Christmas Conversation!

We finally got to talk to Tess today about an hour and a half behind schedule but we did it! She had been running around in the 97 degree weather from house to house trying to find a member who had good enough internet service with a good enough computer! By the time she called us she was tired and frustrated and was even more frustrated trying to speak English! Also, there was about a 2 or 3 second delay so our conversation was less than smooth... but THAT'S OK! We got to talk to our baby! Here are some things she had to say...

Funny story... Remember these shoes and these feet?

Well, some of the LDS ladies in a branch she was visiting (on splits) saw the TERRIBLE shape Tess's shoes and feet were in and figured she was so poor that she couldn't afford new shoes (really, she has other pairs and likes these thrashed, hole-y ones because they are cooler than her more sturdy shoes, and she is too busy/lazy to run to a store and buy new ones on P-days) so... the woman called the mission leader in Tess's branch and said, "Why don't your sisters have shoes?!!" So they all got together and rounded up about 6 pairs of shoes for Tess and her companion to keep! Yeah... Tess wears them every day now. She held them up and showed them to us. Sturdy, breathable and a nice gift!

They have a "pet" dog they named "Guadalupe." He's a street dog and is covered with tics (that Tess and her companion pick off of him and stomp on) and on Christmas eve he was freaking out because of all the fireworks people were shooting off, so they let it in and it slept under their table.

There are wild dogs, and pet dogs everywhere! They try to bite her and her companion. She often picks up rocks to defend herself and the other day she had to hit a big pit bull right in the face with one!

The food is terrible. She had heard lots of stories about the yummy meat and dairy but she she says it's really bland, no one uses spices. They eat fried chicken and fried stake, rice and bread, bread, bread! She really misses Chipotle, Costa Vida and Joe's BBQ.

She gets about 3 million kisses a week... and she likes it!! Tess used to hate it when people  got in her personal space but now she says she likes the kisses and gets offended when someone at church doesn't kiss her on the cheek when they meet. Every time you enter a room you give everyone a kiss and every time you leave the room you give everyone a kiss. Some areas of her mission you kiss both cheeks, but in La Punta, where she is now, you just kiss one cheek. They even give/get kisses when you meet strangers on the street. The only thing that's weird is when you kiss another American on the cheek, for some reason that still feels awkward.

Another different custom is the afternoon siesta. It is very frustrating for the missionaries because they study all morning and then in the afternoon they go out and try to contact people but they can't knock on anyone's doors between about 1:00 and 6:00 pm because they are asleep and get very mad if you wake them up. They are pretty much just left with teaching people who are out on the streets, shopping, or have their front doors open. Then in the evenings they get all their teaching appointments in. They also usually eat dinner at 1:00pm. They eat a HUGE meal and then aren't really hungry in the evening and just have small snack, like an orange, if they feel like it. 

They a Korean couple the other day that own a shop in town. They were excited to meet some Asians and say they rarely see any there. They had fun talking to them (in Spanish and English) and telling them that Tess has an aunt that is Korean (Jami)! 

One day they were talking to this old man on the street and he just popped out his dentures in the middle of their conversation and kept on talking like it was so big deal that he was now holding his teeth in his hand!

Another time they met a crazy man on a motorcycle in San Rafael. Apparently he had been baptized over 20 years ago and had been through the temple and he kept unbuttoning his shirt and showing them his garments and saying, "Do you recognize this?"

Last story... Spanish in Argentina is different from Spanish in Honduras and other South American countries. Her companion is from Honduras and found this out the hard way. When they knock on doors they often ask the home owner if there is any service they could do for them, like washing their dishes (plates). Apparently, the word for plates in Honduras is the same as the word for "butt" in Argentina so Hermana Martinez forgets this and keeps asking people, "Can we come in and wash your butts?"

She spoke some Spanish for us and sounded so great! Just like a 10 month old missionary should! It was very neat to hear. We had her tell us the story of Russ's and my engagement, since I knew from her email she had just told her companion that story the other day. :)

Well, Tess was pretty worn out after speaking English for an hour so we said goodbye and gave her air hugs and blew her kisses and tried not to cry.