Well hey! As usual I don't know where to start with what's been going on this past week because a lot has happened - let's just go with right after last week's email. Also be sure to check out the pictures that go with what I write.
As we were emailing last week, we were sunning our mattresses on our roof to help keep them nice. It started raining while we were in town. Elder Rakatia had asked our neighbor if they would take them down if it began to rain but they didn't (looking back I should've been able to tell that would happen - it's not that easy and they would be doing it in the rain) so we had to deal with soaking wet mattresses. It turned out OK though, the covers took most of the water and the foam stayed fairly dry so we just washed the covers and put fans on the foam. Elder Rakatia put some of his stuff up there too though (his bedsheets and backpack) and those got nailed - had to wash them. We had actually thought we would have to sleep on the floor until the mattresses were dry, but they got dry enough for us to use them - and since my bedsheets were dry we had blankets to use too.
Also I got a haircut and I look fly so fly like a jet in the sky - or, as they say in Fiji (or at least the Fiji Suva Mission) Skux. Skux deluxe. Skux deluxe worth a million bucks. People say Dad looks skux/ looks like a skux (you can be skux or a skux) anytime they see the family picture.
Also we do daylight savings time here so starting last Sunday we are only four hours behind you - though still a day ahead.
Looking back at the pictures I saw the mouse trap again - which reminds me to tell you about our mouse. First off I should tell you that in our flat there is a hole probably 5in tall and 4in wide where the hose for the washing machine drain goes - and if/since it isn't blocked larger critters can get in. For example, there was a cat that would come in during the night (and maybe during the day) that would eat any meat (usually fish) that had been left out. I saw it once and watched it freeze when it saw me and then go out when I went into the kitchen. I started placing the broom in front of the hole after that. Then I noticed we had a bar of soap by our sink that some mornings had chunks scratched out of it. I wondered if it might be a mouse, because the cat wouldn't be able to do something like that and these scratches were present before and after I put the broom over the hole.
Then, one night, I heard tinkling in the kitchen, metal against ceramic. I looked in from across the flat and saw a peanut butter covered spoon in a ceramic bowl but nothing by it. I looked away. A bit later I heard the sound again, looked, and the spoon had moved a little. Looked away. Heard it again, looked, and there was a mouse nibbling up at the spoon which was inside the bowl with the part you put in your mouth hanging over the edge. The lights were off and I was using my flashlight so I went into the kitchen pointing my flashlight at the mouse. It saw me. It ran under the stove. I stood in front of the stove in the middle of the kitchen, bent over and shone my light under and straight at the mouse. It stared at me. I was wondering how I might catch it. As I was thinking, the mouse shot straight out from under the stove and towards me (maybe 3-4 feet away), did a Peter Pan off the counter and onto the floor (right beside me, drifted a scurrying right-hand U-turn, and ran straight toward the washing machine drain hole. All within maybe 3 seconds. So we got a mouse trap and set it up, I put some soap in the middle to lure it. It worked, the mouse went for the soap, but weak Fijian glue-boards meant the mouse got away, leaving more nibbled soap and tracking little strands of glue from the middle of the board to its edge. Adding insult to injury the little dirtbag left little mouse poops all over the kitchen. Guess we'll have to go for poison next time.
We got up at 3:00am Thursday morning (plan changed, left a day later) and rode the bus and ferry to Nausori-town, arriving at maybe 7:20. Had President's interviews and then ate lunch at an awesome (and famous to missionaries) restaurant, Pastry Pocket, where I had a "chicken mania burger" with an Oreo milkshake. Had a nap at the Z.L.'s flat. Later that evening we went back to town and had dinner at Chicken Express, which I think might be similar to but better than Chick-Fil-A. Slept with the Zone Leaders and there were like 10 Elders total there so I had carpet, a blanket, and a tough couch cushion to sleep with. Slept OK. Friday was Zone Conference which was really good, we had a great lunch with nachos from Pastry Pocket and soda and ice cream sundaes with Oreos and bananas.
We stayed after for a while talking with each other while some of the other Elders and Sisters had their interviews (we being our little group of maybe 6 from Korovou that had to travel around). Elder Rakatia and I went up north from Korovou to stay with the Saioko Elders in Naivoco (super bush by the way). We stayed with them Friday and Saturday night, since we were going to the Korovou District Conference Saturday and Sunday. Those conferences were really good though I couldn't understand most of the Fijian. President and Sister Higgins spoke as well, which was great to watch because unfortunately some of the people don't speak/understand English that well, which meant that for the Priesthood session of conference President Higgins was being translated by the District President (and the congregation was being translated by the District President to President Higgins) and the rest of the time they were just trying to speak so the people would understand them.
Last night we stayed in the District Leader's shed/flat (the thing is scarcely maybe 15x15ft - when I asked Elder Horton how big he thought it was all he said was "small" - but it's surprisingly very nice) Today I bought myself a way fresh rain jacket and almost instantly had buyers remorse when I saw other jackets that interested me for less than half the first jacket's price. It's ok though, none of them really fit the missionary style (or my style either).
Today we'll hopefully have an awesome P-day with more Pastry Pocket, tomorrow I'll go to my first District meeting and then we'll go back to Levuka, then it's only two short weeks until theres a 50% chance of either me or Elder Rakatia leaving Levuka and me either training or not. Yeah, there's rumors of some of my intake training after training. I guess I'll be ok if that happens - if I can drastically improve my understanding of hearing Fijian over two weeks. I've forgotten to mention the language - my speaking is excellent according to my own gauging, but I still cannot hardly understand others when they speak to me, so oftentimes I'm still very quiet. Just yesterday I found that if I try to copy what others say as they say it, like making the sounds at the exact same time, I can figure a bunch out of what they say. Sometimes. So I'll be trying to do that.
That's about all I can think of for now. Have a great week!
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