Subject: The beginning of the beginning
Hey everybody! This is my first letter home from the Missionary Training Center in São Paulo, Brazil. I am in an internet café outside of the CTM called Mr. Cheney's Cookies typing on an old computer like the kind I used in the 1990s. I have to apologize in advance for what might seem like poor grammar and spelling... this thing keeps on correcting my "misspelled words" into Portuguese. I will try to fix everything at the end and there might not be a problem.
My week so far has been fantastico. Wow. What a wonderful place the CTM is. Seven floors, huge fence manned by a private security force, surrounded by the suburbs of São Paulo. While it is not as dense and urban as the center of São Paulo, this place definitely feels like an inner city area. Like something between the better cities of Mexico and European cities. I don’t want to say that São Paulo isn¹t modern... it definitely is, and it surprised me that I can feel so technologically and infra-structurally provided in another country, where my experience in Latin America has been the opposite. We went to the Campinas Temple today, as the São Paulo Temple is being cleaned for the next week or so.
We got to take a nice long bus ride for an hour and a half and were able to see much of São Paulo and the surrounding environs during that time. We also got to take a nap in the bus, and that was great as well. You grow to love the extra sleep you get when you are such a rigid schedule. When I say bus, I mean na expensive tour bus with nice padded seats, air conditioning... I would be excited to get on one in the states. They take good care of us here in Brazil. It was also very fun to experience the thrills of São Paulo traffic. Parents, its worse here than in Italy, New York City, or in the Yucatan, that time we went to those Mayan ruins. And there are so many cars, and so few accidents! If any of these guys drove the way they do in the states, they'd all be flooded with tickets. But I think its cool that everyone here knows how to drive really well.
The Campinas Temple was very beautiful and the ceremony was great. I loved being there with my district (the group of missionaries on the same week as I here), and being able to perform parts of the ceremony in Portuguese... I didn't, of course, I know so little, but the others did, and it was fun to work it out with very little understanding of each other's language. There is a great view from the Campinas Temple over Campinas... its on top of this large hill surrounding by two fences, one of them with coils of barbed wire.
That's another thing about São Paulo and Brasil in general as far as I've been able to explore it. So much security! There is barbed wire and spiked fences protecting most buildings, if not large brick walls. Many of the homes in the area around the CTM have garages that are nothing more than a completely fenced-in patio they drive their small cars into. Crime is no doubt a big problem, but I've only heard rumors so far.
But back to my experience getting to the CTM and how I have been doing so far learning the language of Portuguese and growing into my new role as a missionary. The plane was very long, twelve or thirteen hours, but I got plenty of sleep, unlike many of the others I rode in with. We arrived at the airport and waited in a very long line to go through customs, but there was no trouble. We were able to get to a representative of the Church holding a sign, and then onto a bus that gave us our first taste of Brasil on our way to the CTM. It is surprisingly cool here! It is, of course, winter, almost spring, but its easy to know that and not know it is going to be when you get off the plane. The night comes quickly here, as it should, and we don¹t have to worry too much about the heat, which is very nice. In Fortaleza we will not be so fortunate, as it will be in the high 80s year-round.
When we got to the CTM we were given companions. My companion's name is Elder Foust and he is from Kaysville, Utah. He is kind of short, has blond hair and a wrestler's build. He is a big-time hunter and keeps on entertaining the rest of us with his stories hunting in the Utah mountains, as well as confusing me with hunting terminology I am not used to. He is becoming a very good friend though and I am glad he is my companion. He has a deep testimony that I appreciate and is very good with the scriptures.
The food here is very good but there have been times that I've gotten sick. I drink Guarana soda every day for every meal, and it is beginning to hurt my teeth. They eat a lot of rice and beans, yes, but that's not all they serve in the cafeteria. There is always a variety of fruits and meat and bread. I wish there was more milk and jelly would be great for toast instead of the usual breakfeast meal... ham and cheese sandwiches for some reason.
I have been absorbed entirely with learning Portuguese and as far as I know, I am ahead in the class. There are many native Brazilian missionaries here who do not speak English that we are supposed to have conversations with at lunch, but I like them so much I speak with them every meal. It is helping me grasp the language much better by working out as much conversation with every Brazilian that I meet, and they are great people! I am beginning to love them a lot, they are very friendly, and they love to tell jokes and laugh. There have been very few times they have been standoffish, most of the time they eagerly take to wading through my bad Portuguese in order to grasp a joke I'm trying to make, and there is no end of laughs and questions, suggestions for my pronunciation and compliments. I've gotten to know many by name and they tell me I speak like a Brazilian! They are very cool and I can't wait to be able to speak fluently to them. We don't have Brazilian roommates... right now we have more American missionaries in the CTM than is usual, but we are told that we will get some as soon as possible. That will help our Portuguese a lot, when we can talk to them longer than just in the hallways and at lunch.
My district is wonderful... twelve missionaries, eight of them from Utah, two others from California (they hail from Lala Land, both of them) and one from Iowa. There are a lot of tales about Utah and we all rib each other quite a bit, not too much for any contention to arise, but it creates a very fun atmosphere. They are very spiritual too, and it is great to have a bunch of guys on your same level. I am rooming with five other missionaries, my companion included, in a room with three bunk beds, on the fifth floor of the CTM overlooking the interior of the CTM... it is in a horseshoe shape and we are on the inside.
My teachers are great. Our afternoon teacher is named Irmao (Brother) Mario (Brazilian of course) and he has just finished up his own mission. He was converted when he was 19 and is very laid-back and enthusiastic. Our evening teacher is named Irmao Luiz, and he is much more proper, has better English, and is going into International Relations at a college here in São Paulo. He is tall and skinny, while Mario is shorter and thicker, and so we often make jokes that they are Mario and Luigi from the Mario Brothers video game. It seems like we begin every day by humming the tune in our crowded classroom. Speaking of classrooms, we spend about six hours a day in class learning Portuguese, but whenever I get antsy or claustrophobic I just say a prayer and it disappears.
I have seen Connor around a bunch, though I don't spend as much time as I wish I could with him. It sounds like he is doing great, though. Ill give him a big hug for you guys. Send me his letter, if you could, I wont get it any other way! Ah man, it doesn't look like I'll be able to describe everything I have experienced in great detail, but you'll get all the needed info over the next eight weeks. Thankfully I can type a good three pages every Tuesday, and Ill send letters by mail as well, though that’ll take longer.
I am feeling the Spirit a lot down here and praying a lot, and it’s great to be focused all day on spiritual things. I wish I could have written about that more but I’ll have to do it later.
Much love to minha familia!
And to friends and everyone else!
New updates next Tuesday.
Elder Carpenter
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