Mexico!

Well I am here in Mexico! The plane rides were super long and the whole process of getting here was the longest day of my life. At the Phoenix airport I found about 20 other missionaries who were all on my flight to Mexico. Once we arrived in Mexico we found the guys from the MTC who were sent to pick us up from the airport. They drove us to the MTC on a big bus. The drive there was interesting because we got a pretty good look at what Mexico City looks like and it's pretty ghetto not gonna lie. But then we got to the MTC and it is beautiful! There are big walls separating us from the city and it's our own beautiful little world in here. 

My companion is Hermana Ivie from Alpine Utah. She is going to Jersey too and she is great and really easy to get along with. The other missionaries in our district are great! 7 out of the 12 of us are going to Jersey. We all get along great and have so much fun together. It's hard to believe we've only known each other for a week because we are all such good friends already!

The schedule here is pretty intense. They have everything you do planned out to the minute, except on Pdays. It was really hard to get used to.

The first couple days were really long and difficult. I was exhausted and really missed home. Everyone here says that when you're new, you just have to make it to your first Sunday and it will get easier. That was definitely true because things started getting easier after Sunday when I got used to everything. 

I was expecting it to be hot here but it's not. It rains every single day. I wear my raincoat all the time. There's a hill next to the MTC and it has a bunch of cute Mexican houses on it. It's outside the walls of the MTC but we can see it because it's up on a hill. It's so cute! And when we look out the windows of the taller buildings we can see over the walls and into the outside world of the city surrounding us. We are seriously right in the middle of the ghetto. The neighborhood around us is really sketchy, the buildings are falling apart and there is graffiti everywhere. And sometimes we can hear gunshots coming from outside the walls. But like I said, we are totally safe inside the walls and it's beautiful in here. 

Oh and funny story! So when I got here there wasn't a pillow on my bed. I was confused because I don't remember them telling us to bring pillows and I thought they provided them here. And I saw all my roommates have pillows so I just assumed I was the only one dumb enough to not bring a pillow. I didn't tell any of them because I was embarrassed. So I just folded up a blanket and put it in a pillowcase and used it as a pillow for the first five nights. Then on Monday I found out that they actually do provide pillows here and that my bed was just the only one that a worker forgot to put a pillow on. Everyone laughed a lot when they found out I had been using a makeshift pillow for five nights. I have a real pillow now so no worries!

There's been an intestinal virus going around the past couple days. A lot of people here are sick and having stomach pains. My stomach hurt a lot yesterday but I feel better now. Last night they told us we're not allowed to shake hands with anybody anymore because they want us to stop spreading the virus.  

I hope all is going well at home! I love you all! Keep the emails coming!

XOXO Hermana Harris