I told my mom I was open to a religious vocation, a while back, she was against the idea. I have since then figured out that it is not what the Lord has in store for me, which made her happy. Her reaction, she says, comes from attending a Catholic boarding school and having to deal with "mean nuns" in her childhood. The only people that have had an influence on me have been my mom's Godparents (whom we don't see often), one of my paternal aunts, and my paternal grandmother (may God rest her soul). In fact, I still have a mantilla my grandmother handmade for me before she passed away a few years ago. She used to go to Mass every day with her veil. I remember her wearing them, when she took to take me to Church as little girl. There's something about that that I find absolutely beautiful. I've had a couple of priests ask me how it's possible that I'm so into the faith, while my parents are the opposite. Trust me, I don't know. All I know is that my mission to get my parents back to the Church continues. I've seriously made that my ultimate goal and I won't quit until I get them to come back. And if you know me well enough, you know I'm stubborn enough to get this to happen... eventually. Haha. I only use the "stubborn mode" for good. lol.

I should probably stop writing and get back to my homework. *groan* Just two more pages and I am done for the week. I'll only have one more class to work on (which I can finish in about half an hour) and I will have the weekend free. Whoo! :D Alright, I'm off to watch the Seattle Sounders vs. New York Red Bulls match... while I finish my Speech assignment. Yes, it CAN be done. It's impossible during a Liverpool F.C. match, especially with the amount of screaming, dancing, and celebrating I do (teehee :D), but for all others I can multi-task. :D.

Oh, before I go, I'd like to point out that I have a couple of new Catholic blogs listed. A few were requests and a few were added because I thought they deserved to get more readers; I liked all of them. If you're a St. Jude devotee (like me; he IS my patron saint, after all), St. Jude Novena Blog is a great place to visit. And, Verbum Veritatis (Word Of Truth) is one of my new favorites, as well. If I have yet to add yours, please let me know. I want to help y'all get more readers. :)

I'm stalling, aren't I? Okay, I'll shut up now. lol. :D As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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I'm Brave... or Insane; Darn Economy: State School vs. (Private) Catholic School

I'm either very, very brave... or I've finally lost my mind. Either way I'm good. lol. I'm (hopefully) going to audition for this huge international folk dance concert my school is holding for the holidays. Auditions are a week and a half from today. I don't know why but I just said "Oh, I want to do it!" when I heard about it a couple of days ago. They will be doing dances from: Africa, America (Hip-Hop), Arabia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt, Georgia, India, Israel, Mexico, Persia, Philippines, Romania, Serbia and Sicily. Take a wild guess which one I'm doing. Seriously... guess. lol. I could've done the hip-hop but really, I'm not too comfortable with it. I decided to do the Mexican folk dance because, hello, I'm of Mexican heritage. lol. That and I learned how to do some of the dances when I was younger. I haven't done it in a long time but I remember how they go. In case you don't know what a Mexican folk dance is (also called folklorico) here's a video of what I think we'll do... since the Jarabe Tapatio is the most recognized.

It requires A LOT of rapid footwork, think like tap dancing... but not tap dancing. The dance is a cardio work out in itself so I'm going to have to start running, or at least jogging, these next couple of days to be physically ready for it. It's only a couple of minutes worth of dancing but it's exhausting if you're not used to it. But, I'm excited. Even if I don't get to be a part of it, it'll be a great experience... and another thing I've conquered. :D

Moving on...

I have a bit of a dilemma. The economy is getting worse and worse and I'm at a crossroads of what to do when it comes to my education. I'm fine at the moment because community colleges are not expensive. Next year, though, I will be done with my lower division requirements so I won't be able to attend a CC. I could get an A.A. degree but I want my B.A. degree. I COULD go to a state school (like UCLA), save money (because the state owes me -- big) and basically not pay much for tuition. Problem is, they don't have Catholic courses I'd want to take. I would have to learn about different religions. With a scholarship, I wouldn't have to pay anything. Or I could continue at the private, Catholic college where I am a student, though I'm not currently attending. Problem there is that it's $32,000+ a YEAR. I have 2 years left so that would mean that, not counting the scholarship I have there, I would have to get a loan for about $20,000 per year until I'm done. I've taken care of tuition and expenses since I started college. My mom will help me out with textbooks when my financial aid arrives late but I always pay her back. I don't know what to do for the next 2 years. I really need Fr. Leo and Fr. Stan to give me some advice. I have no idea how the economy will be in 2 years when I graduate.

It's funny. If I would've started college right after I graduated high school, and if my father would've never gotten cancer both my senior year of high school and early last year, I would've been done with my degree last year when the economy started to tumble a bit. I firmly believe that there's a reason why it's taken me this long to finish my degree. Maybe, though it's taking me (what feels like) forever, it's actually better for me in the long run. I'm not stressing over it. I know God has something in store for me, I just have to be patient and stick it out until things get resolved. Hopefully I'll figure out what to do before I have to make a firm decision as to where I'll be attending next Fall.

Alright, well, I've written a lot today so I think I should stop. I also have a History of World Religions assignment due tonight so I should probably go finish that. I did half of the work last night so now I just to have read about China and Japan's religions... do some compare and contrast and I'll be done.

Didn't I say I was going to stop? lol. Okay. I will. Thanks for reading and God Bless. :D