Only a few days left at the MTC!

Collin leaves for Argentina on March 29th!  He is really excited to go and thinks he will really like it there.
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so i guess the first bit of news that everyone is wondering about is my FLIGHT PLANS! I got them last thursday, however i got them after we were allowed to email, so i couldn't tell anyone about them. i leave monday, march 29th. my first flight is at 1215 PM, out of SLC. i fly to atlanta GA, arrive at 558 PM. leave atlanta at 835 PM and arrive in argentina at 745 AM. thats quite a flight. maybe i will have some time to finally catch up on some sleep... :) i am super excited to finally leave. i only have 4 days left, and if you count P-day today and sunday as not really counting as days, i only have 2 days left!! there are 8 people in my travel group. i have to pay 50 bucks for my second bag, but i should get reimbursed for it in argentina.


the rest of my district got their flight plans on monday or tuesday. one leaves the following day to california, and the rest going to san antonio leave the next day on wednesday.

so anyways, a bit of news i heard, obama's healthcare plan passed huh?

our last day with one of our teachers, the one that went to buenos aires north, was yesterday. so we had a culture day. argentina looks amazing, and i really think i am going to like it.

later today at 130 or so, i have to get my second hep a shot, and its going to cost $70.

i put one of my suits in the drycleaners here, and after i got it back i went to put in my second suit, and i was one day off (they say you need to put it in a week before its needed) and so they wouldn't clean my second suit. that was really irritating. especially when they clean suits for one suit elders in like 2 days.

i got the package from mom and dad (even though it had the address as brianna... ;) ) a couple days ago. thanks for the package. i love the jellybeans, really good! i also got a package from jennifer a few days before that. it had cookies and milkyways in it, which are also really good. i hosted again on wednesday. i got to host 1 sister, and 2 elders. it was interesting i suppose, having to make chit chat, trying to make them feel welcome in a new place, but it was something different.

i started reading the bible a few days ago. i got through genesis so far. basically from the first half of genesis, the bible is basically people getting drunk and comitting incest... kind of weird in my opinion, but whatever.

my companion and i were chosen to complete a random survey. i just thought i would say that, the survery wasn't a big deal or anything.

my companion and i also said the sacrament prayers during sacrament meeting this past sunday in spanish. it went well.

during our temple walk this past sunday, 2 girls showed up in (shorter) skirts and put a blanket in the middle of the temple grounds and laid on it for like 30 minutes. this seems to be a normal occurence here at the provo temple when missionaries are around. some guy in charge finally went over there and asked the girls to leave, but not before several elders had already talked with them... pretty funny. there were TONS of people there this time. usually its only missionaries, but tons of families showed up too, i guess because it was the first real warm sunday.

my first 2 knuckles on my right hand are a bit dried out, and started bleeding a little bit because of the cracks. i tried putting aloe vera on it, but it didn't seem to do much, and they are still really dried out. don't know why my other knuckles aren't dried out though...

we went to the TE (teacher evaluation) a few days ago, and one of the teachers walked up with his laptop watching a march madness game and he had it playing through the speakers. several of the teachers came out during the next 10 minutes and sat and watched it with him. i thought that was pretty funny as well.

we taught our teacher outside this week, that was fun. he was playing an investigator he had on his mission, and we just walked all over the mtc campus as if it was a real investigator.

this past thursday, as we were walking back from the temple, the trio in our district stopped and talked to a guy that was sitting on the street in front of the temple just looking at it. it so happens that he wasn't a member(didn't even know what the church was really...), and they set up an appointment to teach him at the MTC. kind of weird i know, a kid in a backpack in provo, looking at the temple, and not knowing what the church is. we all thought he was an RM playing a joke. well anyways, he didn't show up to the appointment, so they called him, and they taught him over the phone for the next hour or so. they then referred him to the provo missionaries, so it turns out he was a real investigator?

we ate lunch outside this past thursday as well. that was really nice. it was kind of warm outside, so we all enjoyed being outside to eat lunch.

about the calling from the airport thing. they haven't told us anything about it... i have no idea how long we can call or anything. but i think we can call from the slc airport also, so be expecting a call as early as 10 in the morning, and then i dont know the timezone in atlanta, but i would be calling between 5-8 atlanta time. i will try and use that calling card thing that dad gave me, but if not i will call with the phone number of the phone i am at, and see how that works.

today, i wanted to wash my jeans and my normal shirt that i wear, so i am in a pair of black dress pants that i have, black dress shoes, and a green striped nicer looking shirt with thermal shirt underneath. i must say, i look pretty pimpin for only being half dressy.

so i get this email every week now, don't know how or why, but it tells me what my current balance on my "card" is. it must be the card that i get in argentina for my monthly allowance. anyways, this week it told me that i have $130 on my card. thats nice. i think i will have to buy a package of white socks. the first time i washed my clothes i lost one sock, and last week i lost another sock somehow, so now i only have 3 pairs of socks. they tell you to change your white socks every day in argentina, so i will definitely need some more. i think i might also have to get some boots down there for when it rains, among other things. i might even have to get a heavier coat, as i don't know really how cold it can get. the interesting thing is i am leaving winter here, just to go right back to winter in a couple months in argentina. yay for opposite seasons on the other side of the planet!

i think i am going to buy a couple journals here from the bookstore, since i dont think i will be able to get the kind i want down in argentina. i still have a bit of money left on my blue mtc card, so i will use that, and i may have to buy 1 more with my debit card, depending how much is discounted for being a missionary.

dont know if i said this int he last email, but we had our last TRc on tuesday. we had a really nice old man, who reminded me a lot of grandpa durham. he taught spanish at 2 high schools, and he was really cool.

anyways, i am now out of time. be waiting for my call on monday sometime!

4 more days!

-Collin