April 21st email

Hi! Well it's about 3:30 PM here, Monday...the time that we email varies but it's usually after 12:00 because in the morning we do regular study etc. butit just depends. I think it's only 14 hours now because of day light savingsthere in Utah...it was fifteen before. That's what Sister Nielsen was saying anyway. She is about to go home, and did I tell you about her accent? She said that she can't tell she has one but it's really easy to tell and she said last time she talked to her family they could tell. I don't really feel like I'll get an accent...I'll just have the way I speak in English and the wayI speak in Tagalog, but we'll see. I think we had a little bit of rain yesterday, but none today. Manila is a ways from us so they probably do have it there. 90 could be right, but it feels more like 100 plus but mostly because we sweat so much. The baby powder habit is the funniest...I'm always rubbing it on my face now :) The things that I eat really aren't that interesting...they just are what they are. They do eat some interesting things, but I've thus far avoided it and the few people we eat with Sister Mabalot has jokingly informed that I can't stomach anything so they tease me about eating their isda "fish" and I avoid looking at the staring eyes as they all tear pieces off of it. I eat a lot of bananas, they have them everwhere and it's good for breakfast. I also bought some oats because the doctor told us to eat oats to stay healthy and I'll have that in the morning. We eat a lot of rice, it's like a filler and then I eat gulay, vegetables that is...carrots oh and a new favorite that they don't have in America (not that I know of anyway) which is sayote, green beans, red peppers. Eating really isn't for enjoyment for me anymore, it's simply to stay alive :) Haha... Iguess that means in a package I woud probably enjoy some kind of enjoyable and healthy food. I never realized how health crazy I am about some things...not about others I ate plenty of unhealthy things like when we would buy pizza etc. or lot sof ice cream but really I was a rather healthy person.

Ati Ludy made us a soup the other night...milk and cabbage and hot dogs and beans and carrots maybe? They all really like hot dogs also and they'll feed you some scrambled eggs with a hot dog and rice. I finally ate some pinya (pineapple) good... I love the pineapple juice the most I always get that. I'm sorry if my diet is disappointing, haha...oh and if you send a package I would love more of that lotion stuff mom sent, the tinted kind. I don't know where she got it or if she could get more of it but I was a fan, it works well here for me but it's almost gone, in part because it exploded on the plane and is just a mess in a bag now that I keep trying to use because I like it. Hmmm, I can't really think of things I would like...I don't really need things I suppose. I realized the other day that I am okay with giving things up, but i'm an all or nothing person about some things. I miss dancing and going to plays or concerts and my friends and school and my singles ward and family events etc. But, I'm okay with giving them up entirely, music, television, movies and focusing entirely on what I'm doing here except there are forces against me! Haha, I think I was sent to a mission where I happen to expect more of myself than anyone else, more than the members and my companion and other missionaries etc. I want to be really dedicated and use all our time really well though because that's what I'm giving this time for, that's why I gave up those other things...I didn't come here to take part in them or talk about them all the time and I need to do that or I won't learn the language. I'm trudging forward day by day and learning that I am more impatient with myself than I really knew! Haha...patience patience, everyone else seems to eventually learn the language so I'm sure I eventually can also. I'm glad to hear what you said about being go-getters or whatever you said specifically. Not being able to speak makes me have to take the back-seat in a way and things aren't always done how I want them to be but it's a good part to play while I learn.

I'm going to send this now and respond in a different email to the other emails so I can review them again. Bye!