I left the MTC at 4am last Thursday, driven in a minivan to the Salt Lake City airport for a flight at 8:30 -we had a flight plan change so instead of going to Chicago and Miami, we ended up flying through Dallas, Puerto Rico, and then to the Dominican Republic. I took some Dramamine on the flight to help me sleep, especially since I ended up sitting next to my companion, Elder Lopez, on all the flights anyway. In Dallas we got some food and I could have sworn the guy sitting at the table behind us in the airport was Ludacris, but I guess I'll never be sure.
We got to the DR after midnight, but even then after getting out of customs and security, we were hit by a wall of humidity - it was crazy. We didn't see anyone in white shirts and ties or anything so we walked around a bit until a chubby native ran up and started saying something about the CCM, so we followed him. As he was loading our luggage into (and onto) the van, I realized it looked like a taxi and I thought we got ourselves caught up in the middle of something, (the worst case scenario kept running through my head and I was going back and forth between whether he was going to hold us hostage or just charge us hundreds of dollars for the ride) but like usual, it was an over-reaction. He was a member, and drove us about a half hour to the Santo Domingo Temple, where the CCM is. It was dark, and I couldn't see much, but it was hot, and everyone here likes to honk their horns a lot. We went into the building where they had some sandwiches in the fidge for us. We ate quietly in the dark cafeteria. He gave us each one water bottle and told us we would only get one a week before taking us up to the fourth floor to find our rooms. Elder Lopez and I ended up still being companions with only us two in a 4 person room, but the others got mixed up with the other missionaries. I realized we weren't in Kansas anymore when I turned on the sink and brown water came out and when I felt (and smelled) my damp, musty sheets. The next day we found out all the missionaries in the CCM were new, and we were the last ones to get in that day (it was almost 2 a.m. before we got to bed).
This is definitely not the US. The people are really nice, but everyone talks really fast and hardly move their lips so it's kind of like listening to the humming of a car, and we're supposed to understand it. If I thought the MTC was stressful, this took it to a whole new level. Although we only have 6 elders in our district, and Elder Lopez is our district leader, no time is wasted since all the rooms and classrooms and... everything except the cafeteria, are on the same floor - my room is literally one door down from my classroom (I guess it beats running back and forth across the MTC campus). There is much more emphasis on the Spanish, and none of the teachers will really talk any English to you, so it gets frustrating a lot - the dictionary is my best friend. For the first few days I was actually pretty homesick... for the MTC actually, for my old district and stuff, but this is definitely a new experience and a lot of fun, and hard work. It rains every day, lizards are everywhere outside, and the lights go out 4 or 5 times a day, but the building itself feels like we could be in Provo, I forget sometimes that I'm in the middle of the Carribean. The Temple is really close though, and I was able to do Baptisms and Confirmations for the Dead last week, which was really cool to finally be able to do, and today I did an Endowment session. The Temple is beautiful, all Brazillian granite. Mail also takes 2 weeks to get here, so the letter you sent to be here when I arrived actually got here a week after I got here, so I'll be sending my letters through the pouch system. The food here is AMAZING, i never thought rice and beans could be so good, every day, but it gets me every time. Plus there's all I can eat of mango, papaya, and their meat is awesome - it's just good food. Be careful though, all 38 of us found out the hard way what happens when you eat too much rice every day, not a good thing. It's also pretty heavy food; I've gained a couple pounds since I've gotten here. They also cook really good hot dogs, I think they boil them with cabbage.
Tomorrow simulation where I teach the first lesson in Spanish, and Saturday we go to the the University here in Santo Domingo and talk with people, practicing Spanish and talking about the church. Because today is P-Day, we had a service project there picking up garbage, and I can honestly say I was started at for the first time because I am white - that was a bit of an awakening. The People here, however, are way nicer than Americans, and will actually talk to you... if only i could understand what they were saying. I can also say I've never sweat so much from just standing in the shade - its crazy, but it didn't bother me. The city is pretty crazy: broken telephone wires hanging in the street people and hanging out of cars and busses, but the trees and vegitation are amazing, I love the plant life here. One of these days they are taking us to the store to shop, and once I get my pesos (35 for every 1 dollar) I'll finally be able to get some cookies I've been craving.
The CCM president and his wife are great, I love Sister Perkins especially. She made us cookies, goes to the temple with us, and really cares about what we are doing. I have to say, we eat and study, and thats about it. We get about an hour some days to play basketball in the parking lot, but we try to be really focused and it's good. The work is hard, but it's also true. I know it, and that makes it all worth it.
Love you all.
- Elder Sellers
We got to the DR after midnight, but even then after getting out of customs and security, we were hit by a wall of humidity - it was crazy. We didn't see anyone in white shirts and ties or anything so we walked around a bit until a chubby native ran up and started saying something about the CCM, so we followed him. As he was loading our luggage into (and onto) the van, I realized it looked like a taxi and I thought we got ourselves caught up in the middle of something, (the worst case scenario kept running through my head and I was going back and forth between whether he was going to hold us hostage or just charge us hundreds of dollars for the ride) but like usual, it was an over-reaction. He was a member, and drove us about a half hour to the Santo Domingo Temple, where the CCM is. It was dark, and I couldn't see much, but it was hot, and everyone here likes to honk their horns a lot. We went into the building where they had some sandwiches in the fidge for us. We ate quietly in the dark cafeteria. He gave us each one water bottle and told us we would only get one a week before taking us up to the fourth floor to find our rooms. Elder Lopez and I ended up still being companions with only us two in a 4 person room, but the others got mixed up with the other missionaries. I realized we weren't in Kansas anymore when I turned on the sink and brown water came out and when I felt (and smelled) my damp, musty sheets. The next day we found out all the missionaries in the CCM were new, and we were the last ones to get in that day (it was almost 2 a.m. before we got to bed).
This is definitely not the US. The people are really nice, but everyone talks really fast and hardly move their lips so it's kind of like listening to the humming of a car, and we're supposed to understand it. If I thought the MTC was stressful, this took it to a whole new level. Although we only have 6 elders in our district, and Elder Lopez is our district leader, no time is wasted since all the rooms and classrooms and... everything except the cafeteria, are on the same floor - my room is literally one door down from my classroom (I guess it beats running back and forth across the MTC campus). There is much more emphasis on the Spanish, and none of the teachers will really talk any English to you, so it gets frustrating a lot - the dictionary is my best friend. For the first few days I was actually pretty homesick... for the MTC actually, for my old district and stuff, but this is definitely a new experience and a lot of fun, and hard work. It rains every day, lizards are everywhere outside, and the lights go out 4 or 5 times a day, but the building itself feels like we could be in Provo, I forget sometimes that I'm in the middle of the Carribean. The Temple is really close though, and I was able to do Baptisms and Confirmations for the Dead last week, which was really cool to finally be able to do, and today I did an Endowment session. The Temple is beautiful, all Brazillian granite. Mail also takes 2 weeks to get here, so the letter you sent to be here when I arrived actually got here a week after I got here, so I'll be sending my letters through the pouch system. The food here is AMAZING, i never thought rice and beans could be so good, every day, but it gets me every time. Plus there's all I can eat of mango, papaya, and their meat is awesome - it's just good food. Be careful though, all 38 of us found out the hard way what happens when you eat too much rice every day, not a good thing. It's also pretty heavy food; I've gained a couple pounds since I've gotten here. They also cook really good hot dogs, I think they boil them with cabbage.
Tomorrow simulation where I teach the first lesson in Spanish, and Saturday we go to the the University here in Santo Domingo and talk with people, practicing Spanish and talking about the church. Because today is P-Day, we had a service project there picking up garbage, and I can honestly say I was started at for the first time because I am white - that was a bit of an awakening. The People here, however, are way nicer than Americans, and will actually talk to you... if only i could understand what they were saying. I can also say I've never sweat so much from just standing in the shade - its crazy, but it didn't bother me. The city is pretty crazy: broken telephone wires hanging in the street people and hanging out of cars and busses, but the trees and vegitation are amazing, I love the plant life here. One of these days they are taking us to the store to shop, and once I get my pesos (35 for every 1 dollar) I'll finally be able to get some cookies I've been craving.
The CCM president and his wife are great, I love Sister Perkins especially. She made us cookies, goes to the temple with us, and really cares about what we are doing. I have to say, we eat and study, and thats about it. We get about an hour some days to play basketball in the parking lot, but we try to be really focused and it's good. The work is hard, but it's also true. I know it, and that makes it all worth it.
Love you all.
- Elder Sellers
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