Friday, February 29, 2008

MTC letter #3



Hey, what’s up? Everything is still good. The days are going by fast. I can’t believe it’s already been three weeks. The weather here is getting better, the sun has been out for the past few days. Yesterday me and Davis went outside and just sat on a bench. It felt so good. I bought this Book of Mormon picture story book like little kids have, but it’s in French so I guess that helps. I guess when all the snow melts they will let us go outside for gym, that’s cool. We have had a few speak your language days which have gone pretty well. It’s a lot like a normal day just without as many story telling an jokes and our study times goes a lot quieter. I guess that’s ok, though. Geez, yesterday we had from 12:00 until 7:05 without a teacher; it felt like it dragged on forever. I ended up falling asleep at my desk. You will be glad to hear I went and did the photo thing but I can’t pick them up until Monday so I’ll send those. Tell Dad I somehow figured out the panoramic without the manual-haha. I got a cool one of our classroom and our room or residence as they say. We got to wash clothes today. It went okay. It as a madhouse with little Chinese people walking around everywhere. I guess they have the time before us. We teach people in the TRC on Wednesdays. We had to teach the second lesson for the first time. It went ok, I guess. It was a little weird cause we were teaching Frere Collette’s sister and his roommate so I guess he knows if we did good or not. He watches on camera but he doesn’t see the hole thing cause he has to switch back and forth from the other companionships in our district. We’re going to the temple today at 12:50 so that’s cool. We might eat in the cafeteria there. The food here is kinda going like the galley did at BYUI; it’s good food and all but after awhile it just all tastes the same and you can tell it’s cafeteria food. But whatever, I’ve still been eating healthy and working out a lot. It’s kinda the highlight of the day. It feels really good just to have something other than just sit in a desk. We have just beenworking on all the tenses a lot. It seems to help. I was talking to this guy in the bookstore from Quebec and I pretty much understood everything he said. The guy at the TRC the other day though was just speaking like this mumbled Canadian French and me and Davis had no idea what he was saying. Before we teach we have to go through some scenario with somebody in French. The first few times we just knowcked on doors which wasn’t too b ad. But this time we had to get them to walk to a bus stop and then talk to them on the bus ride to church. They said it was gonna be seven minutes but it felt like 20. He would say something but we wouldn’t know what so we would just ask him another question. It was kinda funny. Oh, yesterday we had some free class time with Frere Fox. He served in Toulouse so he was giving us a lesson all all their cheeses. It’s pretty weird, he said they eat a lot of it and some is good but some is just really bad with a really strong taste. He said that he bit into one once and it tasted like he just took a big bit of sunscreen. Haha That’s gonna suck. He said he ate a lot of oysters. I guess that’s not too bad and he said he had the snails. I have no clue how to spell escargot. That might be right. He said they aren’t too bad. You don’t hav to chew them if you don’t want to, kind of like the oysters. Then there is one kind of cheese so when they cut it, they cut little slices so there is just a little chunk of meat from the worm. That’s sick. Then he said a lot of the cheese has mold on it but that’s kina what cheese is anyway, right? I don’t really know. This Tuesday everyone was getting all excited for an apostle but it was another boring guy from the 70. They said it’s been like seven weeks which is longer than normal so maybe sometime soon. I guess with President Hinckley that could have messed some things up. They give us the Church News every Sunday which is like all the outside information we get. Ahh My friend from Idaho came in Wednesday, Andrew van Woerkom. I don’t think you know who he is but that’s pretty exciting. He is learning Spanish for Ventura, California so he will be here for as long as me. I would really like some kind of weekly NASCAR report. That would really make me happy. I heard that Johnson spun out at Daytona, that stinks but whatever. I also caught wind today that Shaq went to the Suns and the Mavericks got Jason Kid; that’s good stuff. I’ve found that the MTC revolves around ties so if you wanted to send me one every now and then that would be great. I know I have a blue striped on at home somewhere that I couldn’t find, if that one shows up I would like to have it or just whatever other ones you fund, ugly or not it doesn’t really matter. And my money clip thing, you said you would talk to Alex. Cool, just make sure it’s the one like I gave Evan. I guess that’s all I have to say. Keep sending the dear elders. Tell Ivy that Mocha will be better if you just pick her up. She is often mad when woken up or after she’s been left alone for awhile. Just pick up her tail and she will be in a better mood. Also that if you kinda direct her head to the mouse she will probably eat it. I never had any problems and I was feeding her like almost twice a week. OK, later! Love Taylor

Friday, February 22, 2008

MTC letter #2


Hey, what’s up? Nothing much here. Just still going to a lot of classes and learning French. I didn’t tell you last time but our two teachers are scheduled to both work 20 hours a week so that’s a lot of learning. But we still have so much mdt (missionary directed time). Yesterday we didn’t have a teacher from lunch to dinner so for five hours we just sat in the classroom which isn’t that bad, I guess. We still learned a lot on our own but it’s kind of boring. I try not to fall asleep but it’s pretty hard some times especially waking up at 6:30. I’m getting used to it though. I guess my letter I sent y’all isn’t gonna make it. I sent it like two weeks ago. For the questions, tell Evan I have no idea where those controllers are. I looked everywhere for them and all I could fins was the Madcats one and it’s at the Lovelace’s and it sucks anyway. W have SYL days or “speak your language” but we haven’t gone a full day yet. Just like in the evening or something. I am learning a lot though. I can pretty much say anything I want, I just have to think about it. Sometimes it’s not real natural yet. We have been working a lot to learn all the tenses which is cool. I know them pretty well but there is a lot of different verb forms you have to know but I’m learning them. I’ve been taking pictures and there is a place in the bookstore to pring them up so I’ll try to get y’all some of my district and stuff. I still haven’t gotten the thing you sent me. I guess I don’t have as much to say as I did last week. We pretty much do the same thing every day, wake up and study. On Sunday and Tuesday nights we have big devotionals. The two guys from the 70 so far have been James Dunn and some other guy with a really long German name. I’m sure they are great guys and all but those were the two most boring talks I have heard in my life. The Sunday ones seem to be a little bit better or they have so far anyway. Our district is a lot of fun. My companion (or collegue de missionaire- the word companion is taken the wrong way in France) is really good. I don’t really need Krispy Cream doughnuts but if you really want to send them our district can eat them. I just realized that I don’t know anybody’s birthdays so maybe mail me a list of those. Um, if you want to make me really happyyou can go to the golf course and buy a money clip just like the one I gave Evan. I don’t like to carry my wallet and I need a few cards for meals and a little bit of money. It’s like $25 but get Alex to buyit with the employee discount for like $14. I really want that. Everything else is going really good. You’re right about the accent. It’s gonna be weird. Frere Collette is from Canado so his accent is a lot harder to understand than Frere Fox. I have to really listen when he talks or I don’t understand any of it. If you send this to people, make sure to take all the stupid stuff out. I guess you are at your scrapbooking thing so have fun with that. I guess I’m gonna go but get that money clip and send me. I haven’t spent any money here at all. I used my debit card once just to make sure it worked cause last time I didn’t use it they turned it off. I’m getting a hair cut today, that’s exciting. We’re going to the temple at 12:50 today so that’s cool. I’m about to go eat at 12:00. Try to respond with dear elders so I don’t spend my time reading emails on my 30 minutes of computer time. OK, see y’all, Bye!
Taylor

Friday, February 15, 2008

MTC Letter #1


Hey, what’s up? I finally get to email. I’ve waited forever it seems like. You should get a letter. I sent it Monday. I figured it would have been there by now. I got your package. Thanks for that and I really like the “dear elder” messages, they are cool to get. They normally pass them out at dinner. I saw Matt S. yesterday for the first time so that was cool. He seemed to be doing great. Today is our p-day so we should go to the temple later I guess. I’ll try to send a picture of our district- we are 45-B. We are all cool. I think I like our district a lot better than all the other French speaking guys that came in at the same time as us. More French people won’t come until like three weeks from now when our zone leaders leave. We had to teach people at the TRC the other day. It was kind of cool and we do that every Wednesday. My companion is Elder Davis. He’s from Tremonton, Utah, somewhere up by Idaho. I told him that’s where you served your mission so you might know where that’s at. We have 3 sisters and 6 guys that we have class with and we spend so much time together. Me, Davis, Elder Moon and Elder Wright live in the same room. Then the guy from Louisiana is Elder Lundberg, then he is with Elder Scott from California and he keeps us all sane in the classroom. He is the funniest guy ever. There is also Sister Oliver from England so it’s cool to talk to her, too. She knows quite a bit of French. Then we have two teachers, Frere or Brother Collette and Frere Fox. I like them both a lot. Fox went to Toulouse and Collette went to Canada on a mission and lived in France so they are both amazing at speaking the language. We’re learning a lot. I feel like I know so much more than a week ago and the days are going by really fast. The guys that have been here for 5weeks are really ready to get out of here, though. I’m sure we will be feeling the same way soon. The food is pretty good and gym is good, it’s something to look forward to. Anyways, we go like five times a week. Surprisingly, I have been writing in the journal Sis. Walledom got me. I didn’t think I was gonna but I am. Oh, if you got my letter it said to send my reef sandals. Also send me four pair of boxers for the gym. Try to send them soon. Other than that, I’m doing good! I’ll try to write and send some pics and I should be able to email every Friday. Tell Evan to keep working out and tell Whitney to send me something. I guess that’s it.
Love y’all, Taylor