Hello Family and friends.
This week has flown by. Things with the new companion are definitely an improvement. He talks more, and therefore, I talk more, which helps a lot with my Portuguese. We were talking and I said, "I'm hoping I'll be fluent in about 2 months" and he said that I was almost fluent. That really surprised me because I still feel awkward when I speak Portuguese, maybe because my companion talks so fast. I don't think I could even talk that fast in English! I swear this guy could talk for days about anything and that's good. I thought some things would change with the change of companions but, I still get really frustrated in the morning because my brain hasn't switched to Portuguese yet. I don't know why, it's weird. It's just in the mornings. My companion said that I will probably train next transfer. He says I'm the type of missionary the President would choose. Throughout the day I'm fine. Sometimes I feel really good about my Portuguese and other times it's like, what am I doing here? I guess it just depends on the conversation and the vocabulary I have for a particular topic. I understand every word on Sunday because everything is about the gospel, haha. I've realized that I can have an intimate conversation with a person but when a bunch of people are talking about the same thing amongst each other it's almost impossible for me to just jump in. I've done it like twice, haha.
The Bishop here is so legit. We came home one night just dead and exhausted and he bought us pizzas and cokes and we ate them on his balcony. He is our next door neighbor so we always say hi to him when we leave the apartment. Weird... the girl using the computer next to me just started staring at me and said my eyes are awesome.. haha thanks.
This Sunday was Stake Conference. In this area it means that the whole ward(congregation) gets on a bus and goes to a different chapel in Rio Doce. I think there were 6 wards there. It was cool. We also got 3 of our investigators to come with us, the sister of Mariana and Fabiana and their niece. We marked the niece and sister for baptism in 2 weeks. They think it's just a goal at this point that may not be reachable, but we all know what's gonna happen... come on... Anyways it was cool. I got to see some of the Elders in my Zone there. We already have inside jokes and everything. Our Zone is legit and everyone respects each other and are just good friends. The President has this new rule that the District Leader has to call us every night and ask how our day went. It's super annoying because he takes forever even though it should only take like 5 minutes but, I think it's good practice for my Portuguese. Our District Leader is American and sometimes tries to speak in English to me but I just talk right back in Portuguese. I actually was told to slow down during one of our lessons by one of our investigators this week. That's something new.
I'm having a hard time remembering this week. It seems like every week is the same! So I've definitely gained some fat poundage, not much but it's there. I grew out of my suit pants. I can't close them all the way so I just zip them and belt them. I've made a goal for myself to lean out a bit. I think its pretty impossible though because every meal is just carbs and meat and then dessert. And the drink is always sugary. You won't be able to recognise me when I get back. I found out I have a circuit timer on my G Shock so this morning I did a circuit workout with my jumprope, pushups, and abs. Here in Brazil you sweat and you don't stop, even after you take a cold shower.
Some advice for Kyler (Dallin's friend who just left on a mission for Bolivia): Get used to the MTC food. There's a reason they're serving it to you. They're conditioning you! Oh, and talk to the natives as much as possible. Sit with them at lunch and find ways to talk with them between classes.
I'm always glad to hear from the whole family and receive pictures. I pray for y'all daily and think about you all the time! Some of our investigators found me on facebook and said our family is beautiful. I talk about the family all the time to the people here. It's probably the biggest topic of discussion. Either that or sunscreen and white skin...
Cool. I can't think of anything else so peace!
Elder Dallin Stephen Carroll
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