The Benedictine nuns

I had them for 12 years of my life. They came in various shapes and sizes, not to mention temperaments and nationalities. At the forefront would be Sr. Gerwigis. She was huge and tall, a German, a female Hitler. We were scared of her because she'd sometimes hit us (not too hard) with a ruler, or slap our backs with an open palm. In Grade 1, I recall distinctly how during reading class, we kept reading a story over and over again so that each one would have a chance to read aloud. I think I was getting bored so I flicked the pages to read another story, not realizing she was behind me. Whoa. She hit me on the head with her open book. Luckily the book was not hard bound. Weeks later, during First Communion, she praised me to my mother, hitting my back with her open palm. I found it confusing then. One of her favorite demeaning expressions was "Basura."

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Another German nun was Sr. Irmgild. She taught us Religion in Grade 7. And she said "It's a sin" over a lot of things. I think even wearing shorts in the presence of our fathers was a sin, she said. We were all dumbfounded and shocked. Only later did I realize that maybe, she was warning us about incestuous relationships?

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Sr. Kuniberta was Sr. Superior. Unlike Sr. Gerwigis she was small but ramrod straight. She was reddish while Sr. Gerwigis was fair. I was more frightened of her than of Sr. Gerwigis. One time she practiced me for a speech and was asking me to speak louder. My voice can only be so loud and a combination of fear and frustration made me cry. Did she soften? I don't remember. She told me, "Be confident. Think that you're better than all the rest in front of you." I don't think I was able to follow or relate to her advice.

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Sr. Nieves was our Religion teacher in Grade 4. Later she was assigned to man the cafeteria. Wow, were her tuna pizzas great. And the cookies of the Benedictine nuns. One of a kind. German recipe, I guess?

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Sr. Archie was a Filipino terror. She'd open her eyes wide to chastise us. She'd measure our skirts and would rip them downwards if they were too short so that the threads would be hanging along the hem. She was strict. Funny because when my husband met her, he told her "She has a spine in her tumor" when she asked how I was. Imagine, he too was intimidated by her enough to make the faux pas. I wasn't with him when they met.