Week 3, No Longer a Green Bean

KONNICHI WA
GENKI DESU KA????
(HELLO
HOW ARE YOU???)

Sometimes it feels like that's the extent of my Japanese skills, but we're working on that!

Today we are getting new kohai (I don't know the direct translation.... Something like "underlings") and we will be senpai ("overlords," I guess). That just means that we are getting new districts in our zone! So now our district isn't the greenhorns anymore! It feels good to pretend that I know what I'm doing.

But that also means that the Nijonjin (Japanese people) district left, and we are all heart broken! Despite the pretty big language barrier, we had so much fun together!

Here's a montage memory reel. Roll the clip!

(I hope the video works. Sister S taught that game to us and I was the worst at it! The song is about going to the tallest point of the alps and dancing, haha. I love Japanese people)

They drew pictures of all of us and put them on our door. We had a running joke where I would always say "I'm a Nihonjin!" (Japanese person) They always thought it was so funny!!

Our room and S Shimai. Haha I only really have pictures of her, because the other sisters were too shy for photos! The reason it says "Bring it in!" is because my companion taught them to say that before a hug, she was pretty proud of herself haha!

More Nihonjin District memories: 

F Shimai has a collection of bottle caps. Just the plastic ones! She has over 500 at home, and she was super excited to collect American ones. I helped her choose her last cap from the MTC.

A grey Powerade zero cap. 

Blue raspberry flavor.

I think it was a pretty good choice!

We have a joke where I always say "SUUPA SENKYOUSHI" (super missionary) and put my hands over my eyes like a mask. Apparently Japanese people think I'm really funny. Score.

//End clip

But now we are getting a new district of Japanese so it's onward and upward from here! New friends!

What I've learned this week in the MTC:

Apparently Japan thinks all prophets are Nostradamus. Like, the Italian guy from the 1500's that prophecies of the end of the world and was an alchemist. My investigator brought that up when we were going over the plan of salvation and I was just like "No look, the Kanji is different!"  My teacher/investigator better have been impressed with me.

The Japanese word for less active member is "Oyasumi Kaiin," literally translated as "sleeping member." Japanese is so funny.

Funny things that temporarily kept me from falling asleep in class this week:

One of the sisters in my district didn't know where Alaska was. She thought it was by Hawaii, because of the way maps are drawn with the outsets. 

While we were doing some role play lessons, the same sister accidentally said "Oh, am I the investiger?" And then Brother S said "No, you're the SenkyoshER" in a Texas accent. (Senkyuoshi is missionary in Japanese)  He is so sarcastic. 

Brother S (Was-Once-Fuchino-San-Now-Is-Our-Teacher-and-Investigator-Again) is engaged and getting married soon. He was telling us about his proposal story, and we discovered the craziest coincidence! Okay so he was at the temple grounds and there were couples taking pictures at this certain spot, and one couple asked Brother S to take a picture, and said "Don't worry this is fake," and he pretended to get on one knee for the picture with his girlfriend. And then Brother S had that couple take their picture, but his was real. Just a funny story, right? BUT GET THIS! One of the sisters in our district is friends with that other couple, and already knew the story. Haha, so crazy, right??

This is probably so boring for everyone else, but we literally live for these stories.

Another story:

Babysitter Sensei told us the story about a missionary who ran away from his companion in his district.  One morning he woke up and his companion wasn't there, and--because he was kind of dumb--he went to the train station, looked around for him for hours, and then came back to his apartment and called the mission president.  Babysitter Sensei acted out the phone call for us. It went something like this:

"Uh, president... I can't find my companion..."

"Is he in the bathroom?"

"Uh... I'll go check..... No, no he's gone."

"Well is any of his stuff there?"

"All that's left is some Tic-Tacs in his desk..."

"Okay well just stay there and we'll send someone to get you. Don't leave your apartment!"

"Uh....."

(I cannot even convey how funny Babysitter Sensei told this story, I hope it comes through)

And then he said the next transfer he moved into a new apartment. And there was a desk with a bunch of Tic-Tacs in the drawer.

So he ate them. 😂 😂  

He is my favorite.

And he still wears the same blue silk tie.

He told us about some Japanese mistakes that MTC missionaries had made. Here are some highlights:

Supposed to say: We sacrifice two years to come on a mission in Japan

Actually said: We sacrificed two thousand Japanese people

Actually said: Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will be speaking at sacrament meeting on Sunday.

Supposed to say: honestly, I don't know. 🙈

(This is Sister H. During gym time, we sit on the mats and "stretch." And when I say "stretch," yes, I do mean sleep.)

MTC, more like MTCelebrity look-alike sightings!

This week there was The Know-it-All Kid from Polar Express

A pretty passable Ben Wyatt from Parks and Recreation (his sour expression and general attitude of being stressed out really sold the look) 

And an AMAZING Elijah Wood. He even has an accent (he's Australian, but still!) And now we're friends. He likes surfing, and skinny ties.

Ben Wyatt is going to my same mission too! I told him that he looks like Ben Wyatt, but he hates Ben Wyatt. We're still friends though, me and Elder Wyatt.  I bet we'll play Cones of Dunshire together someday, after the mission.

This week I biffed it on the infamous dip. It's this section of the sidewalk that curves very steeply to make up for the altitude difference of two sections of sidewalk.  We have a joke where we always warn new missionaries not to fall! And I fell. I have a nasty bruise on my knee now.  It's great.