Familia, amigos!
And so another week passes here in Argentina! I cannot believe that I've been in this foreign country for almost 6 weeks! What?! That's crazy! I know, I know, you're all surprised that I haven't had a mental breakdown or been stolen by some Argentine people, but really so far, everything is excellent.
So! I hear all is well at home with Brett and Skylar and the kids and such! Brett, don't you go breaking that car that we worked so dang hard on! I'm hoping that it's coincidence, but it seems that everytime you go on a date (specifically with Skylar), it seems to magically break. ;) But seriously, you take good care of that thing, you hear? Also, how's the underglow? Still functioning? I'm hoping that the law hasn't stopped you yet--in my hours of searching I didn't find a rule against it in Utah. Anyway!
Questions! Answers!
1. So are you in a city or town or a rural area? I would love to hear more details about the area which you are in.
I'm in a city, called Plottier. It's relatively small and calm. The routa (freeway) goes right through it. In the central part, sadly also the area of the Sister Missionaries, there is some some sidewalk, and the roads are mostly asphalt, but in my area, in the outskirts of Plottier, there is...significantly less of that. We have dirt roads and rocks and plently of other interesting things in the streets. People just dump trucks of garbage on street corners in the less developed parts of the city, and it ends up everywhere with the wind and such. There's often the smell of burning garbage, too, as they often light them on fire. The anti-litter instincts that I developed working at scout camp can't deal with this much garbage--you can't pick it all up! But besides all of the dirt roads and brick houses, the people here are more accepting of our message and believing than I expected! The houses here are exponentially smaller than in the states--sometimes everything is all in the same small room: beds, kitchen, bathroom, shower.
2. Also, are you getting enough to eat?
Yes! I am getting plenty to eat! The members feed us really well! There are things called milanesas (like thin steaks of chicken or beef covered in breadcrumbs and fried), and lots of pasta, and bread and ocasionally pizza, but not american pizza, this pizza has green olives and tomatoes and chesse and nothing more. Also, there are these wonderful things called facturas! They're like 50 cent pastries! They have bakeries everywhere here, and so every once in a while, we stop in for those. Also, dulce de leche. They have lots of that, but get this: no peanut butter! None!
3. Do you eat with the members or buy lunch or fix food at your apartment?
Every day, we have lunch at the house of one of the members. We have to make breakfast and dinner for ourselves. I finally found avena (oatmeal) here and so each day I make myself a bowl of oatmeal and then sometimes I have a banana or an apple with it to. Also, they have this crazy thing here, they have yogurt but it's for drinking rather than eating. I like it, and I think it's got probiotics in it!
4. Also, where are your companions from?
I had 2 companions originally, but one got emergency transfered to a different area. The one that left, Elder Lubomirsky, was from the north of Argentina in Buenos Aires. My companion I have now, Elder Rojas, is from Lima, Peru.
5. How are your shoes fitting and your feet feeling? How much walking do you do in an average day and week?
And so another week passes here in Argentina! I cannot believe that I've been in this foreign country for almost 6 weeks! What?! That's crazy! I know, I know, you're all surprised that I haven't had a mental breakdown or been stolen by some Argentine people, but really so far, everything is excellent.
So! I hear all is well at home with Brett and Skylar and the kids and such! Brett, don't you go breaking that car that we worked so dang hard on! I'm hoping that it's coincidence, but it seems that everytime you go on a date (specifically with Skylar), it seems to magically break. ;) But seriously, you take good care of that thing, you hear? Also, how's the underglow? Still functioning? I'm hoping that the law hasn't stopped you yet--in my hours of searching I didn't find a rule against it in Utah. Anyway!
Questions! Answers!
1. So are you in a city or town or a rural area? I would love to hear more details about the area which you are in.
I'm in a city, called Plottier. It's relatively small and calm. The routa (freeway) goes right through it. In the central part, sadly also the area of the Sister Missionaries, there is some some sidewalk, and the roads are mostly asphalt, but in my area, in the outskirts of Plottier, there is...significantly less of that. We have dirt roads and rocks and plently of other interesting things in the streets. People just dump trucks of garbage on street corners in the less developed parts of the city, and it ends up everywhere with the wind and such. There's often the smell of burning garbage, too, as they often light them on fire. The anti-litter instincts that I developed working at scout camp can't deal with this much garbage--you can't pick it all up! But besides all of the dirt roads and brick houses, the people here are more accepting of our message and believing than I expected! The houses here are exponentially smaller than in the states--sometimes everything is all in the same small room: beds, kitchen, bathroom, shower.
2. Also, are you getting enough to eat?
Yes! I am getting plenty to eat! The members feed us really well! There are things called milanesas (like thin steaks of chicken or beef covered in breadcrumbs and fried), and lots of pasta, and bread and ocasionally pizza, but not american pizza, this pizza has green olives and tomatoes and chesse and nothing more. Also, there are these wonderful things called facturas! They're like 50 cent pastries! They have bakeries everywhere here, and so every once in a while, we stop in for those. Also, dulce de leche. They have lots of that, but get this: no peanut butter! None!
3. Do you eat with the members or buy lunch or fix food at your apartment?
Every day, we have lunch at the house of one of the members. We have to make breakfast and dinner for ourselves. I finally found avena (oatmeal) here and so each day I make myself a bowl of oatmeal and then sometimes I have a banana or an apple with it to. Also, they have this crazy thing here, they have yogurt but it's for drinking rather than eating. I like it, and I think it's got probiotics in it!
4. Also, where are your companions from?
I had 2 companions originally, but one got emergency transfered to a different area. The one that left, Elder Lubomirsky, was from the north of Argentina in Buenos Aires. My companion I have now, Elder Rojas, is from Lima, Peru.
5. How are your shoes fitting and your feet feeling? How much walking do you do in an average day and week?
My feet! My feet are good. The shoes that we bought at foot
locker or whatever it was, have worked the best! They're light and more
breathable and flexible than the others. When I step directly on a rock with my
right, scarred, foot, it hurts, but I can walk (and run) just fine. I actually
went running for the first time this morning, and it was glorious!
We walk a lot. Everywhere we
go, practically; to get to the chapel from our apartment it takes about 25
minutes walking about the same time to get to most of our area. There is one
area that would take about 1 1/2 hours walking, but normally we take the
colectivo (bus) and so it's more like 30. I don't know exactly how much,
because they don't use miles here, and I don't know kilometers yet, but we walk
all day from appointment to appointment.
Well, I hope all is well for
all of you! I love you and am grateful for all of your prayers and well-wishes!
These pictures are of a member's house who we helped paint
(we did service all day!) and of my companion on a street named after his
country.
Stay excellent!
Elder Turek
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