11/3/08 First Week in Tlajomulco

Hey! Well, I have plenty of bad news! You know how we discussed how the email thing would work in the mission? And how some elders only got to email their parents? Well guess what. I´m only allowed to type two emails a week, one to the mission president and one to you. That´s it. I can´t send you two. Can´t reply keep reading and reply again. I can only send YOU one letter(period). So, this is going to be long and scarcastic. Alot has happened in one week, and yes I´ve had more Spanish than my whole life up to this point in just one week but I´ll talk more about that later. Sounds like things are all pokey dokey at home! So Josh just read my letter and...? Will I ever here from him again? Lol. Bumcat got his ear infected. 1,000 bucks is insane. Speaking of a hundred bucks, that´s all the money we get here per month is 1,000 pesos. $93 in American. That s and is not at the same time enough to live off of. It´s pretty scanty I used $20 this first week I used it from the 20 Dad slipped me before I left = D lol. It´s pretty tough here. The shoes I brought aren´t going to work. My feet are completely blistered above the ball and before the toes on both and along the outward sides of my feet completely blistard. Not good. Today is obviously our first Prep day here. And we took the Bus into Guadalajara but there weren´t any shoes my size. There was one store for bigger people but it was closed from 2-4 when we were looking for it. I´m stationed in Lomas Del Sur. A ´fraccionamiento´. Basically like LA, you have the city of LA but it´s ´divided´into San Bernadino La Crecenta etc. Each little ´area´. That´s what it is like here, except each ´fraccionamiento´ are about 15 of dirt away from eachother. Well I live in a pueblo with 3 other missionaries, one of which is Elder Hoffman! Lol, we´re stationed in the same house with our companions. My companion is Elder Winkfield. More to come about him. Of course the water´s filthy but the sink, I can´t fit my two hands in it. My ankles down hang off the bed. and when I sit on the couch my knees come almost to my head. That´s the ´size´of it. We have a portable stove and a fridge. By portable stove I mean that literally, it fits in my backpack VERY easily. All the dishes are washed by hand and and I wash my clothes with a pieceo of metal with some ridges on it. Yeah.... then hang them to dry. I don´t know what happens yet whe´n it rains. There´s a tacostand near our house but it´s two tacos fora buck but the tacos (both) can fit on one hand with room for more. They´re the size of ... well a baseball if it were flat. Fortunately there´s a member across the street from us that makes hamburgers, lol, for their work. And every coule of days we´ll go there. We went twice this week. There´s one little tienda here. Ok the houses are about the size of my bedroom and the guest bedroom, but as thin as just one room, but really long. And almost every house, the living or front room, is converted into a store. I´m in one right now typing. The whole house is filled with computers and such except the kitchen andone bedroom. Pretty successful though, there´s alot of people here! Anyway our little tienda is a Walmart that could fit in our living room. They have everything! Unfortunately the biggest lesson I´ve learned inthe week here, is that: Anything that´s made in MexicoSucks.Everything with the exception of one soda I´ve had called Zaoxen, or smething. I don´t know, but it´s amazing. It´s 50 cents in American, or roughly. 5 pesos here. Not very big, the steal is 75 cents gets you 500 or more or less2 leaders of orange soda. My breakfast usually consists of either cereal if I´m lucky, or a little piece of bread we buy and a cup of milk. The sound of it sucks, but it´s enough! Haha, lunch is always provided for by one ofthe Hermanas´or Sisters in English. There´s alot of members ... technically. But the chapel yesterday, had maybe 50. Alright 75. I don´t know. I couldnt´understand anything anyway ... Dinner asImentioned sometimes a burger or yesterday we/I made quesadillas. And whatever we feel like buying. Now here´s my area. Guadalajara is amazing! It´s so nice. The weather kicks the crap out of San Diego. All seriousness. Unfortunately I´m about an 1 1/2 South West ofthere in the middle ofa friggin desert. Call Tlajomulco. I think. Lomas del sur is where we live the little ´area´ our proselyting area is San Sebastian, Sante Fe and two others. Our area is HUGE! It´s insane. It´s like ... ug.. I don´t know. But the walking is rediculous. The whole ´not being able to ride a bike´thing, doesn´t apply here. There are only two areas... areas in the entire missino that have bikes and that´s WAY north of here. This is a biking area though, it is so frickin big. And we have to walk and I have blisters flying out my bum. And some how I have 7 bug bites on one ankle. Not quite sure how that happened.... `,= / oh well. It´s hot here, the first two days were cloudy and actually nice and my feet weren´t dead now it´s BRIGHT AND SUNNY AND I HAVE BLISTERS. So it´s a little bit different now. Well.... My area... has room for improvement. That´s how I´mgoing to put it. Yeah I live in the poorER than dirt part. I don´t know why I didn´t expect this. The only thing is, I´m wondering if i´d rather go to North mexico than this. When I got my call I saw Mexico and started to commit suicide inside... than oh Guadalajara, it´s ... ´different´. Well, no it sucks, lol. The food is...weird. If if weren´t for yesterday at lunch I wouldn´t have had any rice, but we hadalittle for lunch with the Sister. I haven´t had any frijoles yet. You know that means beans. None. Wait...no. Once. only once though. I´ve had macaroni and sliced ham twice, some sort of soup with chicken in it. OnceI had a thin slice of steak that neither my companion or I could cut...lol. And...some cabbage and potato thing. I don´t know. I´d rather ´normal´Mexican food I think. I don´t know, it´s fine I guess. Everythings dusty and dirty. The people are NOTHING like we expected. Some are totally nice like we though and invite you in give you cookies and fresh water, others don´t even look at you. It´s pretty pick and choose. Well, Guadalajara and the round abouts are also the head ofthe Catholic church in Mexico. EVERYONES Catholic, or Católico. And not Christmas and Easter mass Catholic. This is I have a bumper sticker in my front window of my pastor and a sign that says we do not accept proselyting from any other religion. It is hardcore Catholic, everyone says the baptisms are up 68% from 1 year ago andstill we have... 4 a month. maybe... sometimes less? Really quick question, are you saving my emails? Caus I don´t have many optins here, so if you are that´d be good. So we can laugh about´em later! Next, ok. So Lomas Del Sur, where we live is not even our area. We live 20-30 minutes driving time for our area. Guess how we get there? We hitch hike... on OCCASION we take the bus, for 50 cents. But that adds fast. We don´t take the bus during the day, but I don´t know why. We are givin 600 pesos a month solely for transportation via bus and train. But...I don´t know. The hitchhiking is fun though, seriously the bus and hitch hiking are the best parts of the day. In the morning at 10:30 we wave down a truck hop in and go. There aren´t any stoplights outside of Guadalajara city. People go FAST and ... well yeah, all the streetsa have potholes everywhere and well, you don´t drive though em. You dodge ´em, so a two lane street has cars weaving every where. And today I saw the first crash, well, saw the first car that´s been in a crash. Nobody gets hit. People in America just think there invincible, they drive crazy and think nothings goign to happen. People drive crazy and watch what´s up here. The buses are insane. They go 50... maybe 45. And they hit speed bumps, yesterday after church! I got air,... I went up about a foot in the air three times! It´s crazy fun. Can´t sleep though. Just hang on. Lol. I actuallyh have the phrase now, this is more fun than Mexican hitchhiking! Either that or this is more fun than a Mexican Comiun. Witch is more or less the word for bus here. Well. Thats more or less it actually. I´m going to send this, read the other letters and go proselyte. I love you mom, I do miss you and Dad. Well, I miss my life. It´s definately less comfortable here. Nothing to stop me, but I have a lot of work to do and all that. So anyway, keep the letters coming, I won´t get em for a long time, but send packages via fedex/ups too! I hear there´s no problem there. K I hope to hear from you in a week! LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU! Oh and tell veryone hi for me and tell David I did NOT get his letter!- With Love, Elder Jake Taylor-----