I made it family! Como le va! I
didn´t have anytime last week to write anyone because I was traveling to
Argentina for two days! It was crazy. On the day of travel, my companion Elder
Latu had to get up at 1:30 to be on a bus by 2:30. A security guard busted into
our room around 3:00 looking for Elder Latu when the alarm didn´t go off and
they were missing him, After a hurried goodbye, and messy face washing,
clothing, and tooth brushing he flew out the door. We tried to go back to sleep
before 430,when we were supposed to be up and ready for the bus at 5:30.
Eventually got our bags weighed out, got on the bus and we were off to the
Frontrunner and Trax which eventually got us to the airport. We flew to
Atlanta, and then after many hours of waiting and such, we got on a plane for
Buenos Aires. Most of the plane spoke soley spanish. We flew overnight, which
went much better than expected. I took the most-appreciated earplugs I received
from Mom and I happened to have an extra tie in my bag (which, by the way
weighed apx. two tons because in order to have suitcases less than 50 I had to
carry my books and scriptures and such. Let's just say I had sore trapezius
muscles.) and I took the extra tie and I tied it around my eyes. I slept the
whole night and didn't even fall on the Hermana sitting next to me.
Upon arrival, after the realization that it was the end of the winter here, and
not summer, and some confusion of not being able to call the mission office
like we were directed, we followed the signs that we could read and barely made
it through to the baggage claim with our Travel Visas, but we found some people
from the mission office ready to greet us. Then on two double stacked buses we
rode off to the mission offices in Buenos Aires. I don't think the word
"lane" exists in spanish, because they don't use them. I swear we ran
over two motorcyclists. They're crazy: they just weave in and out of traffic,
mount the sidewalk, whatever. The cars don't use the lanes, either, they just
hang out where ever they please. Needless to say, after quite a few really
close turns in the bus and close encouters with trees, we made it to the
mission offices.
After a lunch, and some instruction, mostly in español, we, the scared-looking
bunch of less-than-twenty-somethin's, got back on the buses and back to a much
smaller airport, where we waited some more, got stared at, tried to talk to the
people in spanish, found out that understanding natives is impossible, asked
them to repeat themselves, and then finally got on a plane to Neuquén.
After about an hour, we arrived and were met with the loving arms of President
and Sister Lovell. It was so good to see them! They immediately hugged us, took
some pictures, and then we loaded up and went off to the La Casa Grande (The
Big House, as it's called) for the Elders where we finally slept. It was really
quite odd to go to sleep in a garage converted into a bunkhouse with 20
somethin' other Elders in bunkbeds and realize that I was in a different
country with people with whom I could hardly communicate and that I would be
here for two years.\
Over the next two days, we
received some training at the mission home, got fingerprinted in the police
office, and finally, we met our trainers and they sent us off to our areas.
I got sent to Plottier B,
Neuquen Oeste (O-west-eh). I'm in a Trio with Elder Lubomirksy, a native from
Buenos Aires, who speaks some english (thank heavens) and Elder Rojas, from
Peru who is really cool and says that my Spanish is coming along great. If
you're cool, you're a capo (kah-poh) here. I've got some capo compañeros.
Things are coming along great,
and I´m slowly, but surely, learning to communicate. It´s really hard,
sometimes, but I´m doing good. I´m still alive, and I´m in pretty good hands.
Other things:
There are a lot of dogs here.
Like more than people and they kind of just lay on the side walk and wander
around. I've wanted to pet them a few times, but then I ask myself if I want to
keep my hands and then I decide. Actually a few of them are nice, but you can
really never tell.
Lot's of garbage. Everywhere.
They have like metal baskets on posts, in the same quantity that we have
mailboxes, where they put small little garbage bags; remember these are
baskets, not boxes, so they don't contain very well.
People just cross the street at random, no need for
crosswalks. The cars don't yield. So you don't cross unless you don't see a car
close by, because they don't stop, but everyone still walks way close to all of
the cars right as they zip by.
