TALOOOOOOOFA!
Hey-o! okay lots to type so lets get started!
After i got off the phone with you all in LA, we got on the plane pretty soon after. So i get on the plane... 1st of all the 1st class is super nice, and the seats look like giant eggs haha. even my seats were super nice! they all had tv's with TONS of MUSIC an MOVIES... oh the temptation.... but i just used them to listen to classical music. that was nice. also... I ran into elder merideth!!!! that was a happy reunion! once i saw him things got excited and it all started to hit me! the flight was good... LONG, slept off and on, but not really super comfy. the fed us really well! fancy foods like chicken and pasta then an omlet for breakfast. oh, the video was awesome! super funny and entertaining! total distance? 10697km (yeah... i have no idea how tall i am or how much i weigh, or what the temp is anymore... i should have paied attention more in science and math class.... haha... why doesnt the US use the metric system??)
the coolest thing about the flight? definitely seeing THE VERY FIRST SUNRISE of 2014! so beautiful and cool to watch it from the plane!
we were picked up from the air port then went to the mission office for some orientation... then they graciously let us go sleep for a bit at the motel. i showered then slept and my temporary soa slept and neither of us heard the alarm go off... so when they knocked on out door when we were supposed to be ready, we jumped up outta bed then ran out the door.... oops! haha
then more orientation at the mision home... pres and sis lekias' home is super nice! then after dinner we went back to the motel and i was out and slept for a solid 10hours... the most i'll ever sleep the next 15ish months! :D We had transfer meeting thrusday morning and i got my new soa! Sister HengeHenga! (just like it looks) she is full tongan, and has been out for 6 months. this is her first time training, so she said she was happy i've already done some training. i really do love her, she and i get along really well. she is really laid back and goes with the flow. (oh, and i got to see sis pe'a real quick at the meeting, that was nice!)
we have a car! woop woop! and they drive on the left side of the road.... so very different to experience that! we were given the street to our "flat" (what they call apartments here). sis H and i are both new to the area (Mt. Roskill) and so we found the street via the map, but no idea what flat was ours..... so we tried to make a call... our new phone was dead..... so we borrowed an outlet in a random car port/garage on the street (sketchy) until the phone was charged enough to turn ON. found the exact address and found our flat.
the flat.... well lets just say the my apt in AZ was an 11 and this place is a 4. it hasn't been inhabited for prob 3 months and it is in extreme need of a DEEP CLEAN. Too bad as misisonaries we can only do the deep clean on mondays.... so that is what i'll be doing the rest of the day. :) the place is tiny, but works for the 2 of us. the humidity causes mold to be a problem here, so we have a lot of scrubbing to do. :) none the less, i am so grateful to have a place to live and i do feel safe with the area it is in. all of NZ is stinking BEAUTIFUL!
Day one, we put our stuff in the flat. found out we are splitting the area with another set of samoan speaking sisters because the area is seriously HUGE and HILLS EVERYWHERE. there is one samoan ward for the zone/stake, so that is why our area is so large. we cover the east side. we also didn't have an area book or even a list of ward members at the flat... so we learned what it literally meant to START FROM SCRATCH. haha! We ended up getting permission to meet with the other sisters for a few min to get some directions and info, then took one of the ward missionaries (sophia, 18 years old - AWESOME girl, she goes out with the missionaries almost everyday all day! talk about dedication! we are so grateful for her!) we met a few people, not many, then got some basic groceries that would last us til monday and dopped sophia off. that was day one, can you believe it!? so much!
Friday we tried meeted more people... not much success... we did end up picking a neighbor hood then walked around looking for samoan families.we had our first "fafaga" which basically means "feed" here. so dinner. haha. it was pretty good! i ate a little crab salad (not a huge fan of that), taro, potatoes, flounder, chicken, and cornbeef. then icecream after. okay the ice cream here... so good. :) they put fruit salad ontop of it which i found kinda gross.... and the dinner was very tasty... the taro will be an aquired taste but i like flounder! The members all speak english as far as i've seen, but they do go back and forth between the languages. what is hardest is that they speak in the relaxed "k" form a ton, and so its super hard to follow. they all smile at me and i smile at them and its all good. i do what i can in Samoan, but i do get scared and nervous! its my goal to talk a lot more this week. mostly i just give a short spiritual thought at dinners so far. (they feed us 4 days a week, which is a blessing so i don't get too fat. haha)
saturday we went out again with sophia and talked to a lot of people. they called it OYM (open your mouth) in arizona, but here they call it TWE (talk with everyone). talked to a jehova's witness that day... that was interesting. hahah! we visteded a very less active lady also.. turns out there is this thing with the culture that when you come here form the island, if the people that bring you are another religion, you also join that religion. so this lady maria was baptized mormon when she lived in samoa, but years ago turned catholic for that reason.... and still won't be mormon agina. we will work with that.
yesterday was the my first sunday in the samoan ward. i liked it because they use the formal way of speaking with the "t", but they all still talk very fast and i can only follow for so long. sis h and i had to introduce ourselves and bear testimony over the pulpit in sacrament.... needless to say i was so nervous saturday night i couldnt fall asleep for awhile.... but to all my surprise i got up and said what i wanted and wasn't even nervous!!! i basically told them this was my first area, i was still learning the language and asked for their patience. they all nodded their head and smiled. then bore my testimony. all three hours was hard to get thru... i got so tired in sunday school. man, trying to follow lessons in samoan is tough, exhausting even! :)
the members seem really nice so far tho! Sudnay for fafaga (said: fa-fa-nga) we had more flounder and weird cornbeef and onion spaghetti like dish, and taro, and chicken with a gravy. pretty good, but i can not tell you HOW STRANGE it is to eat dinner in front of the whole family while they sit there and watch you eat! even the head of the house, the dad, didn't eat while we were there. sis H says that she has yet to get used to that...
it was pretty rainy yesterday... so much that in the afternoon we walked from the car to the house and we were soaked! its all fun though! i love every experience!
okay here are some random thoughts and impressions i've had about NZ
-it SMELLS beautiful here -at least it did when getting off the plane
-they say things like.... fellas instead of guys, heaps instead of tons ("there are heaps of people over there!") and "yous" instead of "yall." and "cheers" instead of you're welcome
-everything in america is either huge or everything here is much smaller. even the minivans are very narrow. the roads and garages are all def. on a smaller side.
-MANY people are very healthy-always running and out walking. (except the samoans haha!)
-there aren't as many samoans in this area as i thought there'd be, but sis H says there are heaps more in south auckland so not too worry b/c i won't be here for tooooo long. :) i like it here tho! so grateful to be in NZ and serving the Lord.
-They have it a goal in our mision to baptize 4 people per month per compationship! so i better go get to work! :)
-for the most part i serve in a lower income area, but its hard to say b/c sometimes there are nice swanky homes inbetween not as nice homes. i like it b/c it keeps it interesting. :)
-everying its PRICY here! very expensive.
-i LOVE the accents here :)
2. Isaac wants to know if you like the palm trees?
yes, isaac, i DO like the palm trees, but i actually like their pine trees better! they look awesome ! i hope i have a pic. if not i'll send one next week!
3. Tell us if you are in a Samoan speaking area?
i am! but i do use a lot of english unfortunately
.
4. Where is everyone from in your district? Some of the elders look very native? Aborigine?
well in my district i think they are all white kids from the states, but there are a TON of islanders in the mission as a whoel.
6. What city are you serving in? Is Mt Roskill a suburb, english speaking?
it is a suburb, mostly english speakers, but there are actually a TON on togans here.. .too bad i don't speak tongan... good thing sis h does!
8. Have you seen any coconuts yet?
nope!
9. Describe the wildlife (flora & fauna)?
VERY VERY GREEN!
10. Do you like your bicycle and helmet?
yes i do! we use it currently for morning exercise!
11. Are there any straight streets in Auckland? :)
no! :( i'm getting great at reading maps tho!
12. So whats it like driving on the wrong side of the road?
weird and everyone drives wild here
13. Send us pictures of the Temple if you go.
we only go ones a year! :( sad eh?!
14. Do your mission president and wife speak English? I think they must! They are from Australia right?
yep they do! super nice! love them! they def know what they are doing!
15. Mom wants to know if you had any problems going through customs?
nope!
16. How would you describe your constantly perfect weather? BTW it was 1degree this morning when I went to work! :) BURRR that is COLD! it is pretty nice here, i won't lie... :)
17. Food? Good?
yes! i had a"meat pie" at mc donalds the other day... not bad!
18. How different is the missionary support (to you all) by the wards and members?
not sure yet... i'll let you know.
okay well thats kinda it for now! now time for pics! more to come! 143 always!!!!
-sister camilletti
2. the mission home... super nice eh?
3. my bike is the white one
5. our beds
6. the kitchen...... yeah... see what i mean? needs to be cleaned.
7. sis h with the map of our area! huge eh?
8.selfie. :)
9. we ran into cows yesterday. :)
That's it for this week! I love and miss you all!!
