It's been a while since I wrote a blog post myself. I think the last time I wrote one was before I got into quarantine, and before I knew what my travel plans were, is that correct? Quite a few things have happened since then, so let me see if I can catch you up. I believe my parents/lovely and wonderful sister kept you updated without me, but I have no idea how...perhaps just a note saying I'm in quarantine?
I would have LOVED to provide pictures at this point (I now have the ability to access my camera on this computer) but unfortunately I didn't bring the cable to hook my camera up. You shall have to deal with yet another wall of text, sorry! Hopefully my rather random 'Thoughts of the Week' are still updating and providing the occasional image.
Before I offer the massive 3 week update, I have a few quick notes. I tried to set up forwarding so that all my other e-mail accounts would forward to this one, and I found myself utterly unsuccessful. Gmail will allow you to forward to other Gmail accounts, but does not automatically forward to an account outside of Gmail. If you would like to contact me, you'll have to either send a letter or e-mail directly to this myldsmail.net account. It's my first initial and my last name @ myldsmail.net.
Now then, who wants to find out what missionary life is like?
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It's hard. But not hard in the ways that I thought, and I'm certain (REALLY certain) that I'm only scratching the surface right now. I had thought that it would be physically taxing in that our throats would be sore from all the teaching and we'd be catching pneumonia from being in the baptismal water all the time (Holland's joke, bwa ha ha). Missions are more taxing in that you have to deal with mounds of rejection. AND a ton of walking, but we fixed that by biking. We do a lot of biking, but I enjoy it currently and I'll enjoy it more when I have my own bike.
But let's start from the beginning, shall we? It's a very good place to start.
Firstly, I was quarantined. This was very relaxing in some ways but mostly the dullest thing I have ever done. Good grief, I have never been so bored, and I became rather homesick for my little electronic devices that I usually use to get through the day. But I got over it, and I even got to meet two other roommates (sick people don't make the best conversationalists, but we made do), one the first day I was there and one the day before I left. It was good times. I was very grateful to get out of there, though.
I believe I discussed the food with my parents, but I'll make a note here. I don't mind putting up with cafeteria food, but it does get a little old. It's frustrating to not be able to choose what you put into your body. I become thoroughly sick of meat within 2 weeks, although I'm by no means vegetarian. I did survive on a diet of fruit and veggies so far as possible, though. I would still eat meat on the days when they had Teriyaki Stix or the BYU equivalent of Winger's Sticky Fingers (SO GOOD). The main issue I have with cafeteria food is the dishes. The dishes were frequently dirty. As in, globs of food stuck to the plate or fork. This is gross. What made it worse is you couldn't trust the dishes that look clean after a while--what if they weren't sanitary? The stress builds up and you find yourself hating the food. Sorry that I talk about food a lot, but it was something I noticed. Should you have any other friends or family in the MTC, send them some Cup of Ramen, or something! They will love you.
I certainly LOVED all the packages and letters I received. I fully expect that to wind down and stop now that I'm in another country, but let me tell you how much I appreciated your support. I've kept every letter and I read them more than once (to answer your question, Mom). I also LOVED those letters that included photos. I would love to have a picture of every single friend and family member, and we have little photo books that we show investigators. I feel rather naked without one.
Well, anyway, I get distracted easily. So, I got out of quarantine. The first piece of news I receive was that my VISA was cleared and I was free to leave Monday. Sweet! I spend most of that day (Friday) doing laundry as I was quarantined on Monday and we do laundry on Tuesdays, so my stuff was pretty dang gross. I don't think I have ever been so grateful for clean clothes, and I had a lot more sympathy for people that don't always have clean clothes with them...
Nothing else super amazing happened until Monday. Our zone (the missionaries going to Japan) had shrunk tremendously, and there were only 8 of us on Sunday. Weeeeeird.
Monday morning I woke up at 4:22 and got ready to get on to 5:00 am bus. What a blast that was! I had awesome suitcases so I was perfectly at 50 lbs on both and didn't have to repack at all. I just got my travel plans, got on the bus, and was off to the airport! A sister I met in the shower (Weston?) sat next to me. Her Uncle makes rich and amazing Canadian chocolate. I tried to set up a candy trade but couldn't get it underway fast enough, so she'll just get to enjoy all that sweet awesome chocolate while she's in Canada.
I made a lot of friends at the MTC ('The Pre-Existence'), and I suspect that I will maintain contact with 4 of them. They were all awesome peeps.
Well, I got to the airport and was a little jostled to find that people can be curt. Ah, right, I'd been spending 6 weeks in the MTC. Okay. I checked in without a hitch, got through security (he x-rayed my bag 7 times but never actually spoke to me. Bizarre) and was 3 hours early for my flight. I got to call Mumandad and had a lovely conversation while I hacked out my lungs. I was feeling great, but I STILL have a cough. I sat next to an older couple while I was waiting for my flight (I feel very uncomfortable sitting alone...I had no companion while traveling and it was rather odd feeling) and soon the time came and I clambered aboard. I always needed help with my carry-on; it had all my many books and was ridiculously heavy for its size. People are so nice when you are traveling!
The flight to LA took longer than I wanted it to, but soon I arrived. I had another couple hours to kill before my next flight, so I chatted with some older Japanese people returning home to Osaka, and met a gentleman who was headed to Manila (sp?) for the umpteenth time to chase the gal he fancied. He taught me a lot about airplanes--he makes airplane parts. I got super excited for the new airplanes coming out; smaller and more fuel efficient. That should be nice.
And finally, the flight to Tokyo! For those of you who aren't aware, we weren't allowed any music or movies in the MTC. Well, duh on the movies, but the music thing was sad. (Future missionaries: MTC rules do NOT equal mission rules. You may still be able to bring a music player. Tokyo allows music that is 'Sunday appropriate and by an LDS artist') Since I had not arrived at my mission yet, these rules still applied. This meant no movies on the plane. Well, if we each had our own screen this would not have been an issue, but unfortunately the plane only had one screen, and it was RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I watched scenes of movies (my neck is still stiff so I couldn't really look down) whenever I wasn't writing, reading, or sleeping.
That flight was long and miserable, but totally worth it. I was so excited when we touched down. I said quick farewells to the wonderfully cheerful Vietnamese couple sitting next to me, waved goodbye to the two Utahns that recognized my badge and wished them luck in China for the arts festival, grabbed my sickeningly heavy bag and dashed off the plane.
The first thing I did in the airport was adjust my face and brush my teeth. First impressions, you know? I grabbed my bags and headed out to meet my cheerful mission president.
I went through customs and headed out to meet my cheerful mission president.
I arrived at the arrival lounge and looked for my cheerful mission president.
There was no cheerful mission president.
I would have settled for a mission president, but I got no one at all. I wandered around the airport for a bit, idly wondering if the MTC even told them I was coming. Well, there was no point in sitting around, so I headed for the payphones. On the way there a Japanese woman stopped me and asked, 'Are you coming or going?' I didn't understand her at first, but then replied that I had just arrived. I asked if she needed help or anything (honestly I thought she was about to sell me something) when she responded that she was a member, and she was wondering why there was a missionary all alone.
A member! I explained my situation to her and she took me over to two other members, who were actually Americans, and her family. I explained my situation again. They gave me a cell phone and I called the Honbu (Mission Office/HQ). I think it went something like this:
'Moshi moshi Tokyo Honbu desu.' -Hello, this is the Tokyo HQ.
'Moshi moshi. Ano, Watashi wa C desu kedo.' -Hello, this is -my name-.
'Oh, Sister C! How are you?'
'I'm doing great. I'm actually at the Tokyo airport, and--'
'You are WHERE?!'
So, one heart attack, two transfers and a mission president later, some Elders were sent to pick me up. ...yeah, so, the MTC forgot to tell my mission I was coming.
I thought it was pretty funny, but they certainly didn't. It did mean a few problems, but by the time I got to the HQ I had a companion and a proselytizing area and everything. Good times.
My first day was mostly training, but the local sisters took me with them for some fun times. I thought I'd go housing, but they actually had 3 teaching appointments that day, so I got to invite someone to baptism, teach the first lesson, and teach the second lesson in Japanese. Good times, good times. It was such a blast!
My second day I met my companion: Sister Campos. She is from Las Vegas, and she sings Opera. She is AWESOME. I was a little scared that she'd be wanpaku (I don't think there's a translation for this, but it basically means bad missionary, disobedient, trunkie, etc.), or that she'd be super strict, but she turned out to be a little like me and Shana mixed up and turned into an awesome trainer. She was really nervous about being a trainer, but after our second day she told me that I acted just like all her other companions, and she didn't feel like I was a bean-chan ('Green Bean,' new missionary) at all. Best compliment ever.
My bike is on its way, and I've taught two lessons with Sister Campos thus far. It's a little less teaching than I'd hoped for, but we're working hard and doing our best here.
Oh! Isshi-kun is probably gonna freak out at this, but I want to rub it in. Guess where my first area is?
Shibuya.
The busiest area in Tokyo, arguably. This is where Scramble Crossing is. In fact, we go through Scramble Crossing on the way to our apartment--which is HUGE. Please look up Scramble Crossing, or just believe me when I say that I think it's the biggest/busiest intersection in the world, or something. Editor's note: Click here to watch a YouTube clip of Scramble Crossing in Shibuya.
I am loving my mission, and I love the members here. They are unbelievable nice to missionaries.
Go invite the missionaries over to your house! Give them food! They need food, both in their bellies and in canned/packaged form. But most importantly, invite any friends you might have that aren't members, and make sure they know that missionaries will be there. I crave opportunities to teach, and I bet they do too!
This post has become obscenely long, so I am gonna close it here, for now. I haven't given too many details about my apartment (it's big), the other two Sisters I'm living with (they are interesting), Sister Disney (she plays Disney Princesses in the parades and sings a lot, I could write a whole post about her but I want pictures for it) or my daily routine, but there are other weeks and other times.
I'm loving my mission and learning why Japanese people hate the rain. Try riding a bike in the rain in a skirt and you'll understand too.
I love you all, and I hope you won't totally forget about me! Letters make joy!
