Well, I wish I could tell you all about some amazing thing that had happened this week, but alas, everything is business as usual here in the MTC. First and foremost, I want to answer some questions I have received, so I'll do a quick Q&A section. I hope everyone's as excited about this as I am! :)
1. How is the language coming? Okay, so the language is EXTREMELY complicated, I'm not going to lie. The hardest part about the language is not learning the vocabulary, but rather learning what are called "grammar forms". Basically every time you have a verb in Korean, it needs to be conjugated. Not like Spanish or German or any other language conjugations. This stuff is hard core. 1 verb can have say 5 or 6 grammar forms added to it. So essentially you could take the verb "to pray" and make it into "I will humbly pray tomorrow with honor and reverence" by adding grammar forms, and it will all be considered one word. There are THOUSANDS of grammar forms. Yikes. Anyways, if none of that makes sense, don't worry. It doesn't really make all that much sense to me either. :) Overall, I still love Korean and have full confidence that I will be able to speak it well enough to convey my message with the Lord's help.
2. How is the food? THERE IS SO MUCH FOOD HERE! I swear I eat all day long. Between the treats I was sent for Christmas, the other Elders in my district and the 3 meals we get a day, I am very well fed. The menu in the cafeteria is desirable 90% of the time. They have a really good variety and there has only been one or two meals where I couldn't find anything I particularly liked. I have been really trying to restrain myself from eating all that much though because I do NOT want to gain weight here. Actually I have lost a few pounds, so I think I am doing just dandy!
3. Do you exercise regularly? Yes, everyday except P-day and Sunday we have a designated gym time. I have been playing volleyball most days during gym time and absolutely love it! (Fun fact for anyone who was not already aware, volleyball is my favorite sport to play)
4. How is your room? Cold. Very very cold. The blankets they have here feel paper thin and I usually end up sleeping in an extra layer of sweats and a hoodie so my blood doesn't freeze when I sleep. It's okay though, only 8 more weeks and then I will be in even colder Korean weather. Wahoo! :)
5. How is your district? Well, I'm going to take this a step farther and talk about my zone. All of us are going to Korea with the exception of one elder who is going to L.A, Korean speaking. Strange, I know. Anyways, I love the missionaries in my zone. I have bonded with 6 particular elders and every night before bed we have what we call "story time" where we all get together and share funny stories and basically just hang out. It's a great R&R from the busy days and it's always fun to have friends :) As for my district specifically, we are like a family. Not in the picture perfect kind of way. We are the epitome of a dysfunctional family. Each companionship in our district is a companionship of opposites. No pairing is one that a person would make independently. Therefore, there is a lot of stress and annoyance some times, and LOTS of teasing and sarcasm. Sometimes I get envious of the other districts who seem to have that "picture perfect" kind of relationship, but I am where I'm at and there is no sense in wishing I was somewhere different.
1. How is the language coming? Okay, so the language is EXTREMELY complicated, I'm not going to lie. The hardest part about the language is not learning the vocabulary, but rather learning what are called "grammar forms". Basically every time you have a verb in Korean, it needs to be conjugated. Not like Spanish or German or any other language conjugations. This stuff is hard core. 1 verb can have say 5 or 6 grammar forms added to it. So essentially you could take the verb "to pray" and make it into "I will humbly pray tomorrow with honor and reverence" by adding grammar forms, and it will all be considered one word. There are THOUSANDS of grammar forms. Yikes. Anyways, if none of that makes sense, don't worry. It doesn't really make all that much sense to me either. :) Overall, I still love Korean and have full confidence that I will be able to speak it well enough to convey my message with the Lord's help.
2. How is the food? THERE IS SO MUCH FOOD HERE! I swear I eat all day long. Between the treats I was sent for Christmas, the other Elders in my district and the 3 meals we get a day, I am very well fed. The menu in the cafeteria is desirable 90% of the time. They have a really good variety and there has only been one or two meals where I couldn't find anything I particularly liked. I have been really trying to restrain myself from eating all that much though because I do NOT want to gain weight here. Actually I have lost a few pounds, so I think I am doing just dandy!
3. Do you exercise regularly? Yes, everyday except P-day and Sunday we have a designated gym time. I have been playing volleyball most days during gym time and absolutely love it! (Fun fact for anyone who was not already aware, volleyball is my favorite sport to play)
4. How is your room? Cold. Very very cold. The blankets they have here feel paper thin and I usually end up sleeping in an extra layer of sweats and a hoodie so my blood doesn't freeze when I sleep. It's okay though, only 8 more weeks and then I will be in even colder Korean weather. Wahoo! :)
5. How is your district? Well, I'm going to take this a step farther and talk about my zone. All of us are going to Korea with the exception of one elder who is going to L.A, Korean speaking. Strange, I know. Anyways, I love the missionaries in my zone. I have bonded with 6 particular elders and every night before bed we have what we call "story time" where we all get together and share funny stories and basically just hang out. It's a great R&R from the busy days and it's always fun to have friends :) As for my district specifically, we are like a family. Not in the picture perfect kind of way. We are the epitome of a dysfunctional family. Each companionship in our district is a companionship of opposites. No pairing is one that a person would make independently. Therefore, there is a lot of stress and annoyance some times, and LOTS of teasing and sarcasm. Sometimes I get envious of the other districts who seem to have that "picture perfect" kind of relationship, but I am where I'm at and there is no sense in wishing I was somewhere different.
That concludes this weeks Q&A session, but if I get any more great questions, I'll be sure to do another one :) As for any other news, last night was pretty anticlimactic. No staying up until midnight. I had forgotten to brush my teeth before lights out at 10:30 last night, so I had to brush them after and I didn't get to bed until 10:35. I was the only one out and about, so I guess you could say I was the rebelious elder who "stayed up" on New Year's Eve :) I tried SYL'ing yesterday. For those of you who don't know, SYL stands for Speak Your Language. Basically SYL'ing is when you go the whole day speaking your mission language and not English. It was frustrating. Not only because I couldn't say what I wanted to, but more because this early on in language learning, everyone has a limited vocabulary, and it doesn't always match up to someone elses. So I would say something, even to my companion, and they wouldn't know what I was saying, so I would have to end up either showing them in the dictionary or speaking English. I learned quite a bit, but I don't think I will do it again until we all get a little more trained in the language. Life is good, and I'm sorry I haven't put any pictures up yet. I fully inted to, I just need to get a card reader for my camera, and then I will put up a few gems for anyone who cares to see :) Really that's about it. The Senior Missionaries who are in the group ahead of us leave in 12 days for Korea. Then either 1 or 2 weeks after that, we will get a new group of Korean missionaries and then we will be the Senior Missionaries. Already! That's nuts. I still feel like I got here yesterday.
I also want to say thank you to everybody who has written me letters so far. I love reading about what's going on and how you all are doing. I apologize if it's taken me forever to write back. If you've sent me a letter and I haven't responded, it's either because I have not had time, or you still have not sent me your address, so consider doing that if you haven't. :)
Alright, well I have to go, but I love you all and wish you a very happy New Year. May 2013 bring us all the most happiness yet!
Elder Jakob Tyler Fund
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Jakob,
ReplyDeleteI just can't stop smiling while reading your blog! I love hearing about everything you're doing. We pray for you and are sure that the Lord has great blessings in store for you!
Love,
Mandy