Choir!!

Just had to share my excitement---forty 5th-8th graders signed-up for the singing/choir class yesterday!!  I never expected so many students to sign-up, so I will definitely have my work cut out for me, but it is exciting to know that there is so much interest in the project.  Hopefully sign-ups for the High School choir go as well today :)

In other news, I have been extra busy this week getting ready for the "Caminata San Andres Bessette."  Caminatas are basically mini pilgrimage walks, and they actually occur pretty frequently throughout the city.  In this caminata, the Congregation of Holy Cross will be celebrating the one-year anniversary of the canonization of Saint Andres Bessette, a Holy Cross Brother whose formal canonization took place on October 17, 2010.  We will be walking up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, a hill in the middle of Santiago with a giant statue of the Virgin Mary on top.  I am really excited that my first caminata in Chile is going to be to Cerro San Cristobal because it has played a meaningful role in my experience in Santiago.  When I studied abroad, I used to pray the rosary during the long walk up to the Virgin Mary and then spend several hours up in the sanctuary to reflect on my study abroad experience, pray and enjoy a little break from the craziness of city life.  Cerro San Cristobal has continued to be a place of retreat for me throughout these first few months as a Holy Cross OLM, so I am looking forward to walking up the hill with the Holy Cross family in Chile and celebrating Mass on top.  I have been working with one of the youth ministers to organize and rehearse with the choir that will be both animating the crowd as they arrive at the top of the Cerro and singing during the Mass.  I feel like my brain the past few days has just been running through song after song after song--it was A LOT to learn in a short time!!  Pretty soon I will have to do an entry about some of my favorite Mass songs here because singing with the church choir at my local parish and helping with the choirs for different special events has been one of the most beautiful and uplifting parts of my experience here thus far.  I love how the majority of Chileans sing with their whole heart throughout the Mass even if they might not have the best voice :)

Anyways, more to come later!  Here's a picture of the top of Cerro San Cristobal so that you have an idea of where the pilgrimage will be this weekend.