Thanksgiving Week #1

I say Thanksgiving Week #1 because he only has one more to go before he comes home. Okay that is still long and it doesn't seem to be going very fast! But, only 1 more Thanksgiving without him. Yay!

I finally kind of am starting to understand where I am in Chile and stuff. This may get you close on google earth: Pablo Suarez, Los Cerrillos. Our chapel is on El Mirador, with a huge parking lot/mini-soccer field, and a green fence, if you can see it.

You'd find mostly about Chile, having lived in America, that people are more concerned for the well-being of others. People generally are very accepting even of missionaries that they don't like. You can ask for a glass of water from anyone, and they'll probably offer you juice or soda instead, even if they've turned you down before. Sometimes, though, they offer you agua con gas, that is, soda water... yeah, I'm not so much into that. You drink it either way. It's better if you put a drink mix in. In fact, actually good.

There are very few homeless people, actually. We always think they could get a job if they wanted to - here, they just do. People have awful jobs for ten hours a day, but they find that to be totally fine. They and a child or spouse will work full time and they think that's totally acceptable. The families usually take their grandparent-aged people in after they retire, and said person usually still performs some function, such as daycare for the kids or sometimes a grandpa-type person will have a small business. I've seen ones that sell woodcarvings and paintings. That kind of thing.

Pictures are interesting. Some of them just didn't load so whatever. I'm going to try this time.

I actually am kind of sick. I hope it has nothing to do with the fall. Speaking of showers, our propane tank ran out. So we had cold showers. They were fantastic, as we'd just played soccer with another zone, La Cisterna. If a little asthmatic.

I am finally buying enough stuff now. The chocolate milk by Soprole is fantastic. It's got fewer calories than the US, but is better. It's darker than you'd think. They also make a mousseish pudding cup that has chocolate in the bottom... very good. As you can see, if the pictures worked, is my first completo. It has bacon and barbeque sauce. You don't have to do guacamole ever. The place is called Dominó. It has nothing to do with pizza. They're about three bucks, and they sell juice they make in front of your face out of fruit. Ridiculous.

A mission is divided into cambios, which are six weeks, always. The next is before Christmas. A transfer could theoretically happen every cambio, but that's unheard of. Usually two at minimum with each companion. Furthermore, usually you stay in the same sector and zone for two companions. Nowdays, how President King does it, the newer you are, the faster you move around. You kind of solidify and take more time in each place as you get 'older'. It's not surprising to end up in your last area or job for seven and a half months or more. I secretly want to be an office elder because they do cool bank stuff most of the day and get really fast at business Spanish, not just gospel. We'll see. Often they are Elders with injuries or sicknesses - one there now can't poo. He just moved from being my zone leader because he's developed IBS over the mission. He's actually from Concepción, so he'll finish soon and go home to get it figured out. Ouch.

It's pretty ridiculous that you are cold right now. It's freaking hot here. We sweat all day. I have to bring water every day. It's freaking hot. We are out for about 5 hours of heat, and the rest is okay. My feet are pretty hammered, but it's been so much worse, you don't even know. I did get some kind of foot supports, and they help, but it doesn't help with the heat.

Before I forget, what do you do with this email? Do I need to include anything for the other readers?

We actually have to investigators now. We have a lady with a date this January. She was thinking of the temple and how pretty it was, and how she wanted to get inside of it when the missionaries first came over. What does that tell you? We've even had a new investigator cry when we told her about the possiblity of eternal families. All our sowing, as it were, is paying off, I think. We're up for a fantastic week.

I kind of know what you mean with languages. At the end of the day, you pretty much can figure it out and it sounds right, but the person-you-are-talking-to's mind was built in Spanish and some stuff just doesn't make sense. For example (this is very obscure one) in Spanish, present tense covers present progressive, meaning, I run also means I am running. You only say "I am running" if you are stressing that you are doing it at that moment. So when you want to say "Running is fun", it's not 'running', it's "run is fun." You'd think that wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it is. They will not see your point until you say it 'run'.

But by and large, the languages are close. There isn't a word for 'to fart'. You actually say "I threw a fart". It makes it sound like some kind of weapon, which is funny. So now you want to know how to say "I farted." You´d say "Tiré un pedo." I suppose you may also be interested in the opposite: "¿Tiró un pedo?" Did you fart?


Honestly I must say the thing I am most interested in is V. That show is freaking sick. There are a couple things I have to do. I have to watch Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre, drink a Mountain Dew (They don't have it here, even though they have almost everything else.), and watch the Vs that have come out since. We call these trunky pensamientos, or thoughts. The command is this from the President : No sea trunky. Don't be trunky.

All I really have to do for that is find some of their bread. Especially if it's just out of the oven. They sell it like that, by the way.

It occurs to me you probably want to come see this someday. I need to write my email to President King. Do good stuff, okay? I think Grandma can email if she wants, by the way.


Speaking of writing... Here is the Mission Home address. All letters, packages, etc should be sent here. If you send a package, get some pictures of Jesus from the dollar store and put them all over the outside of the package. The thieves are superstitious so they won't(usually) bother with a package like that. Also put Missionary Supplies on the box.

Elder Alex Conrad Crist
Chile Santiago West Mission
Casilla de Correo 149
Chacabuco 166
Maipu
CHILE