I donno why I'm sleepy. We just went to Dagupan as a zone to go bowling... but it ended up just being 5 Americans and 1 Filipino while the rest didn't want to spend money.... Filipinos are generally so stingy on money and save it for shoes and cologne and watches. So when it comes to food or activities they skip out. Except for that one filipino that bowled with us , he's practically american. Awesome.
Anyways!! Today's Monday and this week has gone by pretty dang fast. Things about the philippines... Mango prices are going down , which I've been waiting for. They are now about 30 Pesos / Kilo. Which is about 30 pesos for 3 , usually. Which means about 10 pesos per mango. Which means about a quarter per mango ... yeah ... I love non-american prices. Also this keyboard is so sticky... so it's very hard to type , ha. Oh - I got a letter from Sister Sturges today! Thank her for me , please - I'm gonna go read it later. Oh wow , okay - time for something really weird. So we were in the Dagupan mall about to leave when we saw this guy and girl standing close to us , and they start talking to us in english. So the girl was half filipino / half american and she was like you're the first americans I've seen the whole time I've been here. And when we asked why she was here she was like my dad served a mission here when he was younger and met my mom here then came back to marry her (that's what we call a lock your heart problem , ha , ( see president kimball's talk on that subject )) and we were like oh that's coolio , where are you from. She says rexburg , idaho - so I was like woah weird I went to school a byu idaho. I asked her if she graduated from madison high school - yeah in 2009 - oh do you a know a mitch merrill? Ahaha she like stares at me and was like uhh yeahhh , why do you know mitch. So I was laughing saying how he was a good friend of mine up at school. SO! Momma. The next time you see Elder Merrill (funny you mentioned him) tell him I just saw someone in his grade whoes half filipina / half american with the last name larson... thousands of miles away... in a mall in the philippines.... Very very small mormon world.
So that's my fun fact of the day. In the package , can you send two things of axe pomade? actually any pomade if it's good. The axe stuff works really well and I will not use gel ... it dries your hair out and looks ugly. Pomade is much better. And I haven't seen any here yet. So if it's expensive , no worries - but I would love that. Umm , any kind of powder would be way good. Like dehydrated anything. Like those drink mixes (no lemonade please haha) and sure those idaho potatoes ones. Anything that's cheap and looks good. No ramen... so much of that here haha. But they don't have powdered stuff because that would destroy a lot of industries here , haha. And callie - you choose , haha. Just close your eyes and pick , either is fine by me.
How's tanner and taylor doing? I wanna hear some updates on them.
Okay .. more about the philippines... Here's a dangerous thing. If you get hit by a bus here , and are still alive , that bus will proceed to back up and kill you. Because it is much cheaper to pay a fee for killing someone than it is to get sued by them. So.. I've heard some stories about that , but that's 100% truth. OH! My zone leader got hit by a jeepney today , aha. It was kind've his fault , he was too close to the road , but as one when by it bashed him in the face with the side mirror and he snapped it off with his head. I think he was pretty shocked about what happened , but it was way funny after we realized he was fine. Had I thought faster to start writing down the plate number or take a picture of it or something he probably would've instantly offered money. Good thing I'm christlike! Haha but all the guy said after he hopped out and saw what the damage was , was "wala akong kasalan" which means I have no sin , ahaha... these people.
This week has been okay , no ups or downs really. I went on splits with Elder Sanchez (district leader) and Elder Coleman (zone leader) in my area this past week , and that was an awesome treat. My companion gets on my nerves a lot , and Elder Sanchez is the most ideal companion ever ever. He's so so masipag (hard working) and such a good teacher. He was baptized January 2009 after being taught by missionaries and his family has still not forgiven him for going on a mission. Before his mission he worked a 12 - 6 AM shift at a Jollybee (like MacDo) on top of school in order to pay for a mission. I have so much respect for this guy. And he's only about 6 months or 7 months out and already district leader. He'll be an AP in a year , everyone knows. But yeah , he is my idol companion and so going on splits with him was the best day of teacher I've had so far on a mission. The lessons were just more powerful , more investigator focused , and he just brings such an amazing spirit with him. Maybe one day we'll be companions ... sana. Also gonig on splits with Elder Coleman was just way fun. Umm , oh! That was way nice of my bishop to write you again , haha. I'll thank him for ya.
Oh yeah - update on my shoes! Haha , my goal is to wear this pair for one year then the other pair for the next year. So far the toe of the sole has fallen off my left shoe and I have to superglue it back on every 3 weeks. But these will be my trophy pair , haha. Also I made a note to ask how Grant was doing with his job search so that's way funny that you and callie both gave me some updates without me asking. Tell him I say NYC is better than Dallas ... but then again I'm biased. Also , how is dad's house doing? Any bites ... really? Does the forecast look good at all for it? Isn't spring / summer the best times for real estate? Anyways I'm always praying for ya guys!
It's getting a little bit hotter here , but I think as I get adjusted I don't feel it as much. I've gotten tanner , but still quite white compared to the locals.
Sorry this email is so boring , haha , it was just really a plain week. This next week will be a lot better though. On Friday we have a tri-zone conference with Elder Teh (of the 70) whose the area authority here , so we're all so excited for that. I gotta get a haircut later on for that too , looking a bit sloppy joee. Also! I had to withdraw money again because I shorted myself last week because I bought a dictonary I needed (sorry!) it's the last time , I promise. I've got pretty much everything I need now , so support will do me fine from now on.
ALSO!! I'm gonna start chastizing. Tell Garrett + Caitlin + June + Hutch + everyone else they better quick slackin on the emails. 15 minutes once a week isn't hard! Haha , so I'm calling them out here in hopes I'll get something soon.
Sorry again on the plainness of this email , but my week really has been boring. The companion is still a little tough , but I don't tolerate laziness so the work gets done. Also my speaking ability always goes up , so my ability to teach now is pretty much fine ... I think. I'll be excited to look back in a year though and see how much room for improvement it had. I can teach right now , but I can't teach the way I want to yet because I can't express feelings as well sa tagalog. It's a long road , but everyday it gets easier.
Anyways I love you all and thanks for the letters and emails!
-Elder White
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