Bonjour mes amis et ma famile!! Comment allez vous?! Je suis tres bien!
Alrighty where to start. This place is awesome. I loves it. There's always so much going on here!
Everyone's really nice and chill. My P-Day is on Friday, and that's when I can email everyone. I'd love to hear from all of you, just sent me something at ethan.jenkins@myldsmail.net. My companion's name is Elder Todd, and he's from Cali!! He's way cool and is actually half Tahitian! And he's visited there like four times, one of which was only a month ago! So he already knows a ton about the culture. He's said I'm almost definitely going to be able to have a guitar/uke so YAY! We can't do music like ever in the MTC, but that's okay cause there's always something else going on!
I've seen SO MANY people from Olympus. Like it's nuts. And so so cool to see all the guys out serving the Lord. Okay so the beds are pretty good, the food depends on the day, (but mostly really good) but I miss my shower cause it was oh so nice. I feel like I've been here for a month but it hasn't even been 48 hours. "The days are long but the weeks are short" everyone keeps saying. They also keep saying "just make it to Sunday." They're supportive but it gets so annoying hahaha. I took the orange dot off my name tag (lets people know you're new) after like 20 mins cause people kept shouting WELCOME TO THE MTC!!
Our daily schedule hasn't really been made up yet, it's all scrambled until next week. So it's been very crazy thus far. But let's go through the day!! So waking up is by far the hardest part, I am very not used to being awake at 6:30. I keep almost falling asleep every time I sit down. Then we go to like breakfast, which is cool, cause the cafeteria here is MASSIVE!!!! Thousands of people. Haha so sometimes it's hard to find the people you're looking for! But everyone's so nice, you can sit down wherever and make 12 new friends just like that. Not that I'd be able to remember names. Good thing everyone wears a nametag!! also I keep forgetting to call everyone "Elder". Like some of my close friends, I've seen "ELDERS" Peterson, Miskimens, Caine, and lots of others.
The MTC vibe is very similar to the BYU campus, especially during EFY cause of the classes. Probably cause it's in Provo. We have lots of classes about The Gospel and French. I'm learning French for 6 weeks then Tahitian for 3! so 9 weeks here. So. Long. But I like it so I won't mind. The Gospel classes are like seminary but a thousand times better cause the teachers are great and people actually stay awake and get involved. I try to participate as much as I can because practice. Our first gospel class they brought in "investigators" except I don't believe they are real. The teachers SAY they are real, and they totally could be, because they act completely clueless and how an investigator would. But it seems weird cause they are taught in front of/by like 100 new missionaries. The French class is LIT. Ce Fantastic! I don't really know a whole lot yet, but I feel like I know more than I did after 4 years of high school French. You learn SO FAST. The buildings are ordained by apostles as learning centers for the Lord or something to that point, and you can totally tell. The spirit helps you learn like none other. I can just remember everything so easily, which is weird cause usually I forget whatever is being said after 5 seconds. Our teacher is way cool and served in Tahiti as well!
There are only 4 of us in our district (all the Frenchies who come in at the same time) and we are all going to Tahiti!! Which is apparently really small, it's usually like 10. It's Elder Todd and I, then Elders Jorgensen and Campbell, whom I followed on instagram before I came. Those two are from Utah as well. And we get our own classroom! We are all rooming together in a 6 bed room, so we got a lot of extra space whoop whoop! *fist pump. We live in a building with all the French speakers and some of the Spanish. THERE ARE SO MANY COOL PEOPLE HERE! Honestly I feel like I've experienced more culture in the 48 hours I've been here than my whole life before. So many people from different places, and everyone is always speaking different languages and talking about different parts of the world where they are from. I met a guy and girl from Tahiti, and two guys from England, one of which played in the Premier League, among like a hundred others from different countries.
Our Branch (all the French speakers) are all so cool. It's like we're 100 brothers and sisters from the same family. Which we are haha! Everyone speaks French to each other in our building and it's so cool. Like seeing Elder Caine speak practically fluent French after only 5 weeks. I never thought I'd be able to do it, but by trusting in the Lord I know I'll be able to learn the language super fast, and I've seen it in action!! Every night we sing a hymn or two at the top of our lungs in French. It's so fun and so powerful. The spirit is awesome. Everyone is so happy here and I've made so many friends. Talk to me soon!
All the loves,
Elder Jenkins
