I fail at life!

Hola mi familia! so it was a super sad week for numbers adn such but on the bright side i can actually ahve somewhat normal conversations with people. so there´s hope.

k, weather here is super bipolar.  seriously, one minute its completely sunny and the next its pouring rain and by the time you get your hood on its sunny again.  its ridiculous. and its super windy all the time.  best moment of the week...

        we had been walking and kno0cking on doors for two and a half hrs straight (with no luck) in the pouring rain. so naturally at a time like this i burst out into song. so i´m twirling adn skipping through the pouring rain adn singing ´´my favorite things´´ from the sound of music.  when we finally got into a member´s house my hair and skirt were dripping as if i´d just got out of a swimming pool. haha

so last p-day Hna Palma asked me to clean the kitchen, said the cleaning supplies were under the sink then left me to it.  so, i´m searching through the cleaning supplies trying to figure out which is which and not being able to read what the uses were for (cuz they´re in spanish) i saw a spray can of lysol, figuring lysol is a disinfectant and being the only name i recognized i chose taht one. so i´m spraying down the sink, stove, everything with this and wiping it down.  Hna Palma comes back in and in her broken english is all ´´that is normally for air´´  .....yeah i totally jsut cleaned the kitchen with the equivalent of febreeze.  at least the kitchen smells good!

I fail at life. hahaha, so we have an english class every week which is normally taught by Elder Johnson.  He was on an exchange so Elder York and I had to teach it.  i discovered why i was never meant to teach english.  so we were going to have everyone introduce themselves adn say what they like to do.  so elder york asks me to start.  without even thinking i stand up and in slow clear english so they´ll understand i say ´´hello, my name is Aubrey´´   oh gosh.   i hear a squeal from my companion as she breaks down laughing and i realized my mistake.  everyone was dying laughing, especially the elders.  real smooth.  i was laughing so hard i couldn´t even correct myself adn say ´´hermana hebdon i meant hermana hebdon!!!´´   hahah

anywho, yeah it was a sad week cuz none of our investigators are really progressing, but i have high hopes for this one family.  we´re walking back to our house one day and this little blonde childean girl (about 10 yrs old)  runs up to us and starts talking to us.  i don´t know if its our blonde hair connection or what but i love this girl so much (her name´s columba, both her parents have dark haird, its interesting)  anywho, so columbo invited us to her house adn when we went a couple days later she ran out and hugged us and brought us inside to meet her parents.  so we talked with them and her dad had all the questions that the plan of salvation answers. so i´m super excited about this family, there had to be a reason Columba randomly ran up to us that one day!

well, all is well in zion, i love you all. have a good week and enjoy General conference! its seriously the best time of the year being able to listen to the words of our prophets.   of course i´ll probably end up alternating watching 1 session in english adn 1 in spanish since there´s no other Hnas i can go on splits with so Hna palma and i are trying to compromise.  ...  anyways, i love you all, take care!

-Hermana Hebdon la segunda

I'm surviving!

Hey sorry i totally repeated myself in my last letter i totally forgot i wrote you at the mission home. whoops.

So i had to bear my testimony in church last week...it went pretty well but after this guy comes up adn tells me there´s no umms in spanish, it confuses them.  i didn´t even realize that i say it a bunch.  thats gonna be a really hard habit to break.

i stick out like a sore thumb here (which doesn´t make any sense cuz its not like sore thumbs are very noticeable now are they?)  but anywho, with bonde hair and blue eyes people spot me from a mile away.  some people stare me down as if i´m some alien.  one member who we were havaing lunch with was asking my companion if my hair was real.  haha. oh and my companion is always saying she´s super glad i can´t understand teh people we pass on the street...i don´t know how i feel about this....

so spanish is hard.  i never imagined it´s be this harad.  i´m understanding more, i can get general ideas when someone´s telling a story (at least i think i´m understanding what its about, either that or i´m just making up what i think they´re saying)  my companion always does most the talking and by the time i´ve thought of something to say the conversation has changed. they talk so fast, my mind only works so fast in spanish.  the people we meet with look at me like i´m some lost puppy.  ...(actually thats a bad comparison cuz there´s a lot of real lost puppies around here and no one looks at them twice...) anywho...

it was kinda a chill week. the dieciocho is a huge holiday here. its their 4th of july. but they celebrate it like thanksgiving.  i´m so stuffed full of chilean food!  fried empanadas are my new favorite food.  so the culture here is sweet. we kind of got 2 days off this week because of the hoiday (they celebrate it on teh 18th and 19th) and so many people drink a ton we weren´t allowed to be out on the streets much or visit with non members.  so on teh 18th we relaxed at member´s houses adn the next day there was a huge ward party.

       everyone loved showing/telling me more about chilean tradtions and such adn theyd ask about american culture.  dude, our culture is so boring.  they asked what our typical or traditional food is and i´m all uhhhh hamburgers?  do we have a certain food taht is signiturely american?

        K, chilean culture....they have teh cuecar dance in which they wear really unique pretty dresses.  for food they have empanadas (tortilla-ish idk how to describe it with meat adn onions inside like a calzone), alfajores (plain tasting cookies with manjar (carmel-like substance) in the middle)  they ahve this really good salsa-like stuff taht they eat on everything adn then this weird dessertish dish taht consists of rice-like stuff with a cooked peach adn juice (i don´t like it very much...)

so it rained almost every day this week. big surprise. completely opposite of lindsey´s situation.  puerto montt is apparently the rainiest city in the mission.  i feel like i´m adjusting to the climate here though, i think i just froze teh first week from the shock of going from mexico´s summer to chile´s winter.  either that or i´m just getting better at keeping a fire going in our house.  

oh so random story, yesterday we´re walking down the street adn there´s this huge puddle and i´m in my rain boots so i´m all why not? so i go to step in teh puddle and who knew but there just happened to be a hole in teh ground right where i stepped. so instead of the 4 in of water i was expecting i got a foot of water. surprise!

random fact, the people here are so intruiged with our family. my companion found out we´re all members along with grandparents and great grandparents and how our whole family´s served missions and she tells everyone and they all are so intruiged and find it amazing.

k, so i´m sorry lindsey for ever making fun of how many mistakes were in your emails. i understand now. i´d always ask why didn´t she use spell check? well guess what, the computer is set for spanish duh, so it marks every single word as wrong. hahah

anyways, i love you all!

love, Hermana Hebdon la segunda

First week in Chile

Oh goodness, life is crazy!  so much has happened. i´m sorry if i don´t have time to respond to personal emails this time cuz theres so little time and so much to say. not to mention this keyboard is really strange...

So traveling to Osorno was great.  it was kinda hard to sleep on the overnight flight but i managed. i´m still trying to make up for the sleep that i lost that day though, i was so exhausted. 

So i´m watching all the missionaries going around talking to people and having these cool experiences i´m all thinking that i could do the same.  well, i start talking to this girl and was totally shut down.  i was talking with her for a bit, just some small talk and she asked if we were for a religious group. so i said yes and i asked her if she believed in god and she says i really don´t want to have this conversation right now.  shut down.  my elders were in front of me and totally heard and made fun of me the rest of the day.  at least i tried.

but i made up for that on the plane to osorno.  i was kinda discouraged after that but i figured it could only get better from there. and it did.  so this older guy sitting next to me i start talking to.  he had so many questions. i talked to him for 45 min about the gospel from prophets to the book of mormon and more. it was amazing. and he said he wanted to meet with the missionaries so i took down his address and number and gave him a book of mormon.  after the flight i asked if he had any more questions for me and hes all ´´give me a kiss´´ and he kisses me on the cheek.  haha that was unexpected. i didn´t know what to say to stop him i couldn´t just say no. hahah yeah the elders gave me a hard time for that one.  

So we went to the mission home and recieved our assignments and new companions. the next day was crazy.  i was still exhausted from traveling and my heart ripped out as i watched my elders and hna parkinson walk away.  it was a really rough day. i just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. my friends were gone and i was in a new place where i couldn´t understand anyone. and we didn´t even get a break. right after we dropped off my stuff adn the house we were out proselyting in the cold.  not the best day in my life.

but i´m all good now, i´ve come to love it here. the first few days were super long and all i was thinking was what the goodness did i get myself into.  but i love it now. life is good

So Puerto Montt...

Puerto Montt is the biggest city in the mission.  its very colorful and very crowded with houses.  The streets are coated in trash.  The houses are only heated with log fires (which is proving to be a problem for us)  

yeah so i´m learning that the only way to start a fire is to dump wood and paper in the fireplace and then pray really really hard.  i thought i knew how to start a fire but the wood here is messed up and will not light on fire! it is the most frustrating thing of my life. so we just freeze.  there is no word to describe how cold it is here.  i´m chilled to the bone. constantly.  if it looks like i´ve gained weight its because i´ve gained 15 flipping lbs of clothing!  literally, i wear thermal garments, long johns, tights, skirt & shirt, sweater, coat, rain coat, gloves, thermal socks, and hat and i and still somehow cold.  how does that work? i don´t know.  its not that its freezing temperatures here just the fact that you sit in the house for hours studying with the fire that will not start (and it doesn´t help even if there is a fire)  so we just freeze. i´m hoping i´ll adjust eventually.   

oh i accidently caught the house on fire today....i set the wood on top of the fireplace. ..not the best idea...

i feel like i´m going to come home with lung cancer. since everyone uses wood fires there´s a coating of smoke over the city.

i am a pro wood chopper!  actually the wood here is super hard to chop, its made of steel i swear.  my back and shoulders ache and i have blisters all over my hands.  we had to chop wood for a older sister in the ward too so double duty.

i´ve decided i´m going to come home from my mission either super buff or crippled.

there are dogs all over puerto montt. eliza would be in heaven.  seriously. everyone has at least 2 dogs and there´s millions more just out on the street.  they´re all so cute but i don´t dare touch them.  ive only been bit by 1 so far! haha i´m just walking down the street and some random dog comes and bites my leg. what the goodness?  don´t worry it didn´t puncture skin.

So lunch is the big meal here. it consists of meat, potatoes and rice.  they don´t believe in dinner. life is sad.  so i just eat a big lunch and somehow last the rest of the day. not the best schedule... i need to rethink this before i gain a million lbs... oh and they love soda here.  they just give you cup after cup. i hate soda. i haven´t had soda in who knows how many years.  this is a problem.

we walk so much. end of story. a ton. all over the place, my legs hurt from walking so much. and there´s hills here so yeah. 

So my new companion....her name´s Hermanan Palma.  she´s from Chile. of course i would be the one to get a Chilean companion.  she knows about as much english as i do spanish so its kind of a big problem.  its really hard to communicate.  her pronounciation of words throws me off.  for example, she always says sing instead of think which confuses me every time.   it was super hard the first few days cuz we couldn´t really communicate so i just didn´t talk. but its getting better probably cuz now i just talk to myself in english so i don´t go insane.  and i´m understanding more spanish. the people here talk super fast so i can really only get a general idea of what they´re saying.  they always make me say the prayers. they say its so i can practice my spanish but i think its more because they want a good laugh.  its kinda funny cuz they underestimate me. so they´re making fun of how i can´t understand them but i can understand that they´re making fun of me so its just kinda funny.

Oh so i´m in trouble. i have a feeling i´m going to learn to sight read music really really fast. after humiliating myself a few hundred times first.  hna palma found out i can play the piano and was so excited. she told the bishop and now i´m ward pianist.  they just threw me into that one. apparently its been a year since they´ve had someone that could play the piano. and they´re already asking for special musical numbers.  and on sunday of course i sit down to play and the first song i´ve never seen before in my life! it went ok but this is gonna be interesting.  

well there´s a lot more to say but i haven´t even read your emails yet so i should end so i have time to do that...  I love you all! and i miss you a ton!

love, Hna Hebdon la segunda

CCM Pics

Today's the day!

today's the day, the sun is shining, the tank is clean. the tank is clean!  *name that movie....

whelp, i officially head out in an hour. and i have no idea how the goodness i fit everything in my suitcases.  biggest struggle of my life.  apparently my carry-on is supposed to be 17 lbs.  it literally is 43 lbs.  practically as heavy as my check-in bags which are both 49 lbs.  so i'm praying really hard they don't weigh the carry-on or i might have some major problems.  either i'll have to chuck a bunch of stuff (i already got rid of some shirts cuz i couldn't fit them anywhere)  or i'll have to pay a bunch of money. so yup. wish me luck

This week has been super long. I'm so excited to leave, but its been hard saying goodbye to people.  saying goodbye to my district is gonna be one of the hardest things i've done.  spending all day everyday for 6 weeks with the same people, you get really close.  

anywho, not much has happened. or at least i don't remember what happened because i wasn't anticipating this email time so i didn't actually go through my journal to remember what happened... but yeah.  i love you all, i hope i survive getting through the airport with my ridiculous luggage.

love, 

Aubz

Last few days in the CCM

Hola! How's everything going? i just first off want to thank everyone for all the emails, it really means a lot! keep writing, i can always use the support. :)

can you believe i leave monday for Chile? how bizarre is that? we got our flight information, we leave 8:30 mon night.  its a 8 1/2 hr flight then we have a 5 hr layover and then another 1 1/2 hr flight.  it'll be a long night. i hope i can sleep on the plane...

so seriously nothing interesting happened this week.  i thought i didn't want to leave the CCM and suddenly i can't wait to get out of here. its time for something new.

we have to sing as a district on sunday, i'm playing the piano and singing.  its Come thou font of every blessing.  i kinda arranged it.  it'll be interesting namely cuz the boys aren't musical and hna parkinson and i are singing a duet on the 1st verse and you know how i feel about performing for people...

Quote of the week: "what's the past tense of was?"

then one night my teacher is giving instructions for some activity and i can normally understnad his spanish just fine but i was super tired. to when he finishes i turn to my compnaion and say "translate" and she's all "wow i know your tired when you ask me to translate after he just explained it in english"  hahah.  fail.  i'm losing it. my  mind is slowly melting. i seriously had no idea he was speaking english.

well i really don't have much to say. every day's practically the same. we study (or at least attempt to) and study some more. and when i say study its more of sitting at my desk staring at my book while the elders distract me and tease me mercilessly.  I love them all to death but its starting to get old.  its time to leave the CCM.  i'm ready.

whelp, i love you all! take care.  wish me luck as i enter the field! (btw, i'm way to excited for this plane ride, it sounds like a huge plane, course i didn't get a window seat, just my luck, but it'll still be sweet.  it's gonna be a party, especially the 5 hr layover cuz my whole district is on the same flight and everything)

anywho, have a good week, i love you all!

~Hermana Hebdon la segunda

CCM Pictures