Washington: dark green, overcast, damp, crisp, moderately chilly right now. At least, it is where I live.
2007 N 900 E Unit 68
I know, it sounds like the beginning of a novel. But I've been thinking to myself: "Will I remember what Washington is like?"
I figured that it would be fun to record what I remember about my home and when I come back after my mission, I can compare what I appreciated about it pre-Florida and post-Florida.
The people in Washington are generally nice. A fairly white, individualist culture (thank you, culture class in college). If you look across the landscape (in my part of the state), you see a blanket of forest green and a canopy of sky blue. Mostly because those colors consist of evergreen trees and the sky. Although, to be fair, the sky is covered with clouds pretty often. I wonder if I'll start to miss clouds?
Well, now I'm just rambling like one of those people on survival reality TV. I guess that IS kind of the purpose of a blog. To ramble to nobody (seriously, I don't know if people are even reading this lol).
The soil is fertile and saturated with water. Every shade of green can e seen on the horizon. It isn't Alaska, but I like how suburban life meets Pacific Northwest woodland.
I took the dogs for their evening walk, and tried to describe Washington air. Crisp and cool were the only words that came to mind. I suppose that it would be like trying to describe what your house smells like. You can't tell, because you've been desensitized to it. But if you go over to a friend's house, you can smell a difference and describe it. For example, when I went to Honolulu, I noticed that the air smelt like a mix of gasoline and coconut, with a hint of salt. On the beach in Maui, I smelt sunshine (I know that it sounds silly, but I think that you can smell a difference when the sun shines powerfully) and the sea (for obvious reasons).
... Now I'm really rambling. I'm not even talking to anyone, I'm just typing my thoughts into a computer.
I made a list of my "lasts" (the last things that I did. These are activities that I will be unable to do on my mission. This is because my time needs to be focused on learning, teaching and serving):
1. TV shows: The Office, Duck Dynasty, Scooby-Doo.
2. Song: I Lived by OneRepublic (perfect for a pre-mission pep song)
3. Recreational book: Memoirs of a Geisha (I'm really fascinated with Japan now).
4. Movie: Nacho Libre
5. Social outing: Pantomime with my family
6. Digital drawing: Nashville (not the city)
***One roadtrip, mini Utah "vacation" and MTC arrival later.***
My favorite part of the roadtrip was sleeping (due to the fact that I only got 3.5 hours of sleep the night before I was set apart and starting riding to Utah. I blame it partially on the Pantomime that we saw the night before ;) ) and eating at Yakima's Miner Burgers. They have amazing cheeseburgers and ranch sauce.
Now on to the other stuff:
Haines, Oregon: calm, empty, snug, broad. We visited the Isaacsons and their children and grandchildren for a bit. I forgot how amazing the landscape was and how surprisingly welcome that town is.
Idaho: vast, beige, bumpy, clear skies, grassy plains, highly agricultural.
Another beautiful state. The only exception to the previously listed adjectives is Boise. We stayed in the Hampton in Boise for one night, a lovely hotel. It was 32 degrees fahrenheit outside, but we could see the Boise temple across the highway! Huge bonus! :)
Utah: Reddish brown, mountainous, majestic, highly inhabited valleys, snowy, cold, dry, homey. Actually, "homey" isn't the right word; "home" is. I feel like I'm home when in Utah. I really hope to attend BYU someday so that I can live in this wonderful atmosphere for a while. I don't want to raise a family here, but attend college? Absolutely, yes!
We drove through Brigham City, which I recognized from last year's Provo to Rexburg roadtrip. I love how agricultural it is! We stayed in Draper with the Fairbanks family for a few nights and visited Salt Lake City and Provo. The highlights of this trip were definitely going through the SLC temple (we got to see where James E. Talmage slept while writing "Jesus the Christ"!!), seeing the Temple Lights,visiting BYU and seeing my beloved family and friends.
And now I'm here in the MTC! I'm running out of time to send this email to the blog, but I'll try to include everything! Nobody cried when I was dropped off, I was met by a host missionary, Sister Futata from Brisbane, Australia. I later learned that she's been here for seven weeks learning Korean, and is about to leave for one of the Seoul missions!
Anyway, she saw me and turned to Mom and exclaimed, "Oh, she's so cute!"
And it turns out, she thought my Mom was way younger than she actually was. Told ya you're good-looking, Mom. ;)
We took my suitcases to my residence hall, left my luggage and went to Spanish class. I'm a "Solo sister", meaning I'm the only sister missionary in my class. Three Elders and myself are being taught Spanish by Hermano Barrett; a 22-year-old man from SLC who served in the Mexico Tijuana mission. English was his first language, but he only speaks to us in Spanish. I'm actually learning a ton from his classes! :) I also attend missionary classes and workshops which are SO awesome! I learn tons from them, I especially enjoyed the "People and Your Purpose Part One" workshop! I'm running out of time to type this up, so I'll explain later.
I have two companions: Hermana Clarke and Hermana Walfield! They're both bubbly rays of sunshine! We share a dorm with another set of companions; Hermana Vela and Hermana Cliff (who is actually from an area near home)! Hermana Cliff makes the greatest movie/TV show references. I usually understand what she's talking about, and we have a good laugh. :)
My zone is way awesome, too! We all either speak or are learning Spanish, so we speak tons of Spanglish haha! And our branch is awesome! We all just arrived on Wednesday, so we're all the new kids. Our branch president is a professional psychologist, so we're stuck with a shrink for two weeks, LOL! ;) Just kidding, he's great!
It is my third day in the MTC and I'm already teaching a lesson in Spanish tonight. Yay! We'll see how this goes!
Also, on orientation day, I saw Elder Stanger! We recognized each other immediately and shook hands vigorously after the meeting!
OH! So Elder Sandall, my District Leader (the other Elders in my District are Elder Gonzales and Elder Keith) said that I got a letter. But when he went to retrieve it, it was from the MTC office. That was a little bit of a bummer. So, if you want, please send me a letter! :) I would love to hear from you folks back home! Letters and packages are HUGE here! Like, we value mail more than Hogwarts students!!
I'm here until February 3rd, please write me! :)
Sister Samantha Curnow
FEB03 FL-FTL2007 N 900 E Unit 68
Provo UT 84602
Love you all! Yo tengo un testimonio de JesuCristo. Y JesuCristo es el camino, la luz y la vida.
Con amor,
Hermana Curnow
P.S. I'm out of time, but remind me to tell you all what languages are taught here and which corners of the globe these missionaries are from! I love it! This place is a sea of smiling faces and black name tags!
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