Trans-Cultural Experience Essay

691 Words3 Pages
Trans-cultural Experience Trans-cultural experience, is taking yourself out of your box, trying a different culture than you have ever experienced. It is immersing one’s self in a cross-cultural experience that will inform you about a social, cultural, or ethnic group or practices that are outside your “norm”. It is intended to “push” you outside your comfort zone and open your eyes so that you may be more understanding, accepting, that you may value, and respect those special and unique individuals. For my trans-cultural experience I chose to attend a Catholic Mass Funeral. Upon entering the church it looks like any church one would imagine, it is not like what you see on television. There was no confessional readily seen, there were no people throwing holy water on others to ward off evil or chase away demons, there was simply a beautiful church with a sense of tranquility. Step through the double glass doors and you will see a fountain inside it. I was very nervous about going to this Catholic funeral as I knew there was to be something called a mass. I have been raised strict Independent Baptist and attending another church was frowned upon, let alone a catholic church. I sat in the very back pew in case I needed to quickly leave. I was told that now-a-days Catholics performed their services in English but all of a sudden a song titled Ava Maria came on as a prelude, and it was definitely not in English. I frantically texted my friend who was catholic because I was a little taken back and was very unsure of myself and what to expect. I saw people dipping their fingers in water and making the sign of the cross but some stuck their whole hands in and just did a little motion over their hearts, while some did all of the above but knelt also it seemed in reverence. My friend informed me this was “when in front of the crucifix you had to
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