Hello Everyone from Goya, Corrientes, Argentina!
First off, I want to let all of you know I lied in my letter last week. We were not in Tucuman Salta but San Miguel, Tucuman, Argentina. Tucuman is the province Salta is the mission.
Now I want to tell you that I got Transferred! I left Formosa and went to Corrientes. My new area is called Esquina. Because it’s the corner of Corrientes. That is why I am writing on Tuesday instead of Monday. I got up a little early yesterday because I needed to pack my bed for the trip. I packed most everything else on Sunday. Mercado left too so Pirane got whitewashed. We had six fechas too.
Then I jumped on a collectivo to Formosa Capital. When we got to Formosa, I bought a ticket to Resistencia and jumped on the next bus. In Resistencia I sat at the Terminal and talked to Elder Dial for a bit. Then I got in a Remis and went to Corrientes Capital. In Corrientes I got on another bus headed for Goya where I will spend most Pdays now. At least for another six weeks. It’s starting to look like Presidente Patania is planning on me seeing most of the mission. I only need two more areas before I’ve been in all four provinces in the Argentina Resistencia mission. I may become a “Nomad Missionary” Formosa catches everyone but two people, me and Elder Dial. We’ll see though.
This week was pretty short. I got back from Tucuman on Thursday later in the day. While we were in Tucuman we were only aloud to go out when everyone was going out or when it was our turn to do Tramites. So we stayed in the hotel. My room had the only TV remote so all the Elders congregated there to watch movies. After Tramites were done for the day, we all went out souvenir hunting. So that was fun. We got to see a little of the city and find some cool stuff to buy. I bought a poncho, an alpaca wool sweater, and a little rock carving key chain. He carved it in front of my eyes too. That was cool. We got to sit in the immigrations office all day when it was my turn. We also got fed aful. Breakfast lunch and dinner. McDonalds once, a pizzanessa which is a milanesa pizza. Empanadas. It was good. The bus ride was 12 hours one way. That was pretty miserable but I was in good company. And what we went to Tucuman for? To sign a paper and take some fingerprints.
I learned from Elder Dial that this mission, the provinces are known as the secret of Argentina. And I learned from Elder Sajstroch that they should stay the secret. I also learned that the Argentines claim the Falkman Islands as theirs and they call them the Malvinas. And that the Argentines believe the U.S.A. is stealing the fresh water from Argentina. The Argentines are not very fond of Americans. I haven’t noticed any bad feelings yet but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. Hopefully it is a long time. But it made me laugh that the Argentines think Trump is going to steal their water.
Here are some more random things I’ve noticed about Argentina. Anybody who has a window facing the street sells stuff from it. They call them Kioscos. While we were in Formosa I got to take a city bus, which was totally different from the intercity buses. They started and as soon as everyone was standing on the steps he was driving away. He was driving with his left hand and because everything here is a stick shift, he was shifting and typing with his right. He was also looking down everyonce in a while. It was scary. There was a fish in our font on Sunday. And a lizzard in the chapel. And I have no idea how either of them got there. The Latinos really like to trade. They trade everything. Backpacks, ties, jackets, suits, everything. Here there are people who speak Guarani. It’s a Parauguayan language for the aborigenes. They also speak in Vos, which isn’t too hard once it’s explained to you.
I got to eat something called zapallo relleno. It’s basically a circle zucchini that is cut open to make a bowl and filled with chicken and vegetables and covered with cheese. It was good. On Saturday I was en route to Palo Santo and the Bus broke down. We jumped on one that came the other way and went back to Pirane. That was crazy. I broke the shoe heel on my brown shoes. Mostly. They still work for church but not for proselyting any more. Saturday night the water in our pension stopped working. And during the Siesta, the light went out. So I was packing and writing by flashlight. That was pretty interesting. That’s kind of how my week went.
Happy Anniversary Uncle Cory and Aunt Rebecca! And Happy Thanksgiving! We are getting close to skype day!
And there is the end of another chapter in the Book of Rees.
