Date: Sun, Dec 3, 2017 at 10:20 PM (His P-day on Monday
morning is our Sunday night)
Hello everybody!
Wow, there is a lot to write about this week, so here goes.
Well, I finished up the MTC last week. I won't talk too much about that, but I
will say that Thanksgiving was awesome! We got to hear from Elder Bednar that
morning, and National Tribute Band came that evening for a performance. We also
got to do service by packaging breakfasts for children in need. And of course
for Thanksgiving, we got a great lunch! Most of the traditional foods, turkey,
mashed potatoes, candied yams, etc... And they had eggnog! I normally associate
that with Christmas, but it was still really cool to have!
Now moving on to Vietnam. So I landed here on Tuesday
morning last week. It was super exciting. It is obviously very different, but
it is such a cool experience. After getting out of the airport, the first thing
I realized was how different Asian traffic is compared to American traffic. I
guess if it works it works, but they really drive all over! There is a lot of
weaving and whoever gets there first forces the right of way. It is a little
crazy, but I am starting to get used to it. And actually the craziness had one
good side to it, I actually made my first contact through looking really bad on
a bike. Some Vietnamese person saw how I was biking and ended up talking with
my companion and I about why we were there. I am pretty sure she talked with us
because I looked really funny biking in Asia. We told her about how we were
volunteers and invited her to our self reliance class, which she actually came
to that week. I guess the Lord has all kinds of ways to introduce people to the
church, even if it is an odd looking American on a bike in Vietnam.
Back to more of what I have experienced here in Vietnam. I
have really enjoyed the food here, it is quite different, but I haven't had
anything I didn't like. I even enjoyed baloot ( I am not sure how to spell
that) which is essentially an unborn chicken. It has an odd texture, but it
tasted alright. I also got to try an Asian fruit called a dragon fruit. It
tasted pretty good, but fair warning, it literally turns your poop red! I don't
know of any fruits in America that do that!
I have also really enjoyed the feeling of the city. They
have a wide diversity of buildings, with influence from all over the world.
Most buildings are at least a few stories tall. The sky here is even different,
as it is always foggy. Very few blue sky days in Vietnam. My apartment is
pretty nice. I am on the twenty first floor of a building and have a nice view
of the city below.
The language is difficult, but it is coming along. I have
learned that apparently they use the English words ok and byebye quite a bit.
Other than that, there is a lot in the language that changes depending on who
you are talking to. It also depends a lot on age, and apparently no one here
believes I am eighteen! They always ask how old I am and when I say eighteen,
they usually laugh and say I am not eighteen! Apparently they think Americans
look older than they really are though usually.
Well, I need to wrap this up pretty quick. I don't have as
much time to write in the field, but I still tried to get a lot of information
out in this email. And I apologize to anyone I didn't get to respond to
directly this week. I will try to get something out to you next week! Until
then!
Elder Watson
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