Monday, November 17, 2014

Tell us all of the details about your new companion. Where is he from? What's his name? What's it like to be a trainer?
My new companion's name is Razafindretsetra. It's funny because his name is so long that the Malagasies can't even say it. Needless to say, he's from Madagascar. Specifically he's from Fenardon Soi (spelled phonetically). It's a little inland mountain town with two branches that are exploding with new members right now. He's really nice, really smart, and really fun to talk to. Although right now he knows exactly zero English. We're working on that though. It's good practice to speak Malagasy all day everyday. I also find that it's helped my language skills because I have to talk about more mundane things, which opens up a new area of vocabulary. It's hard, however, because honestly we share very little in common as far as experiences go. We've been getting to know each other, and we're doing well. I'll send pictures of us. Right now I'm uploading a bunch of pictures but they won't send. 

Did you get any packages?
I did get a package. The candy and muffins are already gone, of course. Thanks for the socks. (Note from mom: the package Alex finally received is the one I sent on September 11th. It took two months to arrive)

What did Sister Adams cook for you?
Sister Adams made oatmeal and muffins for breakfast. Sloppy Joes for lunch. 

Oh, on the picture front, I'm uploading them but it is going SO SLOW, so I hope you actually get the pictures. 

Now, regarding the week... it started on a sad note, saying goodbye to my trainer Elder Gaul. He was transferred to Tana and is now working in Amboimangakely. I got to drive up with him though because I needed to get my trainee. The bus ride was long. I think I've racked up quite a few frequent rider miles since I've now driven 40 hours on long distance taxi be's. They are, as always, not very comfortable. I have not been able to fall asleep on one yet. I guess that's one of my long term mission goals. Tomatov has been ridiculously humid, but it still hasn't had a whole lot of rain. Our power has been out a lot too, which means a lot of sweating and washing clothes by hand. We got a new stove! This may not sound particularly interesting, but its one of the most exciting things that has happened recently. Especially because the old one would take all of the hair off your hands when you tried to start it. Also, on the exciting new things front, the lychee harvest is in full swing. Today I'm going to try lychees for the first time. Await pictures (if Dropbox ever loads, which I wouldn't count on). Today we're going to the bizarre to buy some stuff. At some point, when I get closer to the end of my mission, I think I'm going to buy a ton of jerseys. It's way funny and you see them everywhere. A Lebron James jersey costs about $5 here as opposed to $50-100 at home. 

We're also preparing for some new baptisms coming up on the 29th, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We are baptizing the grandchildren of our recent convert ward mission leader. Actually, I think he's going to do the baptism. He's really funny. His name is Jean de Dieu. He's smart and kind of looks like an old Malagasy version of Smokey the Bear. He's also really funny because he loves to ask deep doctrine questions from the Doctrine and Covenants, that must then be explained in Malagasy. He also loves to talk about the history of polygamy!''

So that's about all for this week. It was a fun week, very exciting. But I also spent a lot of time on a taxi be. Have a great Thanksgiving. I'm trying not to think about it. Thankfully the blazing temperatures make it feel like it isn't the holidays. Regrettably the vahza supermarket put up Christmas decorations and is playing Christmas music. I think I might make an apple pie this week, but I'm not sure because apples are expensive. Okay, y'all have a good week and I'll talk to you soon!

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