by Sister Karen Rose, OSB
Sister Karen Rose was born and raised in England. She entered St. Benedict’s Monastery in 2007 and made perpetual monastic profession in 2012.
“What do you love about your birth country?” is the first question Sister Renée Domeier posed when giving me clues about how I might approach sharing with the St. Joseph community what it’s like to be an English person living here.
“After a moment of total blank out, I started to think of all the things I love and miss: the sound of the sea, the smell and taste of fish and chips, the many old, beautiful buildings ranging from quaint thatched cottages to imposing medieval cathedrals, the excellent public transportation system and England’s closeness to Europe, which makes it easy and relatively cheap to hop over to Europe and experience other countries, languages and cultures on a fairly frequent basis
“Most of all, I love the people. At their best, English people are polite, welcoming, gracious in times of pressure and concerned for the needs others.
“That last comment leads me to what I would like to see change in England to make it even better. It’s been about 14 years since I moved to the United States of America; during this time, England has become much more inward-looking and less tolerant of people who are different. This attitude isn’t representative of the England I know and love, and I live in hope that there are enough open-minded people still living there to turn things around to make a place that looks outward, welcomes the world and takes pride in being part of something bigger.
“When I turn to the United States, especially the Midwest, I immediately think of how I love the big skies, hamburgers, frozen custard, the endless prairies, cute clapboard houses and the sense of being a young, vital country (I think it really helped getting rid of the monarchy – well done!).
“Once again, it’s the people who are most special; I’ve truly experienced ‘Minnesota nice.’ I love the way you have forged a unified country from so many different geographical, cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. I hope you can go on doing that because it’s an example to the world.
“If I had to express a fear for the United States in the future, it’s that you’ll forget that, with the exception of native Americans, the country is made up of families who all trace their lineage back to someone who immigrated here. You’ve proven the melting pot has great potential, keep going forward, don’t slip into becoming suspicious of anyone who seems different. You’re a big country, you’re big-hearted people and there’s room for everyone!”
