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
