this post was submitted on
1,251 points (60% like it)
3,538 up votes 2,287 down votes

atheism

subscribe1,125,148 readers

3,200 users here now

a community for

reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. vote on links that you like or dislike and help decide what's popular, or submit your own! learn more ›

all 56 comments

[–]unamenottaken 31 points32 points ago

She sounds like a real character. :)

[–]whollyhemp[S] 110 points111 points ago

oooooh she is! After leaving the convent at 13, she got married, had 7 kids, then got divorced, then got her law degree and practiced for a while and now she travels the world... on her own (no groups, no "buddy", no guides). She's been to every continent and nearly every country.

She just got back from Iran where she smuggled in a gallon of vodka in camelbacks, which she then hid under her burqa and sipped on while walking through the streets of Tehran.

[–]unamenottaken 41 points42 points ago

Now there's a nun that we could all probably learn a lot from. She should do an AMA.

[–]whollyhemp[S] 42 points43 points ago

She isn't really a fan of the internet, so getting her on here might be a little difficult.

She still uses a typewriter, doesn't have a TV, and walks everywhere she goes, 15+ miles a day. She has a car. She would just rather walk.

[–]eduardog3000 14 points15 points ago

Just ask her the questions without her knowing why, be sure to tell us exactly what she says. E.g. "Why are you asking all these weird questions?"

[–]orzof 5 points6 points ago

That's when we all make a concerted effort to force this redditor to ask his grandmother as many awkward and intimate questions as we possibly can.

[–]mnnmnmnnm 10 points11 points ago

Gets insulted over the Interwebs - Walks every continent to punch them in the face.

[–]mjskhblflsch 4 points5 points ago

Please get her to do an AMA. It would be so awesome! Just tell her that you're typing all of these things out so that you'll always remember her and the amazing life she led.

[–]authorless 5 points6 points ago

I love your grandma (not in a pervy way, but in a "that lady is awesome" way)!

[–]Viking_Lordbeast 10 points11 points ago

The fact that you felt the need to clarify that makes me suspicious.

[–]leonox 2 points3 points ago

The reddit, where clarifying makes you suspicious and not clarifying gets you a /r/nocontext post.

[–]Sugarspy 0 points1 point ago

Any way that you can do it, I would love to hear more about her life. Maybe you could ask her if you could interview her, then post results/gather questions here. Etc.

[–]Rinnosuke 16 points17 points ago

She is the most interesting grandma in the world.

[–]irawwwr 2 points3 points ago

ridiculously interesting grandma

[–]kt_m_smith 9 points10 points ago

Your gran sounds like a fucking badass.

[–]JustToUpvoteYou 6 points7 points ago

She was a nun before she was 13? Am I missing something/reading that wrong?

[–]H5Mind 2 points3 points ago

The Church doesn't work that way. His grandma was probably schooled by nuns in the Convent school as is common all over the planet. The Dominican Order have the duty of schooling (primarily) girls.

[–]neatospiderplant 0 points1 point ago

OP specifically referred to her as an ex-nun. Would girls schooled by nuns also become nuns at some point in their schooling?

[–]H5Mind 0 points1 point ago

Not automatically no. The Dominican Order (chiefly amongst others) provide for the general education needs of children, usually girls, up to the age of 18. Their schools are usually affiliated with a particular convent/community of nuns and usually referred to as the convent's school, or Convent to the kids (eg. The girls from Convent are sluts).

Choosing to "take on vows"/become a nun is not a trivial process and is separate from secular training.

In some countries, you don't even have to be Catholic to attend one of the Catholic run schools.

[–]OpenShut 0 points1 point ago

No, my mother went to a convent school in Ireland and she's never been a nun.

[–]OpenShut 1 point2 points ago

I think he's made a mistake. Either he left it out or he was wrong about her being a nun.

[–]whollyhemp[S] 0 points1 point ago

Nope, she was a full-fledged nun.

[–]whollyhemp[S] 0 points1 point ago

Yes, she was a nun until she left the convent at 13. There is a picture of her on her mantle of her (as a child) wearing her habit. She has stories of being a nun, next time I see her I'll take some notes.

[–]chronox21 12 points13 points ago

I hope you really mean every continent, and not just forgetting about Antarctica. Antarctica, the forgotten land!

[–]whollyhemp[S] 27 points28 points ago

yup, Antartica as well!

[–]chronox21 16 points17 points ago

Well then...your grandmother is awesome. Be sure to tell her for me.

[–]PunkRockMakesMeSmile 0 points1 point ago

Is your grandmother Werner Herzog?

[–]jschulter 0 points1 point ago

How the heck did she swing that?

[–]Zebidee 0 points1 point ago

Cruise ships go there all the time. Basically, you just buy a ticket.

[–]mtheoryx 1 point2 points ago

Every continent?

[–]VivaCheeseWhiz 0 points1 point ago

Your Grandma sounds incredibly awesome.

[–]OpenShut 0 points1 point ago

You can be a nun as a child!? That's a new one on me.

[–]Crappy_Photoshopper 13 points14 points ago

[–]cantankerix 1 point2 points ago

I love your grandmother.

[–]EvelKnievel 1 point2 points ago

<Dennis Miller Mode>
Yeah, I went to confessional the other day and I said 'you first.'
</Dennis Miller Mode>
Now I don't want to get off on a rant here, but OP's grandma is awesome. But that's my opinion. I could be wrong.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

Your tags lie. You never left Dennis Miller mode.

[–]Viking_Lordbeast 4 points5 points ago

"What the hell does "rant" mean?"

[–]pukestainsdaily 1 point2 points ago

Ex-nun? How did that end if you don't mind me asking?

[–]Guiseybaby 2 points3 points ago

...OP's first comment in the thread.

Please read.

[–]pukestainsdaily 7 points8 points ago

Thanks. I realize OP said she did in fact leave the convent at age 13. I was hoping to score maybe a second detail. Why? why did she join to begin with? etc.

[–]Guiseybaby 2 points3 points ago

I see. My bad, my fellow godless heathen.

[–]OpenShut 0 points1 point ago

Getting schooled at a convent does not make you a nun. I doubt she was nun.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

Seeing as she left by age 13, she was a child when she entered, which means the answer is "parents made/brainwashed her".

[–]OpenShut 0 points1 point ago

Says she went to a convent but mention nothing about her being a nun, if you are in a convent you are probably there for educational purposes as my mother did. I seriously doubt she was a nun at <13 year of age.

[–]H5Mind -2 points-1 points ago

Couldn't link to my comment above, so pasta:

The Church doesn't work that way. His grandma was probably schooled by nuns in the Convent school as is common all over the planet. The Dominican Order have the duty of schooling (primarily) girls.

[–]Enlightnd 1 point2 points ago

I live in Belgium, I have 4 priests, 3 monks and 5 nuns in my family. All but one of them are now, after lifetimes of service, vocal, highly educated and intelligent athiests, while still retaining their positions.

I think it was Daniel Dennett that did a study about US pastors that are actually atheists, and from the stories he conveyed, it seems that the best way to make staunch theist become atheist, is to send to seminary.

Great to see your gran is the same. Always nice to know someone in your family has the same views as you, more so if you live in the US and being an athiest can get you into all sorts of trouble.

[–]xliezelz 0 points1 point ago

Your grandma sounds awesome!

Just to clarify, she was in the convent until she was 13?? Was she born a nun? O_o

[–]H5Mind 0 points1 point ago

No. It doesn't work that way. She went to the school run by nuns.

[–]clamskittles 0 points1 point ago

reminds me of a funny joke: "What kind of meat does a Priest eat on Friday?...Nun"

get it!??!

[–]nitenite79 0 points1 point ago

You grandma is a mega lady! She sounds awesome

[–]dedemdem 0 points1 point ago

New yorker yea?

[–]FoundPie 0 points1 point ago

"Hearing nuns' confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn." - Fulton J. Sheen

[–]FightsWithForks 0 points1 point ago

Can you post more of these 'clippings'? I would love to see more of her sense of humor.

[–]thatwouldbesweet -1 points0 points ago

Sounds like shes trying to tell you a secret about priests, a secret which we all already know....