20 May 2013

The good news is that I can understand my companion most of the time, although sometimes I don't understand until after I've asked her to repeat a couple times. With everyone else, my level of comprehension is all over the map. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at my companion blankly after someone asks me a question. Part of it is the accent but my comp also said I need to learn the local expressions and slang in order to understand.

The greatest shock about my living area is the lack of water. We have one primary source of water in our little house: a spigot in our shower area. We use the spigot to fill a bucket. We then use that water in the bucket to bathe, wash our hands, and presumably to wash dishes. We haven't washed dishes yet. I need to learn how to manage that trick. I'd like to do some cooking at home, but it would be really hard with our water situation. For now we eat quite a bit at other homes. We pay someone to cook our lunch and the ward is really good about lining up dinners. My companion isn't really into breakfast, but today I bought a box of cereal upon which I can subsist. I hear the water situation is better in some areas, so maybe after I learn to really be grateful for water I can go to one of those areas for part of my mission :) Also, the water is only on from 5 in the morning until 6 at night. Sometimes the lights go out and with them the water. When the lights go out, we have to return to our house  because it's dangerous to be out. So far they've gone out two nights in my few days here. They come back on eventually. But it's highly disruptive to teaching! Even when the lights stay on President Veirs wants the Sisters to return home at 8:30 for safetey.

Our area is pretty small. That's probably a blessing on two counts. I think it saves me some walking while my foot is working on getting stronger and hopefully I'll be able learn the area a little more quickly. Yesterday was my first Sunday in the ward, but I am the automatic pianist the whole time I'm in this area and probably in many others. Before I came, they used CDs as accompaniment.

At the change meeting, President Veirs said we were mostly in our missions, but that there would probably be some changes at the next meeting when the mission will split. As it stands, I am in the East mission, but we'll see for sure in a few weeks.

Today for p day, we got together as a zone. One of the sisters is from El Salvador and with her help we made papusas, which are a big deal in El Salvador. They were really tasty. Papusas, like almost everything else here it seems, are fried. This is not a place where people are going whole wheat, organic, or anything else like that!

Hermana Davis

15 May 2013

I'm in Honduras! My new companion is Hermana Nuñez. She's from Mexico, she's been out for about a year, and she's really nice. I think she speaks some English, but thus far I have been trying to stretch and just stick with Spanish except for a few words here and there.

On Monday--my last day in the CCM--I spent the day in workshops and such to get us ready to leave for the field. Tuesday morning I woke up at three so that I could be ready to board the bus to the airport at four. We took two short flights. The first, to San Salvador, was about a half hour in the air. And the second to San Pedro Sula was maybe 40 minutes. After we got to San Pedro Sula, we went to the mission home. We had lunch, training and dinner. I don't know why people think it's effective to hold training when I'm running on four hours of sleep, but they did it anyway. We came in a group of seven hermanas and then a whole bunch of Elders. The hermanas spent the night with Hermana Tolliver, the nurse, and Hermana Jenkins who is going home tomorrow.

This morning I had my first real Hondureñan food. Baleadas. It's a tortilla with beans, sour cream and other stuff inside. It was good, but I hear the homemade ones are even better.

Then we had change meeting. It's entirely nerve-racking to be sitting up front waiting to find out who your trainer will be, but I survived. Because we're fairly close to SPS, we took a taxi to our house. I haven't hardly been there at all yet. We just dropped my stuff and then went out to find food and write home.

All the houses and stores here are really colorful. Lime green, orange, all sorts of colors.

I wanted to attach some pictures, but I couldn't get the file to load all the way. I'll try again next time.

Hermana Davis

 Giant Relief Map of Guatemala

7 May 2013

¡Hola familia! I am once again reduced to a computer that doesn't have as much functionality. So bear with the lack of paragraphing. Last Tuesday we left the MTC again after missionaries left for the field. This time we went to see a relief map of Guatemala. It was finished in 1905, so they did the surveying without the aid of satellite--good old survey equipment and trig. The tallest parts of the map come to maybe my waist, and the whole things is laid out over a fairly large area. We got on an overlook tower and President Nicolaysen talked about how this could be the geography where much of the Book of Mormon took place. No one really knows, but it was interesting to think about. We got our cameras back that morning. I got a couple good pictures of me and my district but I won't be able to send until I get to Honduras. Which reminds me, I'm leaving next week! Hooray! I am soooo ready to leave classrooms and get out where I'm going. I just have to make it a few more days. (new paragraph) Also I should address a few things: 1. It's official...we're not calling home on Mothers' Day. Sad. But what can you do? But, Mom, even though I don't get to call and talk to you, I still love you lots and lots! And I love all the rest of you too! Also, this is probably my last time writing from the CCM. Because I'm moving next week, I'm not entirely sure when I'll get to write again. So don't worry if you don't get an email next week. I'm sure Press Veirs will let you know if I don't get there, and he'll probably even tell you if I do :) By the way, from this point out all letters and Dear Elders should be sent to Honduras. (New Paragraph) Now back to p-day. After the relief map, we went to the market. We browsed through all the different crafts, clothes, etc., but I didn't buy anything. I was already thinking that I shouldn't acquire more stuff here, and President N matched my thoughts when he told those of us flying to our mission to avoid buying what we didn't need. We also walked through the food area. The food looked really interesting, but I couldn't try it because I'd probably get sick. It wasn't hard to see the germs everywhere and Pres N told us not to as well. (paragraph) After the market we went to the park. The first time I heard about the Mall in DC I thought it was a building, but it proved to be grass. When I heard about the park, I thought there would be grass, but it proved to be mostly concrete and sidewalk with a fountain in the middle. Pres N had challenged us to try to give away a Book of Mormon, so I made the attempt. The first person I talked to just didn't want it. The second accepted albeit reluctantly. If he actually reads with real intent, I'll count it as a miracle. The main benefit of the endeavor was probably for me. Then we came back, ate lunch, and went to the temple. I love that we get to go every week in the CCM. Tomorrow will be my last time for a long time. I'll miss it! (paragraph) Wednesday morning the new missionaries arrived. At breakfast, we found out that we needed to move rooms, so instead of doing personal study that morning, I packed up my stuff and moved downstairs. In my home on the second floor, I had my own little closet, and we had a couple community bathrooms. Now we have a bathroom in our room, which in nice. However we have two closets and a chest of drawers unit with six small drawers among six hermanas. Needless to say I'm also living out of my suitcase some. But it's really not that bad. The biggest thing is that we don't have washers, so now we give our laundry to one of the workers at the CCM, Hna. Griselda. Then later that day you have to dig through all the laundry to find your clothes. Or in my case, I gave my laundry yesterday, but didn't have an opportunity to get it until this morning. Everything is in transit at the CCM right now because they are doing a lot of remodeling. For my first four weeks here we had most of our classes in Comedor 3, which is the over flow for the Cafeteria (comedor 1 y 2). Usually we got kicked out a couple times a day because other missionaries needed to eat. As of last Wednesday, we now go to the capilla (chapel). Every morning after personal and lang study we assemble as a district and walk with our teacher to the capilla where we have church on Sunday. That means we get to leave the CCM, walk across the temple grounds and then to the chapel. We come back for lunch, and then return to the chapel. We come back for dinner and then stay at the CCM for the rest of the night. It's not at all efficient, but I love the chance to walk instead of just sitting in a classroom. Apparently after the CCM is remodeled, more of the space will be used for housing missionaries and a lot of the districts will have class at the chapel. Normal here is that everything always changes, always. (new para) Joseph wanted to know about my companion. Her name is Hermana Pocock. She's from Ohio. She didn't really know much Spanish before she came, so I try to help her with that. I also have no idea what part of my mission I'll be in first. Um...I can't think of anything else to write. I hope you guys are all doing great. I love you so much! Happy Mothers' day, Mom! Love, Hermana Davis