Elder Jackson Lee: McDonalds

June 6, 2016

Week 26: Xela Centro

Well, to start the update, I still have dengue...I will for a few weeks most likely. I have been able to leave and work some, but it is still causing some problems with working. I think it's making me lose weight, and I can't work out, and haven't been able to in a couple of weeks now because my joints and muscles always kill. Haha.

Well, I was very prepared to have my first Latino companion, seeing as my last companion Elder Ward has only had 2 gringo companions out of all 16 he's had. I knew my companion would finally be a latino, everyone did, like 100% chance. I got to changes in Xela (packing everything and riding a bus for hours while sick really sucks haha) where I found out my new area, and companion. I am now in Xela Centro, the center of the biggest city in the mission. (Everyone knew I'd be going there because there are hospitals and everyone who is really sick gets sent there.) And my new companion is Elder Ramos...gringo companion number 3! (4 if you count the MTC.) The same Elder Ramos that was my district leader back in Chiantla. A little about him: he is from California. I don't think he played any sports in high school, more of the quiet type. I get along with him really well, especially because we're already cuates. And he is also part of Elder Ward's group, so this is his last change in the mission, so in missionary terms, I am "killing" him.

This area is pretty cool. I have access to a lot of things. There is a McDonald's in our area, which is like gold here for the missionaries. haha.

I get a little worried that my Spanish won't be very good since I've only had gringo comps, but then I realize I can already pretty much converse like a normal person without thinking about it now. It's kinda funny, the first thing members ask me here is how long I've been in the mission, I tell them 6 months. Then they always ask if I'm from California, and I tell them no. So they say "so you must have family that speaks Spanish then. So I guess my Spanish isn't half bad if the natives here can't believe I can speak Spanish after 6 months without knowing it before the mission.

Thanks for the email, that's really all I have time for this week. Love you!

February 15, 2016

Week 10: Zaculeu Ruins

Hi! This week's emails were awesome...please keep them up. I love hearing that I'm still a topic of conversation around home. Haha!

I've decided that I want to keep a running list of all the foods I want to have at my homecoming (see sidebar). I want to make a bunch of authentic Guatemalan food that I eat here. It really is awesome.

Today is 4 out of 12 weeks of training down. I only feel like I've been in the field for a couple of days. This training change will end on April 19. I'm almost halfway there, and at that point there will only be another month until Mother's Day when we get to talk again. You guys need to figure out how to use Skype by then, haha! Also...at that point I will already have 6 months!!! <-- Look, I'm starting to apply Spanish grammar to my English now. -_- ...

I had my first division this week. I went with Elder Diaz to his area for two days. He has only been on his mission as long as I have, but he's Latino. I was worried about the language barrier, but everything went really well. I was able to communicate pretty much everything I need to. My Spanish is a lot better than I thought it was. Nobody in Elder Diaz's area would believe that I was new, and Elder Diaz said he would think I was fluent, which gave me a lot of confidence.

Every 6 months the whole mission goes through the temple, which was last week. The Quetzaltenango temple is very beautiful! I had a good time, but it was pretty much just a normal temple session. My companion and I had to ride chicken buses all day to get there and back though, which was kind of a pain...haha!

This week my goal is to speak only Spanish, no English at all, and it's going very well. I'm two days in and haven't run into anything that I couldn't say or had any problems yet, and it's actually really hard for me to write in English right now. I'm forgetting so many words and how to spell so much stuff.

Today we had a Zone activity and we went to the Zaculeu Ruins. They were really cool, but the best part was that afterward we went to McDonald's (never thought I would look forward to that!...) and to a store called Pies, which is like a WalMart with lots of American stuff. And I found protein powder!!

To finish up...I don't know which I hate more, sunblock or sunburns... I think I'll play if safe from now on and avoid the skin cancer down the road haha.