Hello this is Elder Godivala
Turns out they changed their minds about when we would be able to message home, and today we get a half P Day since next week's would be so late. I just assumed they were waiting for the stockholm syndrome to kick in before anyone could send desperate pleas for freedom.
CCM (MTC) is kinda like school except it starts at 7am ends at 9pm and every lesson is Spanish, but in our free time we are still doing Spanish. The classes were separated into Native Speakers and everyone else, so I am in a district with many who are just beginning Spanish. The improvement I have seen in these last four days is absurd. If they can keep it up for the next 5 weeks I have no doubt we will all be fluent by the time we get sent off. I had a big headstart with my 7 years but if I get complacent it will catch up fast.
About 90% of the people here are from the US, and the rest are Latino. So I have already become pretty well known simply by being the only English person here, and people have sought me out in the canteen just because they heard me speak in a lesson and wanted to ask where I was from.
My companion is called Elder P_______. He's a bit strange, like me, and we have excellent banter. I think all good companionships should be built on a foundation of great banter.
The facility feels more clean and professional than the Mexico City Airport, which was very far removed from Heathrow. Outside the perimeter fence there's the standard Latin American semi-slum cityscape, and we can hear the gunshots ringing out at night.
My district have affectionately named the mosquitos 'Dengues' and we are keeping score of how many we kill each. Earlier today Elder M simply held out his hand and one flew in to be crushed. Alas, I have only 3 confirmed kills (Although one of them was an aerial kill so I think it counts for bonus points).
The gift of tongues is super real. At the beginning of the week one elder in the district would forget any Spanish he was learning the moment he looked away from the page, and another simply could not pronounce it. We were tasked to learn the First Vision in Spanish by yesterday, and every elder and sister in the district was able to recite it more or less completely.
I would advise against sending mail to the CCM, since it takes so long I will probably be gone by the time it arrives, in which case it will be destroyed. There are other ways to send mail but I don't know what they are, so you may want to look it up.
Follow the CCM Facebook page, you may see me.
It's too hot here.
I came down with something yesterday, but that is only to be expected since I am not used to the diseases of this continent. I think I am on the mend already.
Enclosed are pictures of me, Elder P, the large B and the Lego Hands of Doom.
See you Friday
Elder Godivala
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