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Cultural Immersion

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Cultural immersion involves integrating yourself into a new place that is not familiar to you. Integrating yourself into a new culture does not take a lot of work it just requires someone to interact in a setting that is not familiar to them as well as experience new things. Although I have Catholic beliefs I do not actually practice the religion. This is why I chose to immerse myself into the Catholic Church for this project. I chose to visit the Catholic Church St. Michael’s in Long Branch, I went to the 4 pm mass on Ash Wednesday as well as the 9 am mass on the following Sunday with my roommate who is a devote Catholic. I chose to “culture-watch” in a Catholic Church because I have never sat through a full mass but I do believe the religion …show more content…
Both times I attended it was routine for everyone to silence their cell phones or put them on vibrate. Everyone put his or her cell phone away and did not take it out again until they were outside of the church. When entering the church there was a little gathering room where people could socialize, but throughout the mass it was silent unless people were saying a prayer or replying back to the priest. If people did converse they kept their voices low and at a whisper. Everyone gave the priest his or her full attention throughout the entire duration of mass. It is a very quiet atmosphere. I noticed that nobody was eating or drinking during the mass and that nobody was chewing gum. My roommate informed me that it would be deemed disrespectful if you did. I noticed while observing that everyone was very welcoming and friendly and most people that attended these masses seemed to recognize each other from attending weekly Sunday mass. It was evident that more elderly people attended mass on Sunday than I had seen on Wednesday and the mass seemed longer in length and more formal. On Wednesday the same service was performed but it seemed more relaxed and many people came in with a group or with friends to receive ashes on their foreheads. The front of the church where the priest stood was very intricately decorated and very clean. I noticed the ornate paintings on the ceiling and the stained glass in the front center of the church that let in a great amount of light. I also noticed many holy crosses on the outside of the building and on the inside of the building which is a reminder of God’s love in sacrificing his own son for humanity. The priest stood in the center and it was obvious by observing the area that the church was a sacred place. I also noticed the color purple to be incorporated a lot and after the mass was over I learned that the color purple symbolized mourning and penitence. It is the color for the

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