June 22 2015

I don`t even know where to start.. First don’t worry about the last week, not a big deal haha.  Just glad I got to at least hear from you this week. So ya it hasn’t gotten any easier, my brain hurts haha soo much spanish. 

We were walking and saw what I assumed was a possum dying in the street but turns out it was a rat! It was the size of a dog! No joke. It was gross. Remember the Princess Bride in the swamp when the rat things attack? It looked almost identical haha.

So the rain here is nuts! Luckily every time it's poured we`ve been with the rich recent converts. They have a covered motorcycle and give us a ride home. But the other missionaries all come home drenched. So Last Pday, we played basketball. It was super fun. But it is hot here so after a while we quit playing because it was gross when you bumped into each other cuz we were all soaked in sweat. SOOO HOT!!!  I think that’s why everyone has hammocks though, because it’s so hot.  It keeps a constant breeze on you cuz you are swinging. They are really nice. 

So the food is no better. Lots of grease, and rice. The other day we were given a fish that wasn't open, just fried as is. You eat everything but the head. Super gross. And they make a fruit drink that is super thick.  It’s like drinking spit, really gross texture but tastes good. My companion is Elder C, he is from Peru, and everyone says he is the greatest.  The APs were here last week and kept saying “you are so lucky”. He is nice I guess. 

One really weird thing here, they all have a picture in their houses of a really nice, like normal, house and then a whole bunch of random animals on the lawn.   I will try to get a picture of one. 

So the story of Jordan is pretty sweet, he is such a stud. 

To try to answer more questions, my area is Vinces, and it is in the fields.   Basically surrounded by banana farms. You can buy 28 bananas for a dollar.  But if you are white, they always tell you a different price. Super lame. Like a cheap crappy watch was 32 bucks. I found a nice one in Babaoyo though that was 25. But Vinces is decent. The center is where we live. I'll send a few pics, but its got a bunch of normal buildings. But its not very big. The center is pretty small, everyone we teach lives in the outskirts. All dirt roads that are flooded constantly, and their houses are all either concrete, or bamboo with sheet metal roofs. The houses usually have 3 rooms, one is the bathroom, one is a bedroom, and the other is the kitchen, and giant stereo room. Very poor. People here are lucky to make 10 bucks a week.

I`m gunna send pics now, and write pres, keep up the good work on the house.
 
Love you all,
Elder Taylor

The handle of this toilet is hand made by yours truly,

 

 this is an average speaker setup in all the houses. They could literally break the house with their stereos,

 

 and this is Elder W's last day.

 This is one of the many parades thats gone by our house, and also this is a picture of the area I'm in.