Yo vivo!!!
(I Live!!!)
Im still weirded out that Im actually living in Argentin right now. What the what?
All-Nighter in The Airport
There were about 21 of us missionaries traveling from the MTC to Argentina. Lets just say we got to know each other reeeaaal well because our flight got delayed by like 10 freaking hours.
10
horas.
Because a handle broke on the plane
10 hours because of a handle
...
Pero, esta bien.
By the time we had our new tickets and everything sorted out, it was pretty late and our flight was early in the morning so the majority of us decided to stay awake the entire time so that we could sleep almost the entire flight there.
A few fun things happend:
Numero uno: Since we were traveling with so many other missionaries, Hermana Ahlmer and I werent always together. Our companionship was almost over and our time teaching together was over... BUT.
Something genial happened.
Makeup and the Restored Gospel
We were sitting down with the other missionaries in the terminal just talking when out of nowhere Hermana Ahlmer and I looked at each other and she said, "Wanna go get something to eat" and of course I said yes because duh, food. Before we left, I had a feeling that I needed to take my passport with me for safety reasons I guess.
So we looked around at the different places to eat in the airport but nothing really sounded good. But then I saw a makeup store and of course without even blinking an eye I walked straight inside.
We were the only ones in the store except for this lady who worked there and like two other customers. Pretty soon those people left and we were alone with the lady who worked there. Obviously our missionary appearance caught her attention and I had hardly glanced at the foundation before she started talking to us about religion.
She talked to us a lot about catholisim and her religious background and Jehovah Witnesses... We asked her what she knew about Mormons and we cleared up the fact that we are NOT pilgyamists... And pretty soon she asked, "So, how did your religion get started?" and Hermana Ahlmer and I looked at each other and said "wellllll we can tell you all about that."
And then it came to pass, that Hermana Davidson and her companion, who was her companion in the MTC, Hermana Ahlmer, taught the first lesson of the restoration of the gospel in the middle of a makeup store to a woman who was born in Costa Rica.
But we didnt teach in Spanish
It felt weird to be bearing my testimony in English haha.
The moment I started talking about the Book of Mormon I literally felt like a wall went up and she was just DONE listening and she wanted to close the shop for the night.
But I remembered that I had brought my passport in an envelope which had a pass along card in it which we gave to her.
She seemed super interested in what our church is about though.
I really hope she takes a look at it.
I was super grateful to have taught the restoration one final time with Hermana Ahlmer.
She is seriously the best!
Kids???
So after a couple of hours of sitting Hermana Ahlmer and I plus two other sisters got up and walked around. We came across a cute couple and barely said two words before I saw Hermana Ahlmer running away??? But then I realized that the cutest little girl had grabbed her hand and was showing her the chandlier in the airport (the georgian airport is the largest airport in the world)
And then her little brother who was like a year and half popped out of nowhere and started hugging me and smiling at me and I panicked for like 2.3 seconds.
I felt like a dear in the headlights because Im not supposed to hug kids.
But what was I going to do?
Push him away and tell him to get lost???
Noooo
So yeah I hugged a kid and it made my heart happy
A little while later while I was talking on the phone with my parents, the same little girl was looking through my things and of course, found my passport and ran off with it. It didnt even register in my mind that I had my identity stolen by a 4 year old because I was talking on the phone when Elder Schiess (who was sitting across from me and watched all of this happen) said, "Ummmm you probably shouldnt let kids play with your passport"
And then I realized he was right and so I got up and ran her down.
Luckily her parents were nearby and the were coming to give my passport back anyway haha.
Duck Dynasty
So by the time we were standing in line to scan our passports I was so tired I thought I was going to die. Ive only pulled 2 all nighters in my lifetime but this one counts as the third and I wasnt sure if I was happy about it.
I act like Im on laughing gas when Im extremely tired
So I was happy because idk
But I also wanted to cry because idk
The room was spinning and whenever I walked I was afraid I was going to pass out and or throw up.
It was a fun experience I swear.
But they were serving these chick-fil-a (gag) breakfast sandwiches at the front desk and I was so hungry I didnt care.
At least it wasnt MTC food ahem
So I went with Hermana Timm to get a sandwich and as we were passing the people still standing in line this red-neck guy stopped to us and immediately passive aggresively started bashing on Mormons. We cleared up again that no, we are not pylgamists, and no our families dont usually have 10 kids.
And then he kept rambling about some guy who was a Mormon who was his idol because he made guns to shoot birds and what not and judged us hardcore for being Mormons and not having a single clue who he was...
Hermana Timm was so nice and friendly about everything. I literally just sat back and ate my chick-fil-a sandwich and pretended that I was interested in the conversation.
His son and his friend looked so sorry for us. They all looked like they could be from Duck Dynasty and they were headed to Argentina for bird hunting.
Apparently thats a thing
And then I learned later from the Mission President that a lot of the birds here are endangered and I nearly fainted
"Is Your Hair Real?"
So Hermana Ahlmers hair gets a lot of attention haha. She was standing in line at Chick-fil-a to get something for dinner and she was talking on the phone with her parents when this cute african american girl with the deepest southern accent reached over and starterd touch Hermana Ahlmers hair.
"Im sorry but is your hair real. Can touch it?"
haha she was so loud that she was basically yelling into the phone. I wonder what Hermana Ahlmers family thought about that ha!
And then she saw our name tags in spanish and she said "I dont mean to sound ingnorant but yall from a America?"
haha I died!
¡Bienvenidos a Argentina!
So thankfully I slept almost the entire flight to Argentina. When we arrived to Buenos Aires, we stayed the night in a hotel. It was my last sleepover with Hermana Timm and Ahlmer :( But we stayed up almost the entire night laughing and talking and the next morning we went back to the airport and flew to Bahia Blanca.
There we met our cute Mission President and Wife, Presidente y Hermana Cifuentes.
And I got my new trainer!
Her name is Hermana Nomellini and I love her! Shes from California and goes to school and BYU-I which Im stoked about!
Also Josh guess what!
She has a brother named Josh too!
And her brother is serving in the Rome Italy mission!
Hermana Nomellini and I are basically the same person haha!
My first are is Miramar which is very close to Mar del Plata.
Later today we get to go to the beach!
First Impressions of Argentina
1. DOGS. Dogs are every where. In the streets, in yards, on the roofs, you name it. A dog is there. Bahia Blanca is population 2,563,233. Of dogs.
I am in dog heaven except I dont want to touch the icky ones
But seriously, Argentina loves their dogs.
Like there is a place to buy dog food on every corner and the people feed dogs off their porch like my Mom feeds birds.
So a lot of them are actually kind of fat
No dog goes hungry here haha
2. The birds sound evil here like the evil flying monkeys in the wizard of oz
3. Flowers bloom year round :)
4. The bread is waaaay good pray for me
5. The cookies are even better sos
6. Complete strangers will kiss you. (Watch out for the cute grandmas! They can give slobery ones or sometimes I walk away rubbing lipstick off my cheek haha)
7. Jaywalking is perfectly legal and its weird if you use the cross walks
8. People have really nice cars and tvs here but their houses are run down.. I dont get it haha
9. The either look Italian, German, or what you would expect a South American to look like. The ones who look Italian literally sound like they are speaking Spanish in an Italian accent and for some reason they are the easiest for me to understand
10. But I understand close to nothing haha
11. Everone has a motorcycle
12. Miramar reminds me a lot of Kona, Hawaii. Except its freaking cold here and people decorate their driveways with trash
13. Thankfully, the bus ride to Miramar was pretty first world, didnt smell indigineous, or have a single crate of chickens like I feared
14. Buenos Aires looked like Rome and Sacramento combined, South American style.
15. The bathrooms have budaes here
16. If people dont want to talk to you, they wont. You can be in the same car as them or look them straight in the eye and say hi and they will ignore you
17. But if they love you, they really love you. We are not allowed to eat with members and so we are sent home with all kinds of stuff. Store bought cookies, bags of flour, etc. They are super givey and they LOOOVE to talk. And the older they are, the more they have to say hah.
18. Some people live in houses that are really nice like what you and I have
19. Some people literally live in houses with dirt floors
20. Its perfectly normal to see tractors driving in the street, I feel like Im back in Lake Point
21. The most exoctic animal you can see are horses, pigs, and goats. Still feel like Im in Lake Point.
22. They put their trash in cages that are on a post like a mailbox
23. Or you can put your trash in the street in a dirt pile. Thats just as fine too
24. Mate looks like grass in a cup of water. No thank you please.
25. But even though Im still getting used to everything here... I LOVE ARGENTINA!!!!
Thats all I have time for this week...
LES AMO!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment