The CTM in Sao Paulo is awesome! The people in my district are great, and we are trying to push ourselves to learn the language. It is really difficult, but we have faith that with hard work the gift of tongues can make up the rest. We have two Brazilian roommates, and they are awesome! Elder M------ speaks English and has been very open with us. We had the opportunity to stand in on a blessing for him. It was in Portuguese, so that's pretty cool. And Elder S---- speaks very little Portuguese or English. The Americans and Brazilians are all super close now. Its weird how close you can get with people in one week.
We went to the Sao Paulo temple today, and it was beautiful. There were several of the Brazilians on our floor that we are close to that went through for themselves today because they were unable to before they came out. Sao Paulo is a MASSIVEEEEEEE city. You probably wouldn't be able to drive across it in under three hours. It's like the third or fourth largest city in the world, and I believe it! It is crazy!!
Its nice here. We get up at 6:30am, and there is a lot of studying, mostly studying actually. We have taught 3 lessons in Portuguese, and they were rough. Whenever we feel bad, we think about how little time we have been here, and how much we have learned in that time. The beds are comfy. They do provide us with bug spray.
I actually really like the food. It's a lot of beans and rice and meat. I did ask about peanuts but couldn't fully understand, but now I'm pretty sure there are no peanuts. I am still very careful and my district knows too. We eat ham and cheese sandwiches every morning for breakfast. I repeat, every morning! But they are actually really good. The scale here said that i was 164 all week, so it's either off or I gained some weight. We started a diet though, and I was back under 150 this morning. We can play basketball or run for exercise when it's not raining. When it's raining, we go to a very little gym and can do pull ups, ride stationary bikes, or play ping pong.
I really love it here, and I love everyone that I've met. The people from Brazil are awesome! They are so fun loving and really seem to enjoy hanging out with us. It's crazy that we cant fully communicate, yet we can understand each other. I love the Brazilians that hang out with us all the time. I am kind of the connection between the Brazilians and the Americans. I don't know why, but the Brazilians like me. They are so funny and fun loving. But they can be really spiritual at the same time. I have so much respect for all of these guys. Some of them have tattoos and stuff, and they are converts, but they are out here and have super strong faith. I love the people here, and the CTM is awesome!
I love you guys so much! (Please send this to who it needs to get to. We only get 45 mins to email.)
Elder Nielson
(Yes, Elder is Elder in Portuguese.)
P.P.S., I should have brought my hammock! In Recife it is normal for people to have a hammock in their houses, so ... yeah. I think I can get one here, so I will probably do that.
P.P.P.S. I should invest in a nice set of Portuguese scriptures. They gave us a paper version, and they are already getting battered. They are like 30 - 50 U.S. dollars here at the Distribution Center by the temple, so that's pretty good. I'm sorry I cant send pictures, and my typing is bad. I gave one of my Brazilian roommates a BYU shirt because he wants to go to BYU when he gets home. He gave me a tie this morning to show his gratitude for the gesture, and it was really cool and nice of him. I tried to explain that it is a cheap t-shirt, but he forced me to take it. That's Elder M------, who speaks English.
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