Hello boys!
It sounds like you all are doing so well! I love to read
through your posts/emails and get caught up on your adventures!
Pelle and Rily I hadn’t heard the story behind the
slackline/rapelling and was laughing out loud! So typical! And ski/beach day
sounds like a success! Especially the part about Mexican food..yummm! I always
crave Mexican while I am in Switzerland as it is not super a thing here.
Andrew, I am sure your Spanish is improving more than you
even realize! And if not I can tell you from my meager Italian experience that
a surprising amount can be communicated through the spirit and gestures! That
is so awesome to hear about your investigators! Wishing you the best of luck!
Elder Ely, so good to hear from you! I know quite a few Brazilians
here at Franklin and I tell all of them about you! There is a girl from
Curitiba and a girl form Vitoria. Both have seen missionaries before and have
had pleasant encounters with them. Although they also warn me of how ghetto
areas of Sao Paolo can be! So best of luck! Also fun fact: in case you ever
watch Brazilian news TV Brazil interviewed my friend Bea while we were at the
Vatican for the Pope’s inauguration and then they had me get in the shot with
her, wave a Brazilian flag we had and shout “viva la papa!” So I am pretty much
famous in Brazil.. haha
Elder J.Durham, I have a letter to send you!! It has been
sitting on my desk for over a month so I apologize! But great to hear from
you!! Sounds like you are adjusting to the big city and I can’t wait to hear
about more of your adventures in Spanish speaking New York! I am sure it is a
weird feeling to be living in such a foreign environment yet still in the US.
You should probs work on figuring out the name of your area! Thanks for the
great update though and be expecting a letter soon J
Elder Ninow, not sure how, but I ended up on your e-mailing
list and am loving it! You are a heartfelt writer and I can’t believe you are
in Russia already! Best of luck in everything! I am sure you will be
incredible!
Elder G.Lange, hope the florida sunshine is treating you
well! I wrote you a letter a few weeks ago so hopefully you will have gotten it
by now! Keep up the good work! Can’t wait to hear back from you! Keep building
those muscles and maybe one day you will out bench Elder Ely ;)
I know you all are pressed for time so I will try and keep
it short!
Days 1-5: Pompeii + Paestum + Ercolano
Basically explored miles upon miles of ancient ruins for
days! Pompeii was buried in 30+ feet of volcanic ash following the eruption of
Mt. Vesuvius in 49ad and Ercolano was buried by mud and ash moving 60mph also
after the eruption. I loved learning about the rich history and culture of
these places! Other highlights include: making pizza with an Italian chef, 5
course traditional Italian dinners every night, meeting a ceramics maestro and
climbing ruins in a thunderstorm.
Days 6-10: Rome + Vatican City!
I love this city!! While there it was very cold for March
but we braved the weather to do a lot of exploring! We hit up the Roman Forum +
Capitoline museum + Trevi Fountain + Spanish Steps + Vittorio Monument. You
know the works. We also traveled to the smallest country in the entire world,
Vatican city! And not only did we get to tour the museum and the beautiful
Sistine chapel but I also got to attend the popes inauguration! So incredible!!
What a guy! A truly once in a lifetime experience! And of course the Italian
food can’t be beat! All of my meals over travel were paid for (as part of my
tuition) so that meant 5 course Italian meals every single night. Before going
on travel an upperclassmen told me “if you don’t gain 10 pounds you are not
doing it right!” I think that statement speaks to the amount of delicious food
that was provided on this trip.
Day 10-14: London
A relaxing low key end to travel! We stayed with a woman
that I know through the little girl I tutor here in Switzerland. Basically this
woman is a tutor to the children of the rich and famous. She currently works for
the Beckhams and in the past has tutored for Pierce Brosnan’s daughter and Emma
Watson just to name a few! So it was pretty interesting to talk with her and hear
her stories! London itself was a fun city! Very gray and rainy but I was in
shock about how much English was spoken! Haha I am just so used to not
understanding what is being said around me. While in London I rode the London
eye at dusk, took a Harry Potter tour, hung out in front of Buckingham palace
and made music video! Pretty successful weekend!
Alas now I am back at Franklin and having to do “real world”
things like homework and presentations and 13 page research papers. But look
out for my next post because I have another big adventure coming up soon J
I love you all and pray for you everyday! You are the best
and I can’t wait to give you all the biggest hugs when you get home and hear
all your stories!
Much love, Jess
Ps I hope its alright that I am posting on “the homie”
blog.. I can be a homie too right? xoxo
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