I was really bummed yesterday because I couldn't get my email to work. tuesdays are pday. I went to the tech center today, though, they worked it out and said I could do email today. Hoorah! my washing machine didn't work yesterday either. arg. BUT, we did get to hear from Russel M. Nelson and his wife! The devotionals and firesides here are SO amazing. And relief society is awesome too. We had Denise P. Doxey from the General Relief Society board here last week, and she gave us an awesome lesson. My companion is Soeur Matusek, and she is WONDERFUL. She's super cute, and lots of fun. We laugh all day long. My whole district is awesome. We all get along really well, work together well, study together well, teach together well, and really help each other learn. It's a safe environment to share personal things and to be ourselves. It is fantastic. We all get a little discouraged and exhausted and frustrated, but it doesn't take long before we're laughing again. They told me a couple days after I got here that I could probably get into the 3 week program (they put me in the 9 week program) if I wanted to. I thought about it, prayed about it, and I think that my little district here is an important part of my mission. These elders and soeurs have something to teach me, and maybe I have something to teach them. If nothing else, I can help them with their french, which I know they appreciate. One other soeur and I speak mostly fluently, so we are the pseudo teachers some of the time. We have TONS of self-directed study time in the classroom. French is good! I have tons to learn, but right now its mostly review. We are teaching an "investigator," and I can mostly communicate with her. She gives me blank stares sometimes, but I can understand everything she says, and if I can't say what I want to outright, I can fumble around and get my point across eventually. Its good to have the other soeur who speaks well, because we can practice together. It's fun learning the gospel vocabulary. I think what I need to learn most here isn't the language, although that is important, but I need to learn how to be an effective teacher. I know a lot about the gospel (not enough, thank goodness I have nine weeks to study) but not so much how to teach it to someone who has never heard it before. our teachers are wonderful. They are really patient and easy going, but they make us work and apply what we learn. So, all is well. I am ALWAYS tired, and ALWAYS hungry, but they do feed us and eventually we get to go to sleep. We wake up at 5:45 because they have a special exercise class just for the sisters at 6. We only have about 30 mins to get ready, which is do-able for me, if I get up and get going, but the other soeurs are struggling with it a little and are getting a little frustrated. So...hopefully we can work something out, or at least just get used to being short on time. Tomorrow half our district goes to San Fran for their visas. Those of us non-France goers will stay here in our largely diminished class and make do. The outside world...it's like it's another dimension...It's a lot of fun to go to the temple. We get to go there just to walk around outside on sunday, and again on tuesday to do temple work. It is awesome--we see cars! And people with...what are they called...mmm...cell phones! One week down, eight to go, and I'm already feeling like I've been here my whole life. Anyway, gotta run, my time is running out!
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