Well, Family. I AM HERE! I finally made it to
Taiwan!
We got there about 6:25
PM (Taiwan Time). We took a 2 hour bus ride to the mission home in Taichung. We
had some orientation, and then we crashed at wherever they told us we were
staying. We got up the next morning, jogged to a stadium just down the road and
ran a mile! GAH, I was exhausted! But, after working out and some personal
study, we had some more orientation and breakfast at the mission home. More
orientation, and then some lunch. And then more orientation. We contacted a
little bit, went to a really fun dinner, ate some duck brain, and went to the
biggest night market in Taichung and did the Dan Jones experience. After we
were done on the soap box, we each went with an experienced missionary and
talked to people all over the market and they took pictures and stuff. We went
back and went to bed. The next day, more working out, went to breakfast, and
then we were brought in to meet our trainers. (Yes, they decided that since we
were in a new mission that we are going to repeat the first 12 weeks of training.)
We were each given a small red envelope that contained the name of our trainer
and our new area. We were told one by one to stand up and read our cards.
My trainer is Elder Watson. He has been here for a year and a
half or so. He is super awesome. The area that I cover right now is Tai Bao. And
it is Tai (said like Neck "tie") Bao (said like taking a
"bow" at the end of a play.)
It is more rural and very flat. Not too bad
for biking. I haven't received my luggage or my bike yet, but it should be
coming today (Monday for me. Sunday Night for You.) Anyways, I have been
adjusting well. The time change didn't kill me as much as I thought that it
would. I am getting eaten alive by mosquitoes though. But I have some spray
that should help with that. The food is just as wonderful as it looks. It is
super good, and super cheap!!! Like SERIOUSLY CHEAP! A typical meal costs like
60 kuai, which is like 2-3 American dollars. (To say kuai, think like saying the word cry, without the r. Like
Elmer Fud saying the word cry. And the exchange rate is like 1 American
Dollar to about 30 kuai.) And it is quality food too!
Yeah, it is just
me and Elder Watson in the apartment. Our zone is actually the smallest zone in
the mission, so there are only like 8-10 companionships in the zone. As
missionaries in Taiwan, we will rarely, if ever, cook in our apartment. We will
eat a quick breakfast, but every other meal is on the go. Since food is so
cheap, and since we are always on the go, we will find whatever little shop or
stand and eat food from there. And it is safe to eat. As for the water, we have
to drink bottled water. The tap water here will make you sick. But every
missionary apartment has a filtration system installed so that we can fill our
bottles at our house. But if we are out on the street, we have to find bottled
water. Our area is kind of weird. It is rural, but the way that it works
is that there are a few little cities separated by fields and stuff. We go from
city to city. Yeah, we attended church yesterday. The "church" that we meet at is
actually a small skinny building with like 3 floors. The first floor is the
chapel. The second floor is class rooms. The third floor is the Branch
President's office. It is super small. Not a lot of people come either. I think
that there are 20-30 people max that come. My head hurt afterwards, but
I could understand some of what was said. Our area is actually the only area
that is not a ward or a stake. We are the Taibao branch, in the Jiayi area.
My favorite part
is probably just that people are so friendly. People seem to understand that
I'm not too comfortable speaking Chinese yet, but they understand. And I have
been told that for only being here for a few days that my Chinese is very good.
I actually talked to another sister from St. George. She is going to be
training one of the other sisters that flew in with us.
I don't have my
luggage because they have to ship it from the mission home to our different
areas. It would've been too much to have to haul from the mission home to the
area. I mean, we cover half of the island! My area is like smack-dab in the
middle of the island, so they have to ship the stuff to me. But it should be
getting here today. Yeah, we can email just like we did back home. I got the
Christmas package, thank you so much. It was fun and thoughtful. I have some
clothes and stuff in my carry-on that I can use until my main luggage gets
here, so I'm not too worried about it. The living conditions in our apartment
are ok. It is not a beautiful apartment by any means, but it works. The only
thing is that there are mosquitoes, but that is going to happen anywhere I go.
Elder Watson is from Syracruse, UT (spell check?) But yeah. I am doing pretty
good!
Anyways, I hope that you
are all doing well. I am doing pretty good myself. I hope to hear from you, but
depending on what time it is there right now, we'll see what happens.
Love you all so much.
Miss you! Hope you are all happy and well!
Lots of love, your son,
brother,
Elder Chase Joseph
Millett
雷長老
I love that video. It reminds me why I'm here
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