Ok, so I finally have a full-on, non-English blog title. Oh yeah, I went there. But it´s not what it seems, because the first half of it is in Latin. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
In a nutshell, En Media Res means “in the middle of things.” It´s the essential rule to any good script or story. Most of the time we as an audience will be joining the life story of someone else while their already in the middle of living their life, and either something dark haunts their past that we have yet to discover or we´re about to embark with them on some great journey. But we could never really start at the beginning with anyone´s story because that would mean we´d have to have been following them since their infancy. And I think most people already know how I feel about babies…
Anyway, this concept I´ve been describing has become the axis around which turns my life. I arrived in La Yuca with the work already in progress, and I just came and took someone else´s place to help move it along. And now, I´m in the middle of another story, with new characters and a new setting. How many scripts do they plan on handing me here? Now that´s a question we´ll bien never have the answer to.
So essentially, this week has been the longest ever recorded by man, or woman. My new companion, Hermana Lund, and I, found out we were essentially being whitewashed to our area, which means that neither missionary has any experience or any knowledge of the people in the area. Technically, Hermana Lund has already spent a transfer here in Azua (As-wa), but the mission president, President Rodriguez, decided to divide the area, which is already small, into 2 parts. There are missionaries all up and down Azua, but the dividing lines come quick and stop us dead in our tracks. Big no no to encroach on the land of other hunters. Or something like that. But really, it just helps keep the order. But anyway, Hermana Lund and her old companion, Hermana Silverio, covered the other half of the area last transfer and the other sisters that lived with them covered the area Hermana Lund and I are now in. Confused yet? Me too. So Hermana Lund knows the members of the branch and where they live, but I think she kind of did what I do, which is to say, she followed Hermana Silverio to most of the sites around here, without always paying attention to where they were. That´s me for sure. Half the time, I end up somewhere with no idea how I got there. My mind is its own chlorophom.
But speaking of one way my new companion and I are alike, let´s round it up to an even 100. She's pretty much my doppelganger. She has also graduated from BYU, been an EFY counselor, and done the Washington Seminar program. Oh, not to mention, out here, in my same mission. There´s other creepy similarities, but I thought better of it and decided not to put them here, as they may be considered personal. And it´s fun to leave people guessing. But we´re pretty different in personalities. She´s more introverted, according to herself. I´m... not, so much. She already dislikes most Dominican men, so she´s made it a goal with me to try to be nice to them. They can be pretty obnoxious, some of them. But others have genuine interest (in the gospel), and we can´t brush over them because others choose to be, well, less-than- human. So we´ll do our best with that. But to top it all off, she is also my madrasta, or stepmom, which is to say, my second companion on the mission. Most of the time when missionaries talk about their ancestry, they´re referring to the people they´re "related to" on the mission. Twisted but true. And I am still but a student in all of this.
As for the rest, Azua is not so bad, actually. It's hotter than hell on prom night, but it´s more like California central valley heat, and not take a bath in your own sweat, humidity heat. And another great advantage to being out here is... NO MOSQUITOES!!!! Or at least, not many that I have noticed. I was beginning to think I was Bella from Twilight, I was covered in so many bites. But I think the scars are beginning to heal (literal and emotional). And Christmas was good, got to talk to the fam and talk to a city full of drunks about setting an appointment for next week. The people hear are very friendly when they´re drunk, but putting an appointment with them is hard because they won´t remember they talked to us and thus probably won´t be in their house when we show up. Oh well, after New Years, people will be back to just drinking late into the night. And while driving their motorcycles. And you thought drinking and driving was bad..
And last but not least, I am happy to report that I got a part of my wish at least. Two of my roommates are Dominican, so it forces me to speak more Spanish. Hermana Silverio is the one who was comps with Hermana Lund, and she is now with a mini missionary. The President doesn´t like trios, so we three were only in one for 2 days. So Hermana Silverio has a companion that is only with her for a transfer, or six weeks. Her name is Hermana Dotel, and she is planning on serving a full-term mission of her own coming up pretty soon.
Well, as usual, I must take my bows and make my exit. Hope this keeps y'alls satisfecha hasta la semana que viene. I will do nothing more than leave you with this touching poema:
Cinco Sentidos tenemos
Cinco Sentidos usamos
Cinco Sentidos perdemos
Cuando Nos enamoramos
Con Amor,
Hma. Sweeney
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