02.07.10

Hi everyone!

I am in Quetzaltenango! wow! I can hardly believe it. I really do love it here...there is a lot to get used to though! The first day that I was here was a little rough. My companion has been in the field for four months, and is my trainer. Her name is Hermana Olsen, she is really great. However, we were put in a new area...and so she didn´t have an idea of how to start. . . and I am not really sure how to start either...but, we got it figured out! Kinda, lol. The area I am in is called Las Flores...it is HUGE. seriously, it is gigantic area. The people are nice too. The first day here we hiked up a mountain. literally. twice. The first time, we got up and a member that was showing us the area pointed to the house and said this is the mission leaders house, and the bishops is ¨mas arriba (higher¨´ I just about died...but we didn´t go to it. And then. . . we went back down and for lunch we were told the bishop was feeding us so...we had to hike all the way to the top again! I just about died. Sitting in a classroom for 2 months didn´t prepare me for mountain climbing. ha.

Anyway, we are meeting some great people! This one lady, an investigator, her name is Catalina. Total sweetheart. Well, yesterday we went in to teach her and she said she was making tortillas, we offered to help. Ha. By help, i mean i provided humor for her because of my lack of ability to make the tortillas. I would hold it up and she would say ötra vez¨ again. So I would start over, finally i got one and she said ¨mas'o menos´so'so. Good enough for me! Not my talent apparently.

My apartment. It is nice! hehe. I will send some pictures hopefully. My favorite part is that you flush the toilet with a shoe string, the hermanas before us warned us that the shower sometimes shocks us....oh! I think you just emailed me! Um...My kitchen is a little camp stove thing and a small fridge....My sink and washing machine is a pila (wash basin). This means...hand wash mi ropa (my clothes)! I am going to give that a go today!


Oh, so here, you shake the hands of males and kiss the cheeks of females. Well, at one members house i shook the hand of the guy and like the american in my stuck out my hand for the girl. She looked at me so confused her expression said ¨what, did you think i was a ¨guy¨ Anyway, it was pretty funny.
Presient Lorenzana is great, he is really helpful...and nice. I have seen a lot of him in the last few days! Anyways, this is all that I remember! I love you all so much!
love, Hermana Otto