Yay For Modern Medicine!

January 19, 2015

 

Buenas tardes/días/noches (depending on when you're reading this)

The title comes from the fact that dramatic medical things keep happening to me and my companion. The other week I got a stomach infection, and this week my companion woke up with really bad back pain. But never you worry; Mexican meds (as sketchy as they may sound) are really great. Except my poor companion had to buy a shot (you can buy shots here, and then your friend, neighbor, or someone who knows how, gives you the injection. Crazy, right?) for her back and the shot really hurt. But now her back feels better! But the bad news is that she needs two more shots to finish the treatment. Guess who's going to start doing yoga and stretching so that she doesn’t have to get shots like her companion.

Highlights:

-One of the members in the ward has an emergency bathroom. There's the regular bathroom, which is all nice with the shower and everything – just a regular bathroom. But then she has this other closet-like thing with another toilet. Just in case. Guess who got to use the emergency bathroom. And it was only a little scary to use it, with a bunch of tools all close to me.

-One day we went down a street to find people to contact until our next appointment. And there was nobody around. So we took a couple pics.

Don't you worry. I'm still me.

-Another morning all of our plans fell through and there was (once again) nobody around to contact. So we took a few more pics.

We tried like six times to get one of me smiling but I kept closing my eyes. Then I got distracted and this is what we ended up with.

I think it's funny to see a corn field and palm trees together.

I saw this tree and it felt important. Don’t ask, I'm just telling you.

-I for sure will not be getting scurvy (because I know you were all really worried about that) because for some reason I have eaten a lot of oranges this week. Just thought you all should know.

-Walking along one day I saw something familiar. Then I remembered that it was almost the Super Bowl and I felt homesick. But then I also remembered that I don’t actually care about American football and felt better.

-It's starting to get hot again. Not like before, obviously, but it's starting. Brace yourselves for my whining. And perhaps requests for sunscreen....

Love you all. Talk to you soon!

Hermana Anderson

(Untitled)

January 12, 2015

¡Hola!

How's it going? Good? Good. Glad to hear it. So, here's some stuff about my life this week:

Highlights:

-So, I brought this pair of shoes out here on the mission with me and a few months after I got here I asked my parents to send me a few more of the same kind. Well, they finally arrived (four months after my parents sent the package) and I realized that my shoes have changed a little bit in my time here as a missionary:

I honestly can’t believe they are the same shoes.

-I have to do things to try to keep my toes warm in the morning so I can focus on my studies. Things like wear super-cool Frida Kahlo socks with my Toms. (Thank you Aunt Stephanie!!)

-OK, so I forgot to tell you all last week, but we had transfers! I am still here rocking it in Del Valle, but I have a new companion, Hermana Siza! She's 21 and from Peru. She has been on her mission for about four months. (She actually came here with my last Peruvian companion, Hermana Gonzales.) 

-It was funny, because, naturally, I have to introduce her to everyone, but since her last name is not Mexican it's hard for some people to pronounce. SO … the other night someone said, "Wait, what's your last name? Suzy?" Well, I guess that sometimes her last name is hard for her too, because she said, "No, it's Sassy! Wait, no, Siza!!"

-Things I hear here I have never heard in the US: "So when do you start school?" "I dunno." You what??

-That awful moment when you ask the lady who works at the cyber café to help you get sound on your computer (so that you can pick new churchy music, naturally) and to test the sound she goes to YouTube and picks the new Taylor Swift video. Urg.

 

Alrighty. I love you lots. Have a wonderful week; can't wait to hear from you next Monday :)

Hna Anderson

Here We Go

January 5, 2015

 

Hello!

Well, happy 2015!! It's weird and freaky to think that this year I will come home.

I hope you all had a fun (and safe) New Years. My companion ate some bad chicken that day so she got sick and went to bed early. So I did the area book, looked at the sky a little bit, and also went to bed early. Woo.

 

Highlights from last week:

-We were crossing the street when a couple and their son approached us to ask where the church was. They told us that they were new and in order to find out when and where church is they decided, and I quote, "to look for elders because they'll know." Whatever works works, I guess.

-Fun cultural differences: Church Christmas activities that are supposed to start at 7:30 but don't really start until 8:45.

-Want to make yourself nervous? Sing an English solo in front of a cultural hall full of Mexicans 15 minutes before you have to be in your house for the night. We signed up to participate in the talent show for the Christmas activity, but since they started super-duper late it was...a bit stressful. But it turned out great: one girl thought that we were a CD, and we made people cry. The good happy cry.

-People here have once again started to try to guess where I am from. One asked if I was from Canada, "because I just look Canadian." But there was this other guy on the bus that came over and asked "Excuse me, are you Mexican?" "No, I'm not. (OK; how do I turn this into a contact?)" "Are you European? Because you look German, or French." "No, I'm American (here we go), and I'm a missionary." "Oh, that's good. OK here's my stop bye." "(NO! I can't contact you if you leave!)"

-Winter is here. While it's got nothing on Colorado, I keep getting cold. And I now wear the coat that I didn't think I would touch until my return flight.

Highlights from this week:

-I'm pretty sure that in only a Latin culture will a man have the same name as his mother. We went to go find a former investigator named Jesus Acosta. We get there and start talking to a man at the address named Jesus Acosta. We asked him about when he talked with the missionaries before. He says he hasn't talked with us before – other curches but not ours. Then a little bit later he says, "OH! It's because my mom's name is also Jesus Acosta." Jesus, Maria, and Guadalupe are all unisex names here.

-That really funny moment when you are in your zone meeting and the sister in her first transfer calls you Hermana Dallyn. This was because she wanted to tell me that she read my blog before she came and I guess my first name stuck with her. I laughed.

-This week, when we were talking to an investigator and I told her I was from the U.S., she was surprised. When I asked her where she thought I was from she said Chihuahua. That's a really cool thing, because a lot of the Mexicans from Chihuahua look American. So basically she thought I was Mexican because of my Spanish.

Like a Boss.

 

OK; my fingers are tired. I wanted to add more pictures, but my camera ran out of battery. So I'll send them next week.

Love you all and have a wonderful week!!

 

Hna Anderson

Fast Away the Old Year Passes

December 29, 2014

Hello!

 

Well, as you all know, 'twas Christmas last week, and this week begins the New Year!

 

OK, because I had a few largish emails to write this week and my beloved computer doesn’t want to add photos, I am going to wait until next week to send everything.

 

Love you all. Have a splendid New Year’s celebration!

 

Hna Anderson

 

P.S. Do a little dance for me at midnight since I will be sound asleep in my bed