"Camp Grande is a pretty good-sized city, but our area isn´t really in
the big city area. Well idk if there is really that big city feel
anywhere here in Campo Grande. Maybe in the Centro (pretty much like the
mall). But that isn´t in our area either. We have a really really large
area. It took us about 30-40 minutes to bus from one side to the other
one time. And that´s an estimate and not including the far east side
where the chapel is"
"Most of our problems are with getting investigators to go to church.
Mainly because it is so far away for most of them and generally only a
few families have cars. So that leaves the bus or walking. And some
families don´t have money for the bus. So that leaves walking. And a lot
of the families farther away don´t want to walk for 3 hours to get to
the chapel."
"We went to the farthest side of our mission the
other day for lunch (we have lunch with the members here) and I
seriously felt like I was in Africa. Well, the street was a dirt road,
there were fields all around, and lets just say the houses here aren´t
like the houses in the US. It kind of hit me when I came out here to
Campo Grande that I´m in a different country. The CTM has a bunch of
American things (like carpet in the classrooms) that people here don´t
have. I went to the grocery store and didn´t recognize a thing. Maybe
the grapes sealed in plastic but i need bleach first to be able to clean
them. It´s not that it´s bad here, it´s just different. A lot of people
live without a lot of the comforts we take for granted in the US. Like
air conditioning and washing machines. But everyone here is so happy and
so nice and welcoming. They all just sit in their chairs on the porch
and drink terere (idk how to spell it, but it´s a drink I´ve had to get
used to). And people actually know who
they live by because they all sit and talk on the streets."
"So the other day I saw a blue and yellow parrot just sitting in a tree
chilling. I hear there is a
wildlife reserve here that we can visit and see all of the animals
together, which will be cool. My companion wants to see it before she
leaves in February, so I´m sure I´ll definitely have pictures by then.
Gotta admit, we see some pretty cool birds here. It´s just hard to get
pictures of birds when they´re flying overhead. Kind of like the superman
pictures. Just too fast, lol."
"Because my companion is from Natal, the northeast, she always has things
from there or things she would eat there that she likes a lot. Or
things from Brazil in general. Like cuscuz. (I think that´s how you
spell it). It´s kind of this cornmeal, floury crumble thing that people
in the northeast generally eat with a fried egg. And it was pretty good.
Like really good. Maybe I was just really hungry too, but I liked it.
Also, we ordered some cozhinas this past week. Which were also good. But
it´s amazing how little bite-size pieces can fill you up so much. But
then again all of the food here fills you up like crazy. All of it is
very good, very filling, and very good. And I like the rice and beans.
Maybe in a year and a half I´ll be tired of them, but for now, I´m still
liking them."
"Oh, and I think my favorite part here is that generally it
is really hot and the food is generally hot too (hot rice, hot beans,
hot meat, hot churrasca (yum)) so a
lot of times for dessert they will have ice cream. It is really the
best thing ever when you are really hot. Now I know why dad always comes
home from work and wants a bowl of ice cream. It seriously tastes so
much better here. But probably because we´re so hot and sweaty that it
is really refreshing. Gosh, I´m starting to crave it right now just
talking about it. Oh, and this past week we had pineapple ice cream.
Good choice, second only to chocolate..."
"And because I still don´t know how to make cozinhas (I´ll learn), but there´s a really simple way to make rice. The Brazilian way. I can´t remember the name, but its translation is like ´rice with things in it´. Basically get some oil, put in some rice, put in some meat (beef shreds generally), and maybe some onions, or carrots, or raisins. I really like the raisins in it. They were different, but really good. Just fry it on the stove all together. Maybe add some salt. And maybe add the raisins and carrots later, I can´t remember. Anyways, there you go."
"Because my companion is from Natal, the northeast, she always has things
from there or things she would eat there that she likes a lot. Or
things from Brazil in general. Like cuscuz. (I think that´s how you
spell it). It´s kind of this cornmeal, floury crumble thing that people
in the northeast generally eat with a fried egg. And it was pretty good.
Like really good. Maybe I was just really hungry too, but I liked it.
Also, we ordered some cozhinas this past week. Which were also good. But
it´s amazing how little bite-size pieces can fill you up so much. But
then again all of the food here fills you up like crazy. All of it is
very good, very filling, and very good. And I like the rice and beans.
Maybe in a year and a half I´ll be tired of them, but for now, I´m still
liking them."
"Oh, and I think my favorite part here is that generally it
is really hot and the food is generally hot too (hot rice, hot beans,
hot meat, hot churrasca (yum)) so a
lot of times for dessert they will have ice cream. It is really the
best thing ever when you are really hot. Now I know why dad always comes
home from work and wants a bowl of ice cream. It seriously tastes so
much better here. But probably because we´re so hot and sweaty that it
is really refreshing. Gosh, I´m starting to crave it right now just
talking about it. Oh, and this past week we had pineapple ice cream.
Good choice, second only to chocolate...""And because I still don´t know how to make cozinhas (I´ll learn), but there´s a really simple way to make rice. The Brazilian way. I can´t remember the name, but its translation is like ´rice with things in it´. Basically get some oil, put in some rice, put in some meat (beef shreds generally), and maybe some onions, or carrots, or raisins. I really like the raisins in it. They were different, but really good. Just fry it on the stove all together. Maybe add some salt. And maybe add the raisins and carrots later, I can´t remember. Anyways, there you go."
