Sweet dreams sweet cheeks, we leave alone

Hi guys.

I survived another trip to the São Paulo Temple today.The freeways are crazy here. There are 5 million cars in São Paulo (the city, not the state), but I don't know how so many survive. Everyone drives as if the road was theirs, switching lanes whenever they want and moving as fast as they can. Motorcyclists weave between cars with wreckless abandon. It's insane. But I'm still alive! And the temple is getting better with each visit. I learn more every time I go. There isn't a temple in my mission, so I don't know how often I'll be able to go when I'm out in the field. It's a blessing to have one so close to the MTC.

I have Brazilian roommates now. Two elders, both from São Paulo, joined us on Thursday. One is about eight feet tall and looks like Michael Jordan, and the other has sweet tattoos on his chest and back.
Neither of them speaks a word of English. I love talking to them in Portuguese. We only see them at night before we go to bed, so we don't talk much. It's a little terrifying to think that I may have a Brazilian companion in just a few weeks.

So, I think I've experienced Brazil to its fullest already: I have now had an avocado shake (not bad) and cashew juice (they have it in the cafeteria). There's a little restaurant just next to the MTC that sells burgers and fries. But that's not the best part. For one or two reais (pronounced HAY-eyes; one dollar is worth about 1.5 reais right now), you can have the most delicious fruit juice in the world. They have piles of fruit, some of which I don't even recognize, behind the counter, and they just throw some of what you want into a blender with sugar and ice and mix it. So far I've had guava (my favorite so far, and only 75 cents), banana, watermelon, mango, pineapple, and avocado. The juice is so good. It's like sticking a straw right into the fruit. We're going to eat lunch there after we finish our emails. Needless to say, I am excited.

There's another place that sells pastels, which are basically like gigantic, fresh Hot Pockets. They have desert or lunch pastels. For a few reais, you pick whatever you want, and they fold it into a pocket of thin bread dough and fry it. My favorite is the strawberry, banana, and caramel. So good.

My district had a Portuguese-only day this week. We couldn't speak a word of English until lunch. It was helpful to see where I'm lacking, but I found that I can get by all right most of the time. I run into trouble when I'm talking to Brazilians, though. They speak so fast!

I'm really excited because Elder Scott is going to speak to us this Friday. There are a lot of people leaving this week, and I heard that there aren't any new American missionaries entering the MTC, so he will have a pretty small crowd. One of the zone leaders said that we will all be able to shake his hand, which is cool. The only downside to Elder Scott coming is that my district won't be proselyting on Friday. At the end of the sixth week, everyone gets to go proselyting within a few blocks of the MTC, and we were going to go this Friday. Everyone says that's the highlight of staying at the MTC. We'll probably still go sometime, I just don't know when. And I can't wait to hear Elder Scott speak.

My companions and I have been singing in the MTC choir, and I guess everyone is going to sing a song for Elder Scott. I have come to cherish the time when I can hear music, especially when it sounds good. It's pretty tough sometimes to go without music or movies or any of that. I noticed that I don't feel homesick unless we talk about the things we miss. I try to stay focused on being here because I really miss the freedom I had back home.

We watched "The Legacy" yesterday. It isn't any better in Portuguese.

Amo vocês.

love
elder booga