What does a nun look like? Sound like?

I was also kind of surprised by what I saw in Linda-Susan. I'd never met a nun in real life before, so I'd sort of just suspected that they looked like they do in movies--black habit and robes, crucifixes around their necks. Linda-Susan wearing something that I could picture my mom wearing took me off guard, a little.  I don't really know all that much about the Catholic church, so I didn't know that nuns or monks or priests could have a profession outside of the church. That seems very valuable to me--especially at a women's college, to have a nun come in and "play devil's advocate" (ha!), in a space that is also a walled community, but, if I understand the concept of her monastery, also has more freedom and space for reflection and push-back than a traditional walled community. I thought it was so interesting that Linda-Susan placed emphasis on how educated and well-spoken her Sisters are, and the kind of progressive conversations that they have, especially concerning criticism for the Vatican. I wasn't surprised that they are very well-educated--spending lots of time reading and writing and contemplating does a mind good, and is a luxury that not many others outside of monasteries seem to have--but how do we fit in "traditional" education to this? What about learning that happens outside of a classroom, or even without reading or writing? I guess what I mean is that I find it refreshing how so many people can consider themselves well-educated, in various capacities. I remember in our In Class/Outclassed ESEM last year, we discussed the kind of learning that can happen in the home and other spaces in our environment besides schools. We touched on this somewhat in this 360, but I guess what stayed with me is that I shouldn't discount "non-traditional" learning, for myself or others. There's so much to be known and shared, and obviously, Linda-Susan and her Sisters have that, and so do we, and the women at the Cannery. I guess where this is leading me is to question the concept of intelligence, and how confining our usual definition of it is, and how restricting that can be to people feeling as though they have opportunities (as we discussed in the Cannery last week), and to the world seeing us as valuable.