July 18, 2013

 

Hola! 

 

to start off, know that i am using a spanish keyboard, so i dont quite know how to capitalize and stuff.  

 

so, everything has been so good.  immediately following leaving you, i linked right up with elder smith.  it was really nice to have someone there to walk to the gate with.  we both did great and we met up with some other elders going to las vegas for visas then mexico later.  It was great to talk with them and as we waited, five more elders came who were also going to Piura.  We are all really good friends already and it was fun to be with them.  Our flight was delayed, but only for an hour and a half, so we were good because of our long layover in LAX.  In LAX our flight was packed with 25 or more elders.  

 

I sat with elder Holmes (a SBO from bingham) and elder jones from Wyoming.  we had a great time, but we did not even sleep because we talked for such a long time.  Elder Holmes and I were able to hand out two BoM´s and we really clicked.  I hope we get some time as compañeros in the future.  The airline had good food, awesome service, and little ipads with games on them.  We played games together like chess and battleship which was really fun.   When we landed it was really really late.  It was one in the morning and we were all really tired.  We actually got all of our stuff, and had no problem getting into the country. We loaded onto two huge buses and then drove through Lima to the MTC which is about 45 minutes.  It was the middle of the night, but i just watched out the window the whole time.  So cool. 

 

We got to the CCM and were assigned our companions and our rooms.  I was paired with Elder Wilkinson who is from Los Angeles.  He is a really cool guy and will be serving in Santa Cruz Bolivia.  He is a year older than me, and he studied guitar at Berkeley College of Music in Boston (where John Mayer went, BTW).  Him and I really get a long well and we are having such a great time.  we both have no clue  what is going on with the spanish, but we love talking to the janitors and hispanic elders (or at least the ones that won´t make too much fun of us :).  We are paired with four other native elders whom I really like and talked to for like 10 minutes this morning.  We haven't had any classes yet, but I have already learned so much Spanish because we are so lost in it that we need to get as much from it as possible.  

 

I exchanged my money today, which was cool, and I got my name tag as well.  Which rocks, I'll try to send some pics.  Elder Wilkinson and I had a party with the tags.  The weather here is really really cloudy and misty all day. Its really humid, but not really that cold.  Probalby like Canon Beach or so.  The CCM is really beautiful, when you get within the huge intimidating walls.  The outskirts of it look like a prison.  Especially the bball courts, but the rooms and courtyard is awesome.  The food this morning was great.  We had eggs, bacon, yogurt (like barely solidified milk), some pineapple orange juice, and this nasty chocolate drink.  It was like the consistency of cream of wheat, was mildly warm, and tasted of rotten not even semi sweet chocolate that had been in a cupboard for the longest time.  I considered it a test of will power, so I drank it...somehow.  My companion saw, so he chugged it as well.  So we are a pretty willful companionship.

 

Funny story time, we went to take showers this morning, so I tried to balance the water, but it was so tempermental.  It would switch from frigid water from the glacier to ancient incan lava summond up from the Incan Gods.  It switched quickly when I was in it and I actually got burned on my shoulder.  I looked like I had been in the sun all day.  It was fried!  So funny.  Its better now!

 

Sorry, but I am running out of time.  I can´t wait to start with the language because we got like 50 lbs of learning material.  Please know that I am doing great here, and know that I love you.  I am so happy and can´t wait for what is next!

 

love you,

 

Elder Bradshaw

 

could you send this to Taylor, I can't figure out the at sign