Tyzden Sedem

ahoj! ako sa mate?

fist things first: mom please send my drivers' license when it gets there, and also it would be great if you could send me a few more t-shirts. that utah state basketball shirt i have would be good, as well as that gray nike shirt. thanks!

anyway, things are going pretty well here. just before i came into the computer lab to email, elder engstrom pointed out that we will be in europe in twelve days. yikes! i am so excited to go to slovakia, but it really is just crazy how fast this mtc experience went. i can't believe that i am already almost through my first transfer! it has been a great experience so far and i know that things are only going to get better. everytime our teachers tell us stories or show us pictures from their time in slovakia, i get so excited to go and serve! this week has been good, and for the most part i'm just getting excited to get out into the field. i didn't have a big screw up in the trc this week, which was good. the volunteer we worked with this week only spoke czech, but i think we did pretty well in spite of all of that. it is interesting to see how some cultural stereotypes are perpetuated in the missionaries that serve in those cultures. for example, we (the slovaks, czechs, croats, bulgs, slovenes, poles) just can't stand the russian missionaries. i mean, don't get me wrong, there are a few that are okay people, but those missionaries are the exception and not the rule. they all just think they are the bees knees because they are learning russian. they all live in this fantasy land where they think that they have to be here 12 weeks because they have to learn the cyrilic alphabet. please. three weeks to learn an alphabet? i don't think so. the only reason they are here longer than us is because they have six week transfers in russia instead of nine week transfers. i was talking to brother starling the other day and he said that the harderst language they teach in the mtc (other than the asian languages) is probably slovene or possibly finnish. anyway, i think all of us will be glad once we don't have to deal with the ruskys anymore. they always come up to us when we are outside and ask us if they can practice contacting us in russian. thus far i have obliged, but i think the next time one of them asks me i'm just going to say no. i don't speak russian, therefore, this exercise is completely pointless. i can't respond, unless your companion translates and even then i can only respond in english or slovak. it just seems to me that it would be just as well, nay, perhaps even better if they just went and talked to a tree, or perhaps the flagpole. those objects can respond in russian just as well as i can, and i'm also sure that these objects have much more time in their schedule for pointless activities such as these. this week the mtc presidency finally started allowing us to walk around campus without a suit coat on. it's about time! we have had some pretty hot days here and all of them have been made worse by the fact that we had to wear our suitcoats. the first day where we didn't have to wear them, it rained pretty heavily, but we trotted out of the residence hall without our coats on anyway simply because we could. it's crazy to see how close we are getting to leaving. in a matter of days it will be may and i will again be pakcing up my things and moving yet again. one of our teachers, brother van de graaff, is leaving before the end of the transfer because he is taking an internship in chicago for the summer. his last day with us is tomorrow. it's crazy! he was probably my favorite teacher. they have all become really good friends of mine and it will be tough to say goodbye to all of them, but it will be especially hard in the case of bro. van de graaff. maybe that's just because he's the only one of my teachers that has interest in the nba or mlb, but i think it's also because we just get along pretty well. hopefully i can stay in touch with all of my teachers while i'm in slovakia. i can be certain that i will have some great stories to tell them. this week will be an interesting one. elder bezas' case will go before the quorum of the 12 tomorrow, and we will know on thursday if he is going to be reassigned to a state-side mission. from what the doctor said the other day, it is looking pretty likely that that will be the case. i hope he gets to go to slovakia, but the bretheren will decide what is best. if he does get reassigned, it is likely that he will be sent out of the mtc the next day, meaning, i will be without a companion for my last week of training. that would be weird, so i hope that doesn't happen. we will see. you guys want to learn something funny about slovak? well, the word "peach" is harmless in english, but in slovak it is pretty much the worst word in the book. yesterday brother van de graaff told us that we will hear that word a lot, but we should never ever say it, unless we want to really offend someone, so there you go. when i heard that i was reminded of one of the many witty phrases that my good friend lindsay always comes up with. to compliment me, she often says: "sam, you are a peach." when lindsay says this, i know that she has nothing but the best intentions in mind, so i just hope that she never meets a slovak and has the desire to give them that compliment. in all likelihood, they will take it the wrong way. anyway, sorry if this email is so sporadic. i'm sitting here literally playing beat the clock, and i never know what to talk about because I DO THE SAME THING EVERY SINGLE DAY. anyway, i hope everything back home is going well. i'm really enjoying my mission so far and i know that i am involved in a great work. i am very excited to serve in slovakia. keep sending me your letters. they always make my day

 

love you all!

sam