Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt

Ok, I confess: I am not the brightest bulb in the box right now. There I said it. And it was hard! But harder still is typing with this broken finger. Yes, it's the same exact finger that I broke exactly a year and a half ago, right before leaving for D.C. for my internship. You know what they say... break me once, shame on you. Break me twice, well, hence the light being not-so-bright. I was playing volleyball, which I am quite fond of and it was my turn to serve, which I am fonder of still. But all fond feelings found their end when one of the elders from District B (the rivals of my then-district, District H), threw me the ball, and when I caught it, the ball slammed into my pinky finger at an awkward angle. I said a few choice words in my head, made a few faces, and kept on playing. When the doctor initially reviewed the x-rays before the specialist, he said, "your finger looks terribly... normal." I felt relief. But the next day, 12 hours spent on three planes later, the first thing Sister Glazier, the Mission President's wife, said to me was, "Hermana Sweeney, your finger is broken. I said, "oh no, I was told it was just sprained." I was told wrong. Apparently, there are specialists for a reason. So I get to be in a finger splint for a couple weeks. But as my cutsey companion, Sister Schillemat (it's a German name) and I like to sing, "todo esta bien," or "it's all good!"

And it is good. We have rice and beans for lunch almost everyday. After a week here, my stomach is trained to be the most hungry at lunch time. I love when the smaller Dominican men, who are so nice and friendly, take one look at me and give me twice the amount of rice as my companion. Oh yeah, bring it on! I'm not trying to waste away to nothing while I'm serving God and all, after all!

The CCM (MTC) is smaller here, and there are only about 7 Hermanas and 40 Elders. It's been interesting getting used to my new district. We are district 1, and we are very different in our levels of Spanish and personalities. Me and my companion are pretty chill, so the intensity level of some Elders brings my feminism out in interesting ways. But they are but 19 years of age and they are really good young men. We may learn something from each other yet. The hardest thing is being back in beginning level Spanish when I've been doing it for 8 years. But it reminds me of how much I forgot and how much I need to practice. And as the Mission President, President Glazier said, it can feel like a prison at times because there's really not anywhere to go like at the Provo MTC. We go back and forth between two floors all day for classes and food. And our gym is more like a rec room. But once again... esta bien.

But now, for the main course. So, an event took place that has restored my faith in, well, everything. There is a book that was made into a movie called "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." Well, I can do them one better. My dear mother sent me a couple of packages while I was at the Provo MTC. The first one contained a cute turquoise blouse and a floral print pencil skirt.

Well, when it came time to leave for the D.R., my bags were overweight, so something had to go. The skirt, which was a little short on me, went the way of the giveaway box. That was the end of that.

Or was it?

The second day I was here, my Comp and I were unpacking, and what should she pull out but... the very skirt I left behind. I almost died of excessive laughter. It's only about 10 sizes too big for her. She brought it in case some Dominican woman could use it. But instantly, we agreed she HAD to wear it. And so she did. And with a belt to hold it in place, it actually looked super cute.

Today, my roommate, Sister Domgarrd, is wearing it. She's 6'2". Just like the story of the traveling pants, this skirt seems to look good on everyone! Next in line to try its magic is Sister Breitweiser.

Anyway, I am loving my missionary experience. Only five more weeks here! Lord give me strength! It's gonna be good good times...