So how are things?!
Good! I feel the spirit with me, finally!
Do you clap at doors?
yes. all the time.
How do people hear you when it's cold?
The houses and windows arent very good, so they hear haha
I heard there are a lot of wild dogs in Argentina. Are there in your area? Do they have fleas?
I
wouldn't say wild because almost all of them have their designated
house... or area of domain. But they are very very dirty and they are
not trained not to bark or not to jump on people so I hate dogs here. I
try not to touch them but I have a funny story about that this week! An
investigator handed me her puppy because my companion was like, oh a
gringo! they love dogs! Give the puppy to her! And I was like oh...
gross haha and pet it and put it down. It was super lathargic and I
didn't understand what was wrong with it! Puppys have energy! During the
lesson that followed, it puked all over the wood next to the
califactor! Then..... it ATE THE PUKE! and came over to me and chewed on
my dress and my gloves. After that appointment we went to the nearest
member's house and washed myself as well as I could discreetly Oh... that was so terrible. Ill let you know when I start showing signs of worms.
How do you wash your clothes?
We have a washer. It take almost 3 hours per load though.
Where do they dry?
On a rack next to the heaters in our pension.
When are your first transfers?
They were today! We found out on Saturday.
Elder McCarlie is going home (finished his mission) and Hermana Ovando
and I are staying. We get transferred a lot with this President and he
loves doing whitewashes for no bad reason.
How is the language going?
Slowly
but surely. I understand a ton and I can teach lessons pretty fairly
and when I have an idea I can can communicate it clealry depending on
what it is!
Do you still crash right to sleep each night?
yes. Thank goodness!
This Saturday we had a ward activity! It was for their independence day (9 de julio). Their tradition is to have locro and apparently Bishop
makes the best locro in the world. When we got to the activity, I cant
even describe it. There were about 200 people and the tables were as
close as they could be to each other and we still had to move in every
desk from every class room and the ping pong table and chairs lining the
walls for the people! I was expecting all of us to file out to the
kitchen for food, but the missionaries ( ME!!!!) ended up grabbing big 5
gallon buckets full of locro (kind of like what you put on rice for
gumbo, but more white beans, better meat and no rice. Its more
concentrated with food than the soupy stuff in Louisiana) and went around with ladles and
served the people! Everyone brought their owns utensils and everything.
We just served them. People ate and talked and some people brought
thermoses of hot water and their mate (pronounces mah-te... kind of) to
drink and we had bands and shows and dances and everything. It was
awesome! Also, we all (not me...) sang the national anthem of Argentina
It was a fun experience! And the locro was really good! I asked how to
make it and they said, if you can find it, put it in. haha Anyways.
Today, we helped Lucas and
Silvina more with their papers for their wedding! I'm so excited for
them! We are organizing a little get together in the church after his
baptism for their wedding and everything.
Anyways. I love you guys! You're amazing! and Jesus loves you too :)
Hermana Sant
The following are pictures from the 9th of July celebration - Argentina's birthday!
And what is this "locro"? Here is a recipe from
Saveur:
Ingredients:
2 cups dried, broken hominy
1 cup dried lima beans
1 cup dried chickpeas
3⁄4 cup olive oil
1 1⁄2 tsp. sweet paprika
1⁄2 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. veal shoulder, cut into 1" pieces
1 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1" pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 oz. cured chorizo, cut into 1⁄2" slices
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1⁄2 tsp. ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1 small acorn squash, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup finely chopped scallions
Rinse hominy under running water until water runs clear; place in a
bowl with limas and chickpeas. Cover with water, and soak at least 8
hours or overnight; drain. Whisk 1⁄2 cup oil, paprika, chile flakes, and 1⁄4
of the garlic in a bowl; set sauce aside. Heat remaining oil in an
8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Season veal and pork with salt and
pepper; working in batches, add to pan, and cook, turning, until
browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add chorizo;
cook until fat renders, about 2 minutes. Add remaining garlic and onion;
cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste, oregano, cumin, and
bay leaf; cook for 2 minutes. Return meat to pan with hominy, beans,
chickpeas, squash, and 10 cups water; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low;
cook until hominy and beans are tender, about 2 hours. Stir in juice;
season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls; drizzle with sauce.
Sprinkle with scallions. Serves 12.
Also, thanks to a random missionary who also served in Sari's mission and who had a blob, I was able to steal a picture of the chapel in El Bolsón from the internet:
I know! How spectacular is that?!
