In case you missed the
incredibly clever and applicable title of my email, let me restate it here: ´´Big world out there. Lotta smells.´´
-Michael Scott
Olá!!
Okay listen. I have
never more in my life identified with a movie character more than Elder Calhoun
from The Best 2 Years when I say; ´´Oh I´m in trouble. Cuhs that aint the
language they taught me in the MTC.´´ That pretty much sums up my first week
here haha. People warned me in the CTM that people in Maceio speak weird and
differently but i figured id be okay. boy was i wrong! people here speak this
strange slurred together and slang portugeuse that is definately not what the
people in sao paulo speak. but im learning! my mission covers two states,
Alagoas e Sergipe and im in sergipe. my area is Itabaiana
(eee-tahh-bye-yawn-uhh. youre welcome) and its the furthest out from maceio so
i hear. Ahhh so much to tell, but to start off Brazil is so great!! My companion
is Sister Barbosa, a cute doll like brazilian from sao paulo (so i can usually
understand her thank goodness) who is very on the ball and almost mom-like in
how helpful she is. Shes been out 6 months. We live with 2 other brazilian
sisters, sis reis and sis santos who’ve been out 7 months and 1 year. theyre
really nice with my portugeuse and ask me to translate the english songs they
listen to into portuguese. (i may or may not make up song lyrics quite
frequently...) i mostly follow her around like a puppy and bear my testimony
when she nods at me and just try not to get run over by cars in the street.
haha. jk mom dont freak out <3
Okay so I got to our house on thurs night because we had training in maceio on Thursday. I got my little area and thought ´´wow, this is brazil.´´ And then I went out proselytizing in other parts of our area the next few days and thought ´´WOW. THIS is brazil.´´ the people here are very humble and wonderful. most live in cement houses on long bumpy dirt/cobblestone roads. about half of the people we teach cant read at alll or dont know how to very well so thats an obstacle teaching about the book of mormon. Im not allowed to drink the tap water so we have a jug of water we buy and use, but i still use the tap to brush my teeth cuhs #yolo i mean #yolf. Also they werent joking when they said they dont have running hot water, cuhs lemme tell you those showers in the morning are #frigid. The food here is so far so good, but we do have kuz-kuz out the wazoo. mostly beans and rice and a questionable meat i try to avoid. we have coke or real fruit juice smoothie stuff with every meal.
We have one branch here and the members are so so so so amazing you have no idea. the people here love love love the sisters and do anything and everything to help them its so great because i just walk into a strangers house and they might be a member or might not and they just say hi and give me a hug and welcome me and hand me a plate of food. the other sisters had a couples wedding and baptism the first 2 days i was here so we prepped a lot for that by making food at a members house and we decorated the little room where we have sacrament. our chapel isnt a chapel, its like a little area on a strip mall sort of thing, with a few classrooms and a bathroom and a cement font out back. but as soon as all the members came for the peoples wedding the second day i was there, every single one of them came up and welcomed me and the women allll give you a hug and all the kids are so excited to hug you and meet you and find out that you speak english. the people here are SO GREAT i cant even explain it. i think the members love the missionaries so much because most of them were baptized by their own missionaries, or their parents were. one time i was in a group of teenage girls talking with an investigator about how she should come to church and one of the girls just grabs my ponytail and runs her fingers through it lol. or they play with my hair during church which is da best.
everyone here is a little bit chillax and as my good friend jack black says, ´´loosey goosey´´. if a kid licks his fingers off while making food and keeps making it, no prob. if a guy wants to ride a dirt bike down the road without shoes on, go for it. if someone wants to sell meat out of their garage, hey sir you go right ahead and do so. people here are just different you just gotta learn to let them be! what i also am learning is that brazilians are always LATE. we´re at least half an hour or an hour late to everything. its just normal for them. right now its ok cuhs im learning how to do stuff but it still gives me anxiety a little. but its like an unspoken rule that everyone abides by so guess ill have to get used to it.
Okay so I got to our house on thurs night because we had training in maceio on Thursday. I got my little area and thought ´´wow, this is brazil.´´ And then I went out proselytizing in other parts of our area the next few days and thought ´´WOW. THIS is brazil.´´ the people here are very humble and wonderful. most live in cement houses on long bumpy dirt/cobblestone roads. about half of the people we teach cant read at alll or dont know how to very well so thats an obstacle teaching about the book of mormon. Im not allowed to drink the tap water so we have a jug of water we buy and use, but i still use the tap to brush my teeth cuhs #yolo i mean #yolf. Also they werent joking when they said they dont have running hot water, cuhs lemme tell you those showers in the morning are #frigid. The food here is so far so good, but we do have kuz-kuz out the wazoo. mostly beans and rice and a questionable meat i try to avoid. we have coke or real fruit juice smoothie stuff with every meal.
We have one branch here and the members are so so so so amazing you have no idea. the people here love love love the sisters and do anything and everything to help them its so great because i just walk into a strangers house and they might be a member or might not and they just say hi and give me a hug and welcome me and hand me a plate of food. the other sisters had a couples wedding and baptism the first 2 days i was here so we prepped a lot for that by making food at a members house and we decorated the little room where we have sacrament. our chapel isnt a chapel, its like a little area on a strip mall sort of thing, with a few classrooms and a bathroom and a cement font out back. but as soon as all the members came for the peoples wedding the second day i was there, every single one of them came up and welcomed me and the women allll give you a hug and all the kids are so excited to hug you and meet you and find out that you speak english. the people here are SO GREAT i cant even explain it. i think the members love the missionaries so much because most of them were baptized by their own missionaries, or their parents were. one time i was in a group of teenage girls talking with an investigator about how she should come to church and one of the girls just grabs my ponytail and runs her fingers through it lol. or they play with my hair during church which is da best.
everyone here is a little bit chillax and as my good friend jack black says, ´´loosey goosey´´. if a kid licks his fingers off while making food and keeps making it, no prob. if a guy wants to ride a dirt bike down the road without shoes on, go for it. if someone wants to sell meat out of their garage, hey sir you go right ahead and do so. people here are just different you just gotta learn to let them be! what i also am learning is that brazilians are always LATE. we´re at least half an hour or an hour late to everything. its just normal for them. right now its ok cuhs im learning how to do stuff but it still gives me anxiety a little. but its like an unspoken rule that everyone abides by so guess ill have to get used to it.
my companion gave me
the best compliment ever yesterday, she said that she was impressed by my first
week and how well i could speak and how well im adapting to the culture. she
said she sees most new americans be very reserved and scared but that i just
jumped right in and started loving the people. it was so nice because since i
cant communicate with the people right now, all i want to do is love them. and
i do so HECK YEA. portuguese is hard but it’ll get there. it is hard when you
are literally the only one who doesnt know whats going on. my favorite thing is
when people talk to me like im literally in diapers (watch it with the
jokes-youre better than that). but its okay. how kind the people are makes up
for it. the little kids here treat us like royalty honestly. if i wasnt
affectionate before my mission, i defs will be when i get back. i love love
getting to teach people and meet them and find out about their lives. i am so
happy i get to do this for the next 16 months!!
i love you guys a lot.
do you know that? i miss you a lot too but i just gotta get lost in the work
for right now because i know the lord needs me here.
also im trying to send
pics but its not exactly working. to be continued. also i get 1 1/2 hours on
the computer now so hopefully i can respond better to your guys emails!
talk to you next pday!
love sister walker
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