February 10, 2014 First Week in Korea

Hello!!

 I am at this bizarre pc place that smells like smoke. haha with some of the other people in my zone :) how are you all? I am about to read all of your emails :)

i have cried a ton. it's so hard. but it feels better when i get it out. my companion is understanding and tries to help me feel better. i am getting past the point of caring. i just have to get it out and then i feel better and i am able to continue on. My companion is korean though. Her name is sister Koo. she is from an area in the seoul south mission. she is very nice. But her culture is different from mine so i am trying to get used to that. She is very blunt and just kind of says whatever. which is fine. She is helping me a lot though. We got assigned on thursday. so my 2nd day here. But she is great. Thankfully she speaks fluent english. otherwise i would probably die. haha. but she tries to help me feel better. She has about 8 months left here. I live with a Cambodian sister and another American sister. I like to talk to the American sister a lot especially since she kind of understands where I am coming from. She said she was really homesick for the first little bit too. I never knew how mentally hard a mission would be!

I feel like any sign of america helps me feel better. I was really happy to see a few of the elders that were in my mtc group today. anything that is familiar helps me. Everything is just super different.

Meeting Pres and Sister Christensen was good. We met them at the airport. they were with the APs and some sister training leaders. Sister White was there. the girl whose mom you talked to (in kar's ward). She was nice. We went to the church by the temple and stayed in the temple dorms. They were nice. We don't stay at their house because there are too many of us. so i am not sure what the mission home is like. we met them and then we got on the subway and they gave us book of mormons and we had to go talk to people. then we went to the church and had some snacks and went to sleep. I cried and cried that night. Sister lynn my companion helped me a ton. she was really sweet to me and i miss her a lot.

I woke up and felt a little better the next morning though. the next day we had interviews with president and it was good. He was super sweet and understanding. we had a little bit of training that day and then later we went and proselyted by the city hall in seoul. it was actually a lot of fun! I just talk to everyone and they think it's weird 1. because it's not normal to say hi to people if you don't know them and 2. because i am american and i am speaking to them in korean. so it's kind of funny to see the looks on people's faces when we talk. we went to a museum about korean history after that. then we all went to dinner with president and sister christensen and the ap's and some sister training leaders. it was fun. then president showed us some slides of his mission and we played a game. I was seriouly half asleep though during the slides and game. I have way bad jet lag!!! still. at about 6:30 or 7 it hits me hard. and i can barely stay awake. it feels like 3 or 4 AM because that's the time in america! the next day we did training and met our trainers. We had a lunch and then they sent us on our way with our trainers. 

 my apartment is pretty nice. it is in a high rise apartment building. there are tons of high rise apartments. we sleep on little mats on the floor. they are super uncomfortable. haha but we feel like we are having a sleepover every night when we bring out the pads and blankets. ha ha. The meals i have eaten at members houses are usually pretty different. The first night i was here with my new companion, we ate at a member's house.  I ate some stuff and i still have no clue what it is. it is really spicy! but when i am at home, i usually just eat cereal and toast and stuff like that. i am hoping to go to costco soon so i can get some more normal things. 

 my first impressions of korea: yes it smells really weird!  but i am getting used to it. haha most of the signs are in korean and english as well. everything is really close together and there are signs going up and down and across and everything is so colorful. there are really modern places and then super bizarre places like little markets and things where they sell food and stuff. it is crazy!! The culture is so different. Kimchi is wayyy gross. haha it smells so bad but every korean loves it! My companion likes to eat rice and kimchi for breakfast sometimes.  I definitely struggle eating with chopsticks. luckily when i eat at home, i eat with a fork and spoon, but eating at members houses is a struggle. hopefully i will learn how to use them. We eat on the floor. they have these mini tables and you sit on the ground and eat.  

Overall, I am doing pretty good. I have major ups and downs. moments where I am extremely extermely homesick and moments when i am ok. so basically what i expected. I am so homesick for america though! everything is soooooo different here. but it will just take some getting used to. It feels good to email you. I was so so sad and homesick this morning but now i am feeling a little better. :)  There are times when i am like wow! this is so crazy and different and i enjoy it. it's not like i am sad all the time. It is good sometimes. There are just times when I have major lows. thanks for everything to help me feel better! i love you so much. thanks for every prayer. i need them.

I am almost out of time. :( sad news. i only get mail when my zone leader goes to the mission office! so only 2 or 3 times each month :( So try to send as much as you can so that when he goes and gets it, i have some :) i love you! and i love every letter you send. Sorry i didn't have a time to answer all of the questions you asked today. i will try and answer the rest next time. Rach, good job with your track meet! you did way good! now do the same thing at simplot! you will do great. Will you guys print off the email or write the email that you talked about all the things to help me feel better? I like to read those. and i don't have a place to print emails :( i have to go now. I LOVE YOU!!!!! xoxoxoxoxox 

Love Sister Tara Anderson

 

 

Sister Anderson, Sister Koo and a little Korean girl that hopped in the picture. :)