July 10, 2012

Ohaiyo Gozaimasu!!

So, it’s currently 5:09 AM. That’s right. AM. And I’m awake… Of my own choice… On a P-day… What
has being a missionary done to me?! :P

I’ve been thinking really hard about what it is that I want to write in my email for this week because this
week honestly has been really fairly boring. It went by so fast that I feel like nothing really happened.
xD Oh well. I’ll still fill you in on my boringly exciting missionary life. ;)

4th of July:
Happy Independence Day everybody! (If I remembered how to say that in Nihongo I totally would. :P) I
hope you guys all had an amazing 4th of July.
I hope you guys didn’t start any fires or anything. From
what I hear and smell there are plenty of those already.

4th of July was really cool here at the MTC. Most of the day was pretty relaxed. Of course everyone was
up by 6:30 (I looked for the Hot Air Balloons, but I couldn’t see them. ) and we all had to be in class
by 7. On the way to class we were hearing missionaries singing all sorts of patriotic songs. “God Bless
America”, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, “My Country Tis of Thee”, etc. It was really cool to listen to
other people talking about their 4th of July traditions at home as well. You forget sometimes that there
are people here from ALL over the world. You also forget that the 4th of July isn’t celebrated all over the
world. :P

Apparently these missionaries singing different patriotic songs were making some of the missionaries
from other countries really angry. A lot of the missionaries I’ve met from other countries have said they
really don’t like America for one reason or another. So when there started to be rumors of a “Secret
Devotional” I was a little antsy. There’s a reason we’re told not to discuss any politics here at the MTC.

Most of the day went like a normal day at the MTC. We had class, we taught investigators, and we
studied. Then, in the middle of class with Todd-Sensei, he told us we needed to leave or we weren’t
going to be able to find a seat at the Devotional. So off we went. With Devotionals, we always start
them off by singing a bunch of hymns together to invite the spirit. I expected to hear that when we
walked into 19M… Instead I hear a bunch of 19-21 year-olds singing “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam”
and the sound of them jumping at every cue. xD Once Long-shimai and I had found some seats that
song was over and what do we sing next? “Popcorn Popping” of course! Actions and all. Once we’re
done with that “Once There Was a Snowman” again actions and all. Oh my gosh I was laughing so hard.
I can’t even tell you. (Side note: The Once there was a Snowman one was actually the most interesting,
because the people from like Australia and other ridiculously warm areas in the world didn’t know that
song. Weird, ne?)

That sort of gives you an idea as to how the devotional went. We had a traditional American Flag
Ceremony, sang lots of songs, and then my favorite part. They tied it in for all of those from out of the
US. I’ve never really thought of this before, but they said “The 4th of July should be a holiday celebrated
by LDS members everywhere. Because of the 4th of July, America gained religious freedom and without that religious freedom, Joseph Smith never would have been able to restore the gospel. It’s because of
the events that occurred on July 4th that you are all here today.”

Cool, ne?! I thought that was awesome. Right after they said that we had this freakishly huge flag
ceremony involving flags from countries all over the world. AH! It was so cool. I wanted to get pictures
of it, but normally we’re not allowed to have cameras in the Devotional Room so I didn’t bring it.
Shippai (fail) on my part. Gomenosai!

After the flag ceremony of epicness, we were given the following instructions. “Go out these doors and
get some ice cream. Once you have your ice cream go to this end of the building to watch the fireworks.
Do NOT return to your residence until after the fireworks.” So we went and got ice cream and then
went to watch the Stadium of Fire Fireworks. (For anyone who doesn’t know, I HATE FIREWORKS! :P)
The best part was staying out until 11:30pm! WHAT!? ;) Oh my gosh we were all so excited. What
sucked though was the fact that even though we were told we had to stay up that late, we still had to
wake up by 6:30 the next day. We called it “4th of July Hangover”. xD

So that was MY 4th of July.

How was yours? I want to hear about everything you guys did!

Adventure of LEAVING:
So the only other exciting thing that happened this week happened yesterday… We left the MTC. AHHH!
:P Let me explain.

Before entering the MTC, Long-shimai had to get a procedure done on her foot. That’s why she came
3 days later than everyone else. Because of that we’ve had to go to the medical center every week to
have her foot checked and make sure she’s okay. Last P-day (After I sent my email of course…) we went
in and they told us that the MTC Medical Center had done everything they needed to and now Long-
Shimai needed to have her foot checked by a podiatrist (sp?). In order to do that, we had to leave MTC
campus.

So yesterday, Long-shimai and I skipped gym and most of Language Study to catch a shuttle and go to
the podiatrist. It. Was. Crazy. The MTC feels like a completely different world. While we were in the car
on the way to go we were passing all these different things I’ve grown up with. We passed the tunnel
where we go tunnel singing (Which is just around the corner!!!!!), we passed the McDonalds where
my parents met, we passed my grandma’s house (3 times total), and finally we stopped at an office in
Shadowbrook where my Great-Grandma used to live. Talk about weird.

This will tell you how long we’ve been in the MTC. Ready? While we were there we were seriously like
kids in a candy store. We had our noses pressed to the windows watching all the people outside! :P
Every now and then someone would bike passed wearing… well… biking clothes and we’d both look at
each other and say “THOSE ARE NOT GARMENT APPROVED!”

We commented on how weird it was to see someone in charge who wasn’t wearing a suit and tie. While in the lobby waiting to be seated a man came in. He looked at us and got this HUGE smile on his face
and said “Well look at that! Sister Missionaries!” I think that’s kinda when it hit both of us. That feeling
of being in the world but literally set apart from it.

Well, it turns out Long-shimai’s foot was perfectly fine. We went in, he said “looks good”, and we left. :P
It was a really nice reminder though what it is exactly that I’m doing. I’m SO excited to actually go to
Japan now. You have no idea.

Well, that’s my update for the week. Sorry if I babbled. I tend to do that as most of you know. ;) PS:
Grandma, I assume you read this. :P Just so you know, I waved at your house every time we drove by!
Love you!

I love you all! Ai shitte imasu! I hope you guys are all doing fantastic. Thank you to those of you who
have been writing me and keeping me updated! I love to hear from you all! Matta, ne!