Yet Another Week in the Neighborhood...Mexico That Is

So today is yet another week until I am free of the place known as El CCM. So news as of this week, we dunked Angél and now have three investagators, Raúl, Armando, y Carlos. So the work continues. As for my date for departing the CCM it is going to be August 20th so if you desire to send me anything it is probably best to send it to the mission home.
As for my brown slacks I don't need them because they look like crap compared to the ones I have. All the nuevo gringos with them just look like they aren't here for business, aka like a bunch of dumb deacons. So yeah life continues on.
The Spanish comes more and more and surprisingly Mexico City wouldn't be bad except for all the slums and the Mexican showdowns every night. The weather is down right pleasant. Really weird birds too. I mean really weird. They have these like killer rabbit looking red eyes and sound like they want to eat your soul but they look pretty cool.
The momos that are here are really funny to tell off, especially the really annoying ones from Utah. Oh mom I could use a pair of my shorts sent down. That would be very helpful. Other than that I can't think of anything else that could be of use to tell you...uh we stole a couch and put it in our apartment and now have a napping couch for p-days so yeah that has been the high point of the week. Love you all and keep up the good fight at home.

Mike

P.S. Zeke you better keep me updated on the sprint season and if you need my address I put it on Facebook.

Week Two

Well they haven't kil´t me yet. So I guess what I am hearing is e´rybody wants to know what the daily life is like. Well here goes.
I wake up a 6:30 and then since the other companionship in our apartment is stupid and wakes up half an hour early and takes the longest showers we just chill until they get out. What guy in their right mind takes an almost thirty minute shower in sketchy Mexican water? They also use loofahs like little girls. You think I am kidding but the one kid has a big pink loofah in the shower. The saying my compañero and I use is "No juzgues" which means don't judge but it sounds like "know who's gay" so we always say after someone says "no juzgues" is "oh I know who's gay...he has a pink loofah."
So after showering up and getting all shlicked up like a capo, we then read The Book of Mormon for a half hour out loud in Spanish as a companionship to get our minds right for the day. Then we go to the mess and get some Mexican grub. They have pancakes a lot but they end up tasting like more like cake and less like pan. No really they kinda taste like a little bit of yellow cake cooked in a pan. Strange but good. The food ain't half bad once you get past how it looks. The sopa guy is hilarious and always is yelling "¡Sopa!" when he hands you soup.
Well then we head to class from 8 until 12:30. My teacher in the morning is Hermano Wiest from Boston and he is really hilarious and a cool teacher, even though he refers to himself by many names such as "Señor Elavator" or "El Tomahawk" in honor of his nonexistent basketball skills. He is great though. The weather here is actually really great. It doesn't get over the high 80´s and it rains like clock work every day at dinner time but only for a couple of hours which actually keeps the mosquitoes down and cools the whole place right down.
This place wouldn't be bad if it didn't have A) tons of Utah Mormons running around and B) all the crappy Mexican favelas surrounding it. Oh we hear tons of shoot outs like every morning and night around the place which is pretty cool.
The Latinos are scared of me in soccer now because I was goalie and jumped for a ball and just smashed this little Mexican who was trying to head it in. It was more like I bumped him with my shoulder but when you weigh under 120 and you are like five foot nothing and you get trucked by an American it is life changing. So now if I start running towards them to take the ball they kinda give up since in soccer turns out you can shoulder as hard as you want which means they don't get very far.
So then we have lunch and after we have our hour of exercise time then we are back in the classroom until 6 for dinner then we go back into the classroom until 9 at night. I think it is very fishy that the classrooms are labeled "Aula" which means room and "Jaula" means cage. Anyone else feeling the same?
Then it is planning time and write in journal time then sleepy time. Well that is my every day. Great huh? I can't handle the amount of corny Mormon jokes that these people seem to tell.
Oh on Sunday we had a devotional and so I am sitting there waiting for it to start when some Hermana walks in and starts just arguing with these elders that were sitting behind us about taking their suit coats off because it was a BILLION degrees in the cramped auditorium. So it starts getting heated so I calmly say "hey lets settle down," well that has no effect so now I get a little agitated and say "hey both of you sit down and shut up." Nothing but this time the piece of crap elder who is already sitting says some stupid snide remark about how he is already sitting down so then I stand up and just get in his face and firmly state that he needs to shut up or I will end him. He promptly was silent. The hermana was a different story.
She is still standing and tries to start the argument again by saying "And I will argue all day that being a female is a thousand times harder then being a man." Close quote. I then couldn't handle the stupidity of this Hermana. I then now even more firmly and loud enough for her to hear through her thick skull told her "No one cares what you think, shut up and SIT DOWN!" She then promptly sat down a midst cheering from the crowd.
So yeah my biggest thing that I have noticed with the age change is that the sisters are extremely immature. The elders you already expect that but now with both groups together I end up correcting a whole lot of these idiots. Well that is all I have for this week´s escapades, I am still tearing it up and trying to get the Spanish down. I love you all and can't wait to hear from you again.

 Mike

Hello

So I survived the first week. Things here are getting along alright but I will have to say that it is way different then I thought it would be. It is not even close to as hot as it is in Utah and not even humid here. And the weather is so predictable. Every day at 6:00 it rains and cools on down. This campus is huge too, a full 90 acres in the center of a really shady neighborhood. But the walls are high so it will be fine. Every night you can hear gunfights over the walls and I do have to say that it is pretty funny. Today we got to go to the temple and on the way we saw a dead guy like right in the middle of the road.
The Spanish is coming along well I guess. Still have a LONG way to go before I am even close to being able to communicate effectively. So far my first goal is to try and get rid of my accent from Gringolandia. I´ll keep you updated on that for sure.
Well my district is great we are pretty close and we are working together to try to get the language. We are teaching our first investegator, Angél and he has had three lessons so far. I end up doing most of the teaching cause my compañero is kinda lazy but hey, even through all that Angél accepted our invitation to be baptized. It will take place in two weeks as long as we keep up the teaching and he keeps progressing.
The Latino culture here is very nice even though they are a bunch of hood rats and shoot each other up. All the people I have talked with are super nice and just love that we are trying to learn their language. ¿I guess when you are smiling and making a fool out of yourself who couldn't help but like you? Oh and the upside down question marks are way cool. The food isn't too bad either. An improvement from the Mess at West Point for sure.
I have yet to meet another elder going to San Pedro Sula West yet but I will keep trying to hunt one down. Turns out Elder Lewis, my companion, sleep walks and some pretty crazy stuff went down. In class he fell asleep and was leaning on the desk when the desk started sliding forward and he started chasing after it and then finally stood up said "I´m good" then ninja dove onto the floor and started running in little circles on his side then started making snow angels in the dust on the floor. He then was stood up by the teacher and once again said "I´m good" and then screamed and sprinted out into the hall where I chased him down. The teacher then took him into another room to talk with him and when he came back he had a bag and more study material which we assumed he had gone back to the apartment to grab. Turns out he stole it from a Sister Curtis and so the next day we had to explain that he was sleep walking and stole this. So pretty funny stuff has been happening here.
Well this is about all I have to tell you aside from the fact that the Mexicans shoot fireworks every single day at the oddest times like three in the morning. I guess I will have to try to investigate as to why they are that stupid. Also turns out I am the scrounger because guess you now has a mini fridge and water cooler with 12 liter clean water jugs in his room and is the only one who does...this guy! Hahahahha! This MTC needs to learn to not give us 30 minutes each day to go explore. Well I love you and cant wait to hear from you again.

Elder Duff

I Made It

Just a quick note to tell you I made it fine and am now in the land of very immature 18 year olds. Hopefully I don't end up killing any this week but it's only been an hour and I am close. It isn't too terribly hot here but I arrived at night. My roommate is a chunky kid and so far I am one of the only missionaries here that is ending up foreign. Really strange actually. So I now have a name tag and tomorrow starts the first day so here is to getting off on a good foot. I will write more when I have more time next week but right now it is actually past lights out so I think I may be bending some of the rules already. Thanks for all you do. Mom make sure to forward this to all the family because I don't have all of their emails. And this keyboard is really weird. It has all these new things on here like ¿ñ? and it is really small too. Well I want you to know I am well and will try to survive the first week in uber mormonville. It may be painful.

Mike