Travel
The arrival in Argentina was very exciting. When we arrived in Buenos Aires after our 7 hour flight we fought our way through customs (they did not want to let us pass because we could not tell them specifically where in Argentina we would be staying) and found the large pile of missionaries waiting on the other side for us. Elders Jensen, Painter, and I were on the latest flight despite leaving the earliest (leaving the CCM at 2 am compared to their 7 am departure) because of our layover so once we got there we headed straight out.
We left for a hotel where they gave us dinner in a brown paper bag and we stayed for literally only 2 hours before leaving again for our flight to Bahía Blanca. It was so funny. When checking in, they wouldn't tell us what time we needed to leave for the airport so they just said they'd call our rooms when it was time. After everyone finished eating or showering or were finally ready for bed they got to sleep for like 15 minutes before they got called at like 2:50 am with a guy saying "Tres! Tres! Mas rapido! Tres!"
Because I didn't have a companion coming with me they gave me a room to myself. Everyone said it was way nicer than all the double rooms they'd been given, so that was pretty awesome. Plus, because I didn't have anyone to talk to and keep me up I slept for like 30 minutes which was nice. The gate for our flight to Bahía Blanca was right next to the gate for the missionaries going to Resistencia, so I got to see Hermana LeBaron again. That was awesome too.
We then flew to Bahía Blanca where the mission president along with all the missionaries that worked in the office picked us up. We took a bus to the mission home and we stayed there for a couple hours doing interviews. They fed us churros with dulce de leche and empanadas though which were really good. I had my interview with the mission President's wife Hermana Antuña who is totally awesome. Then they took us to our hotel for a well-earned nap. I shared that room with two other girls but it was all good.
We napped for like 3 hours before the Antuñas had us over for dinner at 7. It was amazing! She had made some kind of Italian dish that was cheesy and potato-y. She also had little potato wedges. I felt embarrassed asking for ketchup for the potatoes (side note from dad: our kids were raised in a ketchup heavy household - likely my fault), but I did learn that ketchup is bagged here which is funny. Other people also used the ketchup once it was out so I didn't mind being the one who had to ask.
They gave us a great desert that was like ice cream covered in chocolate. Inside there was chocolate, vanilla, and dulce de leche ice cream. Then we took photos of our new group and we got to sleep for 8 straight hours back at the hotel before meeting our trainers.
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| Our Awesome Mission Leaders! |
Trio Again
Meeting the trainers was fun! We got to the mission house around lunchtime and all the trainers slowly started arriving while people finished interviews. I did my interview and after we all ate pizza and drank soda together. They gave us more ice cream for dessert.
After that we all went to the chapel and they had all the new missionaries sit in the front row. They showed pictures of the trainers and their areas, they introduced themselves and the area then they showed a picture of the newbie and you went up and hugged them and took a picture.
Hermana Ellison is my trainer and she's so great... but she has another companion which means I'm in a trio again. It's okay though because Hermana Merlo is also great, and we all get along really well. Hermana Merlo is a native Argentinian and she's awesome. She speaks great English because they teach British English in Argentina schools. She speaks with an accent for random words which is hilarious because she'll out of nowhere be speaking and just say a random word in a really strong old British accent.
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| My New Trio |
Missionary Training
I'm in Independencia Bahía Blanca which is kinda of a richer area. We have the lowest baptism rate in Bahía because a lot of the richer people don't feel like religion is important. We have a super great ward though!
They were doing a primary program type of thing for one of the girls in the ward because she's leaving on her mission! The kids were so funny. Most of them sat nice and sang and would speak when encouraged, but the young kids couldn't. One of the little boys ran on and off stage about three times and ran around all sacrament meeting!
It was a really nice meeting though. I couldn't understand a lot of it yet, but I still felt the Spirit and knew how strong these people's testimonies are. The ward is so nice and everyone has complimented my bad Spanish, so I feel like I'm getting better every day.
Español
En lugar de tocar puertas, aplaudimos aquí. Debido a que todos tenían cancelas, solo tienes que pararte afuera de la cancela y aplaudir, lo que todos reconocen como golpes. Hermana Merlo se sorprendió de que realmente tocáramos puertas físicamente en Estados Unidos. Es muy divertido.
Comida (Dad note: Comida means food or meal in Spanish... I think...)
Plane food was great! Churros and pasta which were both delicious! (see previous post for pics)
The comida here is so interesting and similar! The pizza is definitely not the same... but everything else has been amazing! Empanadas are great, especially the chicken ones! They give you a lot of bread and pasta here which is yummy. A lot of people cant really afford good water, so you end up drinking a lot of soda or hot chocolate, or flavored water.
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| Delicious Chicken Dish |
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| The Argentine Pizza |
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| Actual Pizza! |
People here really do give you the best they have and everyone is so generous and kind. Inflation here is crazy so the price of food changes every month, but they always manage to get through it and they still want to feed you as much as they can. It's a really good example to me and it has me wondering if I'm always giving as much as I can to serve others the way the Savior did.
Funnies
Cute puppies! There are so many dogs here! Most of them are evil and want to kill you though, so it's nice that most people have gates.
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| Puppies! |
Never be caught sleeping next to me because I will take pictures of you...
Do your companions speak mostly in Spanish or in English? If they speak mostly Spanish, you will have it down in a month. It takes 500 hours of exposure to become fluent, so the experts used to say back when I taught foreign languages. It has been twenty years, but I think it still applies. 500 hours on a missionary's schedule could be as few as thirty days. It might take a few months. You're off to a great start and will be fluent in no time.
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