Would like to know if you have similar experiences to the one I made this morning (I am not judging it was just very unusual -and interesting - for me).
To explain the situation: my parents have a weekend-home in a little village about a 50 minutes drive from Cologne. When I was in my teens I was there a lot and the daughter from next door was my best friend. But growing up I stopped going there at some point (at least I didn't go every weekend any more). Two weeks ago I went on a sunday and arriving heard that the neighbour (mother) had died the night before. My parents are the ones who go there every weekend and they have a close relationship with the neighbours who watch the house when my parents are not there. I met the neighbour's daughter when she was 6 years old and I was 7. My parents are on vacation now and this morning was the funeral. So since our families have been sharing a history for 39 years I felt that someone from my family should attend so I went. Just couldn't NOT go (although funerals are not my favourite).
It was a somehow strange experience. The neighbour had kept out of the village gossip and social life. In spite of that everyone from the village who didn't have to work in the morning was there. The church was full, not one seat left and people standing. It was a catholic service and they all knew their responses to whatever the priest was saying (even the 'younger' ones of my age). Heard that yesterday there was a 'death service' meaning that they prayed the rosary. In turns: women and men and they ALL knew when they had to say what. Something I've never done - I'd be lost although I've been raised catholic... And I felt underdressed. I was the only one with a not-black jacket. I don't have a black one so I brought a blue one, thinking that I wouldn't even need it as the sun was shining and it was warm when I left Cologne. But up there it was cooler and during the service it started raining so it was cold when we left the church and went to the graveyard. Everyone else had the perfect clothes for a funeral, I didn't... for me this whole funeral was rather unusual as I am more a city girl. I am obviously no longer used to a catholic country life. So how is it where you live? Similar? Different?
On a funny side note... we went to the only pub of the village afterwards where breakfast was being served. I sat with friends of my parents from Cologne who built a weekend home there at the same time as my parents. The owner of the pub (she's always been VERY nosy) came to ask if we wanted more coffee and asked the friends how they were and suddenly said 'But I am surprised that no-one from the Kxxx-family is here and the house looks rather uninhabited too.' My parent's friends looked at me and I couldn't help but start laughing. That woman hasn't changed a bit in the last 30 years... when she looked at me it slowly dawned on her that actually there WAS someone from the Kxxx-family...
Okay, she hasn't seen me for a long time but to me this was still funny...
(but it proved to me that my decision to take a day off and go was the only right one).