Hola Mis Amigos!
This week has actually been nuts! Last week at this time I was sitting in an air-conditioned and clean building with other white people. Now I'm currently sitting in a...not actually sure what it is...some sort of store I think...with people arguing right behind me in incomprehensible Spanish with matted hair somewhere in the middle of Ecuador.
My first couple of days in Ecuador were sllllooooowwww. All day Tuesday, me and the other newbies just waited around with the APs doing basically nothing. We ate dinner at the President's house and had some quick training. Wednesday morning we attended the temple. After the temple we waited around some more and then in the afternoon we finally met our trainers and got assigned to a sector.
My trainer is Hermana Rodriquez. She is 22 years old and is from Bolivia. She is super nice and very patient (which is extremely necessary with my terrible Spanish). She does not speak English. She does not understand English. Thus, communication is very difficult. However, she has a good sense of humor and we've had some good laughs. I don't really know much else about her, I´ll let ya'll know in a couple months after I learn a few more words. But I do know that this is going to be the last area of her mission. Which mean I'm going to kill her. (Mission slang...it just means I am her last companion before she goes back home)
Our sector is Santa Rosa Rama 2. Santa Rosa is about 4 hours in a bus from Guayaquil. I live in an apartment with Hermana Rodriguez and another companionship. Guess who's in the other companionship?? Hermana Hales! She just can't get rid of me.
Right after I dropped my stuff off at the apartment, my companion and I went straight to an appointment with an investigator. I didn't understand a word of that entire lesson. My companion had me bear my testimony in Spanish and pray. I guess it went fine. Every lesson since then my companion has been making me say more and more. Yeesh it's been rough. I have to concentrate extremely hard on what the person is saying just to understand a few words. Then I just have to guess what the conversation is about and pray that what I say has any sort of relevance to the lesson.
Now I can almost understand everything my companion says because I´ve gotten used to the way she talks (she rolls her 'r's like a madwoman). But with other people it's 50/50. Some people I can kind of understand, others I can't comprehend a single word. My head hurts all the time.
Music is always blasting here. Dogs are always barking (btw I still hate dogs...I've had approximately 500 heart attacks already here with dogs running at me). The air is always wet. Need a drink? Just take in a big gulp of air. People are always yelling. Roosters are always...can't remember what its called...but that thing they do every morning. I didn't sleep at all the first two nights...but then Hermana Hales gave me some ear plugs (bless her soul) and now it's fine. But it's all good fun! haha
Also, I'm now basically the designated sacrament meeting pianist. No one knows how to play piano here and when my companion found out I could, she volunteered me to play during church. It was extremely difficult, because the people in our branch sing extremely loud, very off-key, and very fast. I had to focus so hard to keep the right tempo...I think I'm going to bring my ear plugs to church next Sunday. I think I have to give piano lessons later too. I definitely don't know how to teach piano, but I'll just pretend like I know what I'm doing...that's kind of how I've been living life lately.
There's tons more I could write, but I don't have much time right now. Just know that I'm doing fine and the Church is still true! haha I love you all!!
