Q. What do you do for exercise?
A. Daily exercise is mostly a lot of stretching. I think of it as mission yoga. The only things I really do that make me sweat are push-ups and sit-ups. Everything else is to loosen up for a day of walking.
Q. What is the church building like?
A. Our church building is really nice. We attend in the stake center, and it looks a lot like our home chapel except with two floors, stairs and an elevator. The bottom floor has classrooms and the family history center (where we write home weekly letters). The top has the chapel, basketball court, a few more classrooms, kitchen, and is air-conditioned. I freeze during sacrament meeting. :) Who knew I would actually wear those cardigans in El Salvador?
Q. What is the area like?
A. The area is mostly flat. There are lots of trees. Almost everyone has one or two in the patio in front of their house. There are also lots of houses, all right next to one another. Each one has a gate or two before you can get to the puerta (door), and every window is always barred. Nobody has glass in their windows - it's all open to the air and bugs (unless you close your blinds). A typical house, from what I've seen, has one bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, and 3ish bedrooms. Several houses have a second floor with a few more rooms. Very few are bigger that that. Every house is painted bright, happy colors - but 95% of them are faded and peeling. Basically, I'm driving as a member of the Salvadoran middle class, and every day I'm impressed by the humility and goodness of these people. I love every one!
Q. How are you sleeping?
A. I'm sleeping great - like a rock! Hna. Gonzalez lent me one of her extra pillows, but I use it to keep the mosquito net off of my face, not to lay on. so I don't really have one, but it's fine. no trouble with bed bugs! :)
Q. Any tummy trouble?
A. Nope, no tummy trouble. As for healthy... remember when you told me someone told you I should fatten up before leaving for Mexico and El Salvador? Ha! That was a really funny joke! I'm well fed between lunch with our wonderful cocinera (cook), the refreshments our investigators and our member friends frequently feed us (which would be impolite to refuse) and the food I cook for my self twice a day (breakfast and dinner). Hna. G loves to tell everyone we meet about how much I typically eat: "¡más de yo y Hermana Winters juntos!" (more than me and Hermana Winters combined) (which is an exaggeration, but not too far off the mark) whenever we're lacking for conversation. She herself has the appetite of a diabetic bird. We make a great pair.
I'm pretty sure I'm fatter now than I was before and don't worry about the bluntness of that statement, it's normal here to refer to todo el mundo as "gordito." (all the world as fat) Although if you said the same thing to me, I might be offended, because you aren't latina... :) No, no, mentira ¡Chiste! (I was joking). I know you ask because you love me. {> Just know I'm happy, healthy, and well oiled. (Literally... they use oil frequently when cooking here.)
Q. How often do you receive letters?
A. Based on the past 8 weeks, I'll receive letters de verdad (real letters vs. email) about once every 2 or 3 weeks, although personally, I'll keep pretending I only get them once every six weeks so I'm not disappointed during the weeks of no letters. I've gotten letters 3 times in the past 8 weeks, and it's always a big packet of Dear Elders mixed with one or two "real" letters. I LOVE IT. Thank you and thank Grandma and Aunt Debbie and Aunt Connie so MUCH! I expect to hear about every boyfriend Kayla has at BYU - in the fall. Grandma tells me she's breaking the record for dates with the lessened male population. :) Yes, I got your letters. Thank you!
Q. What is your house like?
A. Our casa has two floors. There are two baños (bathrooms)with each its own shower, which is a rather rare blessing, especially since another compañerismo of two live with my trio. We have a tiny kitchen and 5 huge desks which are perpetually piled with folletos (pamphlets)and groceries. My desk also contains the microwave. It's a bit bigger than everyone else's desks. We have a couch and two chairs. We have a coat room where everyone has their clothes ans suitcases and other personal items and a bedroom on each of the two floors. The room where my companions and sleep barely fits our three beds, but it has hooks to hang our mosqiuto nets and it's very comfortable. No complaints. We also have a hammock strung in the middle of the living room, which is a very common thing in El Salvador, which is fun to relax in sometimes. We don't really have time to relax, which is good, becaue that means we're busy. :)
to be continued...
Much love,
Jess
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