Tips for the Mèxico CCM/Things I learned in the first week (with week two tips added)

Tips for the Mèxico CCM/Things I learned in the first week:

1. If you don`t have a pillow, check your roommates` beds to see if they have two. The CCM provided all bedding: sheets, blankets, pillow and pillowcase. Hermana Elms, one of our roommates, would like me to explain that she and Hma. Curtis didn`t know we were coming or they never would have borrowed our pillows.
2. Check in your packet for the white key card to your casa BEFORE you lug all your suitcases to your house.
3. There is hot water.
4. The CCM provides a money card with pesos on it you can use at the bookstore. You will turn it back in with your house and closet keys at the end of your stay. Èlderes get 100 pesos (about 10 dollars) per week and Hermanas get 120 pesos per week. The bookstore is pretty small, so try not to forget anything because they don`t have a lot of stuff.
5. The CCM will give you Spanish scriptures, a missionary handbook, planner, looseleaf study journal, pamphlets, Spanish\English dictionary, phrase books, Spanish Preach My Gospel book, English PMG (if needed) and a Libro de Mormòn to give away.
6. You may not get your companion right away. I didn`t find mine until after I went to my casa, and our neighbor Hma. Lopez didn`t get hers until Thursday because her compañera is from Mèxico.
7. Typically a set of Latina missionaries room with a set of norteamericanas. Apparently my and Hma. Broadhead`s room is an exception. We`re all North Americans.
8. Each meal includes three or four options (including cold cereal :) )
9. Every Tuesday, the CCM plays a recording of the MTC devotional given in Provo earlier that day.
10. Get ahead of the game and learn how to pray in Spanish! You will be asked.
11. It can rain pretty hard. An umbrella is a must.
12. Carry your umbrella AND flashlight with you always because if it rains hard enough, the power goes out.
13. Be grateful for the little things you never think about, like cold, clean water, numbers above doors, washing machine. The other misioneras that have been here longer than a week told us this one.
14. Èlderes are often immature. Lots of funny ejemplos with this one...
15. Don`t say `OOH-taw` (Spanish accent for Utah), say `YOU-taw` (American accent) because apparently OOH-taw es malo en español.
16. Check to make sure you`re wearing your nametag before you leave su casa.
17. If you realize you`re missing your nametag, remember you have an extra in your red packet before you walk all the way back to su casa.
18. If a teacher is sitting alone in a classroom, be cautious before barging in to ask a question, because he may be pretending to be an investigator and there may just be a pair of èlderes standing behind you who were about to knock on the classroom door.
19. Watching the LDS Church movie `Legacy` is really fun with misioneros. I didn`t realize until Sunday that people kiss FOUR TIMES in that show! Every time there was a relationship scene, all the misioneros snickered. I guess we`re all immature sometimes.
20. If your bunk bed is so short the person sleeping on the bottom bonks their head a lot, try tying a spare blanket to the bottom of the top bunk in order to cushion the hit. (Hma. Broadhead tested this one out after a particularly bad bonk.)

Yes, all of the things above did happen to me this past week. haha

Week 2:

   21.  Check what color the water is before you wash your clothes in it.
   22.  Be grateful for hot water out of the sinks, and water that doesn`t stink.