Their juices here are SO good. I love them all except for this one that tastes like the syrup after a freeze pop or Otter pop, whatever you call them. The juices are usually like guava, pineapple, lemonade or other stuff that you just don't really ask about.The water here is fine to like brush your teeth with and stuff, otherwise you just drink from their big blue tubs they set out and then when it's empty, you stick it outside your casa. For lunch and dinner they will have some sort of meat which is usually pretty good! Sometimes it looks sketchy and other times I'm like dude, get me some of that! And Tuesdays are pizza days so we missed that last week, yay us. It was Costco pizza though. I don't approve. Shout out to Papa Johns! Hey Dallin ;) Then they always have salad, fruit, sometimes beans, rice and occasionally pasta. The dressings are hit and miss, sometimes you just don't get any but if you do, they usually have mil islas (hey daddy!) or bleu cheese which I've come to be cool with and Ceasar (whattup). The papaya is sick nasty and tastes like throw up so we don't get that. The pineapple is so good and the cantaloupe just gets boring haha. They also always have like a bucket load of bread out but we pass right on by cuz we don't need the calories!!! We also say that and some other stuff as we pass the desserts. Mostly the desserts are like forms of gelatin or cake or just fatty looking stuff. But I did cave and got this cheesecake thing yesterday and it was soo good! Hermana B. keeps us on board by encouraging us not to get desserts, so either I'll just grab a bite from someone else or I just don't get any! I need to weigh myself but I don't feel like I've gained anything! I probably lost some honestly.....whatevs.
District: I don't even know where to begin. I got SO incredibly blessed with my district. They are all so amazing. Our guys are to die for, well at least this trio!
El CCM: The Spirit you feel here is amazing. You learn to just say !Hola! to everyone you see, and the workers here are so nice I just want to go up and hug them any chance I get. They keep the grounds here so nice and spic and span, They keep it so clean and professional looking. I am SO grateful I am here instead of Provo. From what I've heard, they're a little more lenient here and just plain chill. Don't get me wrong, we have high expectations but the Spirit is just a little more real. I love that everyone here is learning the same language, even if we're all at different levels, it just unifies us all.
Casa: Our little casas house about 12 girls probably? Maybe 16? Anyways, we have 3 in our room because one Hermana got moved up into the Native group so I AM IN A TRIO!!!! But! We do have pillows and sheets and we saw these huge blankets and at first you're like what the heck, it's August, and then you wake up freezing at night. It's the best!!! I love it. The pillows are seriously so great, they're huge and pretty sturdy and comfortable! I was pleasantly surprised! We each have pretty big closets and we have a shower and toilet and two sinks. The showers were cold for the last week so you learned to get a pretty good back workout, trying to stay out of the freezing water but it wasn't too bad!
Animals: Dude the animals here are so messed up haha. The birds like gallop and they run like little road runners sometimes it's hilarious to watch them. They have like crows and mourning doves and little brown ones that are adorable and then the other day we were running (which means I was just struggling to breathe) and we saw these green birds you would see in a zoo, chillin' on the fence around the track and I'm just like "What the heck! I'm in Mexico!". It seriously is amazing here.
Natives: They are SO nice and SO hilarious! Because I'm in the intermediate class we will do a few activities with the Natives and they are so good. They correct you but they are so nice about it. And I always end up laughing with them so it gives me some hope for having Native companions. I talked to one from Puerto Rico yesterday and she was soo nice and I loved how she talked, we got along really well.
Sisters: But yeah I should probably watch my facial expressions cuz I probably have like the most fed up look on my face sometimes. Especially when some sisters complain about the Elders in their districts and we're just over here like, "We love our Elders, they're so mature and so amazing". Cuz they are!
Elder P. going to Raleigh and I met an Hermana Despain here! Seriously I have so many people ask me if I have family in like Colorado and random places and after their list of names I'm just like sorry dude no. One Elder just like straight up walked away after that and I was just left standing there like um ok?? Haha so it's cool to have people ask though! I met President and Sister Pratt! They are so sweet, they are very old and President Pratt has pretty high expectations but they are so good. They are related to Kristina Gaspar de Alba, my bestie so that was amazing to have them look out for me and ask how I knew her and stuff :) President Pratt is so cute, I swear every time I see him I'm just like, can he get any cuter as an old guy?! You just want to go give him a hug as he shuffles along.
On Sunday while we were singing "Love at Home" during Sacrament meeting I realized Cary 2 starts at the exact same time because of the time difference and oh goodness, you better believe I started tearing up. I haven't cried though! Sorry if that hurts anyone's feelings, but I am actually doing so much better than I thought I would! Sundays really are great cuz you don't have class, you just go to your different meetings throughout the day and it's pretty chill! Although breakfast on Sundays is weird cuz they give you like a sandwich in the morning with your cereal and I was just like, "Say what?" It's mostly so the workers don't have to work through lunch.
Packages:Oh, but I can receive packages here, I just can't send them out. I don't have a certain adapter you need to send pics but we're thinking Elder M. has one so I'll try to send pics. Oh! Dumbest rule here EVER, we can't take pictures on any day expect for P day...I get why but honestly it's a pain in the tushy. So the address here for letters and packages is different from what the original one in my call book: Carr. Tenayuca-Chalmita No. 828, Col. Zona Escolar, Deleg. G.A. Madero, C.P. 07230, México, D.F.; México.
Gym time: So during gym time we typically go cycle for like 10 minutes and then we either do some weight routines that Hermana B. teaches us or we go out to the track and Hermana B. goes and runs a few laps while me and Hermana B2 collapse on the grass and "stretch" haha. The track is just that red pebbly rock stuff so its like running on sand so its way frustrating and the grass is way squishy so that isn't fun to run on either haha. I tried the elliptical yesterday and it was neat, really good for your knees but not my fave, it's just awkward. It is pretty frustrating having to stay with your companions that much though cuz i was dying the day I went running with them and I was just like, "Dude give me a break! My poor NC lungs are dying in this elevation!" Its like our favorite time of day though cuz we literally just feel so carefree and free from all the stress that can go on. I'm probably getting anything but ulcers here. I like NEVER worry about anything, life is so good. There is a gym, ping pong tables, a sand volleyball court thing, a field within the track, two like real "work out" areas with weights, stationary bikes, ellipticals, and other equipment that really just looks like torture devices to me. We have about an hour to work out here everyday but by the time you're changed and everything you have about 45 minutes.
Zone Leaders: Our zone leaders crack us up. They're both 18 and fresh out of high school but the one, Elder D. will be the one of the running backs for BYU so we see him out there practicing everyday shoving those things around on the field. He and his companion are great though and check up on us. He actually asked us how our work out was after we were done yesterday.
Teachers: Our teachers are so great and so helpful! Hermano C. was the trainer of our teacher Hermano M. and they are seriously so amazing. Hermano C. is always SO happy and the guys call him superman. He's from idaho and served in Mexico. He is hilarious so he would remind me of dad anytime he was teaching us. During our classes they really only talk in Spanish which is totally cool with me and i like it! I pick up stuff to use later and it's really helpful! One time Hermano C. was like "Este es la obra de los angeles" and i was just like yes it is!!!! And he would thank us daily for being missionaries. He is like 24 and we're all so surprised he isn't married, honestly he's just one of those guys that you're just like ...why aren't you married? Hermano M. served in Tampico Mexico I think and he's from Mexico. He always smiles and actually talks in English sometimes. He just got married like 3 weeks ago so we were all just like agh that is so cute....he's a good teacher. They've definitely trailed off as far as being with us a lot of the time. They leave us to ourselves which is nice cuz you feel trusted, not like you're in high school all over again.
Bugs!!! Honestly the mosquitoes are so retarded here! Haha. They are so fat and slow that they're like sleepy flies. They don't bother you at all. I have no bug bites. No use for the mosquito netting! We only had like a total of 5 probably the first few days in our room. The only reason they bug me is when they get all close to my ear when I'm trying to fall asleep haha other than that, not a problem. We just find them like randomly dead on our tables or beds haha kind of weird.
Shoes are great! Wish I had packed more though just for variety and more jewelry, as weird as that sounds, but I'll be grateful for not packing so much when i get to Honduras. Clothes are great! Yeah I so wish you guys could experience this with me!! Its amazing and I love it. It's sad to think I won't ever come here again since you really have to be a missionary, president or teacher to get back into the ccm!
Faucets: The faucets here are so weird! They're like these little lever things that you pull or press on that come out of the main attachment of the sink. Random I know, but they're just something to get used to and the water pressure isn't always the same, They totally make such a mess and the paper dispensers are slow as molasses.I end up doing like a dance just to activate the sensor. And the toilet paper comes out like sideways tissues. It's all good though, porque estoy en méxico :)
Honestly, I've realized that I have never been happier or a more positive person IN MY LIFE. I am just like totally in my element here so it scares me how happy I am. I'm really worried Honduras is going to slap me in the face honestly. But really though, just watch. My testimony has grown so much. There have been a few times where I've really felt your prayers. And if you're not praying for me, then I guess I was just praying for myself cuz I felt really comforted! The only time I was ever like stressed was when I had to unpack. It feels like such a privilege to be here, I'm so grateful everyday. I don't know how I have been able to stay sane and healthy and awake, actually I do know, it's because of Heavenly Father and the prayers for missionaries! I seriously feel so looked out for. Peace and blessings to you all ;) I miss you all like crazy, but know that I am so incredibly happy. I love being a missionary and I love you guys :) The church is true, God loves us and He knows our weaknesses and makes them stronger :) Talk to you all next week!
Love,
Hermana Despain
