MTC Week Four

The food here is getting really dull really fast.  I used to work in the cafeteria at the Provo MTC.  The food is not even comparable.  They have cookies, and pizza, and hamburgers, sweet and sour chicken, tacos, ice cream.... We have rice, potatoes or pasta with some kind of sauce and occasionally meat.  The meat is usually ckicken but we will occasionanlly have pork, beef, or blood sausage.  The sauce could have anything - an assortment of vegetables, ground beef, or on one occasion, strips of cow stomach.  There are a few redeeming qualities though, like manjar.  Manjar literally means delicacy, but they use it as the name for a spreadable caramel that they put on everything.  It´s good stuff.

Shopping out here is a little different.  We have been cautioned to use our debit cards as little as possible because some places have been known to steal your information.  They have sales tax here, but they fix it into the price of the item before you buy it which makes so much more sense.  Why doesn´t America do that?  I haven´t spent a lot of money down here, but I´ve bought a few things.  I got a haircut last week for 4,000 pesos or a little under $8.  The lady recognized be as a missionary and instead of asking what I wanted she simply asked ¨Como Beckham o como Clooney?¨ There was a picture of each of them on the window.  I got the como Beckham.  If only I could play soccer como Beckham I´d be all set out here.  I also bought a coke out here because I heard they tasted better.  It´s true that they use real sugar but I couldn´t taste the difference. 

My typical schedule in the CCM or Centro de Capitación Misional (I think) is as follows:

6:50- Wake up and get ready

7:10- Personal Scripture Study

8:00- Breakfast

8:30- Exercise

9:30- Prepare for the day

10:00- Practice Teaching

11:00- Study Spanish

12:00- Learn about how to teach better

13:00- Lunch

14:00- TALL (Technology Assisted Language Learning)

15:00- Learn about how to teach

16:00- Practice teaching and study

18:30- Dinner

19:30- Practice teaching and study

21:30- Plan for the next day

22:00- Personal time

23:00 Lights out

 

It´s a lot of class and a lot of structure.  It reminds me of my time in ROTC.  I´ll have to conclude because I´m out of time.  Hasta luego.