Dear Family and Friends,
This week I have had just a never ending stop of crazy things.
Monday: Came to Xinying and right off the train a member took us to a buffet.... He then asked for our help to move a bed. We ended up moving stuff for a very long time. I know why he took us out, so that we would feel bad about saying we have to go. I would be willing to help with or without a bribe, but I did feel a little manipulated. haha.
Tuesday: We went to JiaYi for a zone meeting. That was fun! I saw my old friend Elder Spach and Elder Lin. Elder Spach is the Elder that President always mistakes me for....Every time he sees me he says, "Hi Elder Spach". I don't see it. I think he is much more shuai than me. But the longer I stare at this picture (below) the more I think Elder Lin and Elder Spach are my triplets.
Wednesday: We picked up trash in the park and some Indonesian women took a picture with us... They were pretty nutty. At English class I was made the kid class teacher. I was terrified but luckily no little kids come to the class here in Xinying... So I got to take a little nap. In my last area I taught the intermediate class.
Thursday: I have been sick all week and Thursday was right in the middle of it. I completely lost my voice and that was no fun because as a missionary you kind of need that. We had a lesson with a cool guy named Samuel. He is a 60 year old man and is a master of linguistics. So his English is pretty good. We then went out to a secondary area, we have about 8 secondary areas, and met with a dad who sells Winter Mellon tea and he gave us some for free it was so good.
Friday: We went on a district road trip to Madou where our branch president lives. It is about 2 hours away by bike. So Elder June and I, along with a set of Sisters spent 2 hours out and 2 more hours back. We had a good time. There is a picture of it below.
Saturday: We watched conference... It was amazing! Being a missionary just makes conference seem so much more sweet. You only get four of them on your mission and I have already done two. So If I ever feel discouraged or like two years is a long time I just think in terms of conferences and I only have two. It actually makes me sad to think about leaving my beloved Island. The pic attached is of our district watching conference together.
On the left is Elder June, then me, Sister Ventura (sister in training), then on the right is Sister Bone (Trainer)
Sunday: We watched conference and Samuel came to all 10 hours, that was a little miracle. We then had FHE that night and we played a game where if you lost three times, you had to perform something. I would normally play the violin but I don't carry that everywhere I go, so I just stood on my head for a long time and they got a kick out of that. We had a great week here in XinYing...besides the plague that I contracted... and my luggage not being here all week. All I had was the clothes on my back and one other pair... I did a lot of laundry. But my luggage came on Saturday.
I love being on a mission! It is an exciting time to be in the JiaYi zone. Jiayi is the last place in Taiwan that is made up of branches. My Mission President wants it to be a stake in the next three weeks, that would be so exciting to be a part of. We are praying for a miracle and I believe it is possible.
I love you all.
Sincerely Elder Erwin
Answers to Questions
Do you speak English or mandarin when you're alone with your comp?
We speak English
How is you Mandarin coming along?
I think it is good. I don't like to be proud but for some they really struggle and for me... not as much.
Diego (a member in Taiwan) said in a Facebook post that he missed your accent. Is your accent different from everyone else's?
My voice sometimes in Chinese is different than my English voice it is higher but not a crazy difference. They just like to tease me because they say I sound like a Taiwanese person and it is strange to see a white person talk the way they do.
Diego also called you Elder Naughty...What does that mean? I hope it doesn't mean the name to him as it does to us!
Haha, no, it's not the same. In Mandarin, naughty is translated to the word wanpi which means you just like to have fun in a mischievous way. I don't know why he would say that. ;)
How do you and your new companion, Elder June, get along?
We get along great. He is quiet and I am loud... but he is super funny if you can get him talking.
Here is the Mandarin word of the week.
Dōngxī
東西
Dongxi- It means thing or stuff. It is said in a flat tone with no emphasis on either syllable. Mandarin is tonal, so words have different meaning depending on where you put the emphasis. In American English we usually have the emphasis on the first syllable of the word or if it is a one syllable word we put the emphasis on the first letter of the word. (I know, not always). So when you say dongxi, it is flat sounding.
Dong - is said just as it is spelled without emphasis
xi - is said like the word she but with more of a z sound so almost between she and zhe
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