December 1, 2014

Hey guys!

I've had a really good week, but we didn't get a whole lot done. Elder Whitehead was sick at the beginning of the week, then we had exchanges with the ZLs on Wednesday. That consisted of going out to red dragon (china town of bucuresti) and hitting second hand shops in preperation for the thanksgiving activity the next day. The Red dragon is the large piata of imported goods, so it's where all the asians buy there counter tops, steamers, food, clothes, and everything else you could ever want. I could completely decorate and furnish my house from that single store, and I left with a mental picture of what I want my kitchen to look like.. I also got way too excitied when I found curry spices I'd been looking for. On thursday we had a turkey bowl early in the morning. Missionaries from Craiova, ploiesti, and alexandria had come into buc the night before to celebrate so we had really big teams. I thought the game itself was retarded because it just turned into watching the same three kids trying to relive their highschool days while the rest of us ran up and down the field. But after two hours of that we played a game of tag and I had a chance to redeem myself. We got cleaned up from that, and then went to the church for a huge feast the senior couples had prepared. They prepared nine turkeys and a billion other dishes. I subconciously refilled my plate so many times I was beginning to feel like I was at hogwarts. We had a small talent show, but they had only alloted a half hour for it so not very many people were able to participate. We held a choir practice for our concert at the embassy and then a the dude in charge of designing all the temples came and gave us a special fireside. We'd been contacting people on the streets for this thing for a long time, but I'm really glad none of our contacts showed up because it was kinda weird.. The speaker was a cool guy though. I also just ran into one of my best friends, paul from nigeria- the guy i met in cluj. If I take nothing else from this mission, I've established a hundred friendships that make it worth it. When I saw that guy I literally yelled and sprinted for him. He's going to the states soon for school (leaving about the same time I am) and we're going to try and hang out. 

On Friday we had another exchange with the other elders from our district. We had a bunch of fun cause they're the coolest. I was with elder laititi, a samoan guy I'm super tight with, and we had a good time. 

I went to bed feeling gross and woke up on Sunday with the stomach bug so I didn't go to church. It made for a super boring day, but I was able to work out some lyrics and read. I was feeling alright by that evening and now I'm in tip top shape. 

haha, yeah- my hair's getting long. it's still technically within the rules, right? and I really really want to grow it out long once I return, so i'm hoping I can make it by a couple more months without getting it cut.

That leather coat was just a snake leather, woman's coat I found for 5 lei at a thrift store. I bought for that single picture ;) 

I don't really have plans for christmas yet. It really depends on how cool my next companion is because Whitehead's going home next wednesday. but I'm looking around for some cheap light to dec my apartment out, and I'm going to nab a tree from the delta one of these nights once I get my hands on a hatchet.

Gabey you're so tare cute! I can't wait to see you buddy! Can you guys believe that my last skype call is already coming up and how little time I have left after that? It keeps hitting me how soon that is, and then other days it feels like forever away.

Thanks for all the stories! I love you guys so much!

Elder Collison