Week 14

Monday (11/10/14)
Today we moved to the other house, which is just a ways down the hill from where we were originally, AND Tamara's mom arrived with her dog, Asia, and cat, Luna. There's no internet at this house. KILL ME.

Tuesday (11/11/14)
I called my parents tonight to get an update on my dad and also... with a huge desire to completely break down. You know those times when you talk to your parents and they start in on how proud of you they are and that life is just glorious, and all YOU want to do is cry and go on about how you don't think you can do whatever it is you're doing anymore? Yeah. I never considered backing out or going home, until now. I never thought that watching someone else's kid would be so challenging. I mean, I HAVE being doing this for 12 years. Granted, not on a daily basis and never with a child that didn't eventually (and rather quickly) warm up to me. To say I'm frustrated and abundantly overwhelmed with trying to keep my cool, stay polite, and keep my mouth shut, whilst getting beat up almost daily by a two year old, is the understatement of the year. I did feel a little better though, getting to hear my parents voices and knowing they are surviving without me haha. My dad's also much improved so I can stop freaking out about that. 

Wednesday (11/12/14)
Dolores and I went out for lunch today. Peter's sick of restaurant food and Tamara wasn't hungry. We found a little place a stone's throw from where we live and I had some amazing fajitas and tried a traditional Spanish dessert. 

I was thinking this would be more like
crème brûleé, but I misunderstood the description.
It was still pretty good, despite the freezer-burn

In the evening, Tamara and I went out to dinner while Dolores watched Svenja and Peter had Poker or Soccer with the men. 

Thursday (11/13/14)
Three months. 

Friday (11/14/14)
We all went to breakfast this morning to Harriet's Tea Room & Restaurant (ranked on TripAdvisor at #4 of 78 restaurants in Costa Adeje) for another English breakfast. This one was WAY better than Hemingway's. The sausage was edible and you had an option for a fresh slice of tomato instead of a nasty canned one (still didn't eat it though haha). So if you are ever in Tenerife and you have a hankering for a real, traditional English breakfast, check out Harriet's Tea Room!  Afterwards we went to the beach for a little walk.

Isla La Gomera 

In the distance, the peak on the left is the active volcano El Teide

Sunday (11/16/14)
Man I am so weepy this month. I totally broke down after church in front of this one family, cause we were all talking and they started asking me about friends and if I'd met anyone to hang out with and then they said they were planning on planning out an activity for the "young" people in the ward and the dam behind my eyeballs exploded. The daughter was so sweet, all like "Oh my gosh, don't cry! Do you like cats? Do you want to come see my cat?" hahaha I am a 24 year old woman bawling, and in all seriousness yes, I want nothing more than to go see this 17 year old's kitten. I miss Kreuzlingen. I miss the Elders and Daisy; I miss Tania and her family; I miss Switzerland. I have absolutely no friends here and I feel totally cut off from my friends and family back home with extremely limited internet access, which I have to search for outside the house. Anyhow, this little family took pity on me and invited me over to hang out. We played on their Wii haha, watched a movie, and then the mom and daughter and son (who just got back from a mission in... SWITZERLAND) showed me around Los Cristianos a bit. Afterwards, they dropped me off at home. They are SO friendly and charitable. They made me feel so much better. So grateful for such a tender mercy. 

xoxo,

     Rebecca

Week 4

Saturday (9/6/14)
Tamara and I were planning on going to Konstanz today so SHE could show me around a little more, but the weather was awful - all foggy and dreary - so we decided to wait for a sunnier day. I was a bit disappointed, until I remembered that Tania, the RS president had told me to shoot her an email anytime I wanted to come hang out and she would welcome me if she was available. I sent a quick email off, and within minutes received a response of "Come On over, come on over baby :)" haha. I looked up the train schedule really quick and let her know when I'd be at the "bahnhof" (train station/bus stop). She and her family live in Amriswil, which is about an hour away from me. When I got to the station, her husband, Aiden, and adorable daughter picked me up.

** Side note: Tania told me later, when I got to the house her daughter went to find Tania while I was talking with Aiden, and told her she had to come quick and that "Rebecca's so beautiful!" Well just melt my heart! Little girl, you are my favorite!

For lunch? INDIAN FOOD! ohmahgosh. Homemade Indian food. So freaking good! And a welcome break from the daily meat/cheese/bread meals. I had a GREAT time talking with both Tania and her husband. They are so kind and soft-spoken; I loved watching them interact with their kids. Good people. So blessed to be able to get to know them better! After lunch we all went and met the missionaries (Elder Strauss and Elder Annen) for a visit with an investigator (her name is Nina, I believe she's Indian and she's also blind; VERY friendly, lovely woman). Tania translated a bit for me but even without it, it's amazing how strongly you can feel the Spirit, even when you don't understand the words being said. It was a quick visit, and then, after dropping off her husband at the train station so he could go to work, Tania, with her daughter and son, and I, headed over to a rehearsal for her daughter's ballet recital later that night! SO cute. Her daughter is six and her class did a "Hello Kitty" themed dance. Ah! I died. :) After the rehearsal, Tania dropped me off at the train station and I headed home.

P.S. Aiden is an AMAZING photographer. Check out his website here. You should DEFINITELY take a glimpse at the time lapse footage he put together under the "Projects" tab as well. (Or just click the link that I so kindly made for you). 

Sunday (9/7/14)
Today at church I officially met Hector. I'd seen him around and people had told me about him (pretty much anytime I say I speak Spanish), but I'd never actually talked to him prior. He is from Ecuador and ONLY speaks Spanish. He was SO excited to find out about my existence hahaha. I can't imagine living somewhere and not being able to understand ANYONE. I mean, not being able to understand a good chunk is one thing, but I'm blessed since most people here speak English (or Spanish if I'm lucky). Anyhow, he's a brave soul. We chatted for a bit, but he was so excited that he was talking really fast and I could not keep up haha. I'm SO rusty! But I'm grateful for the opportunity to practice it again. 

After church I went to a musical fireside that all the missionaries put together, in Winterthur (pronounced VIN-TER-TUR). It wasn't until the evening, but I went early because Elder Strauss and Elder Annen had to go early for a rehearsal, and that meant that I didn't have to figure out the trains alone haha (so lazy!). Psh, they offered. Plus, it's not like I had anything going on at home, so why not? I love spending time with the missionaries. So yes, it was a lot of fun chatting with them and once we got to Winterthur for the "rehearsal" I got to meet a lot of other missionaries and I also met an American girl from... Utah! Katie and her husband Chris (he's Swiss). Katie served a mission in Germany and Chris was in the same mission. After the mission, Katie was an au pair in Switzerland for a year and eventually her and Chris got married. Obviously. haha. They are both really nice and she was so sweet about making sure I'm doing OK and that if I need anything to let them know.  

Eventually it was time for the fireside. A lot of the missionaries who weren't in the actual program were kicked out into a separate room because there were SO MANY PEOPLE! Hurray! The missionaries put this especially together so members could invite non-members. It was wonderful to see their efforts so greatly rewarded! Anyhow, that means that Elder Strauss wasn't around to translate for me, but the lady next to me found out I was American and she spoke English so she was delighted to talk with me and she would lean over and translate every so often. Katie was also sitting on my other side, and offered to translate, but really, sometimes it's nice to just sit and listen, and I feel bad making people do so many things for me all the time. Right before it started a Sister missionary serving a couples mission turned around realizing I spoke English, and introduced herself. "I'm Sister Buchanan. Where are you from?" "Utah" "Yes, what part?" "Orem" "I'm from West Jordan." OH MY GOSH! NO WAY! :D It REALLY is such a small world people. ESPECIALLY within the church. It's so great! She told me we would chat afterwards. The program was entitled "Das Licht Der Welt" or "The Light of the World." Did I understand everything? Definitely not. But the Spirit was beautiful and you don't need to understand all the words, to receive the message. I was so glad that I was able to go. The missionaries did such a good job! Lots of talent here people :)

I exchanged contact info with Gerda (the Austrian lady who translated a bit for me), Sister Buchanan, and Katie after the fireside. Sister Buchanan and I were able to chat for a nice little while. She and her husband are serving over in Germany (they're going home soon) and she told me it would be great if we could meet over there sometime and walk around. I'm down! :)

Lots of mingling ensued and then I headed back, with the Elders, once again. I actually missed my stop because we were talking so intently on the train haha. It was all good though. After a slight detour I made it home. 

xoxo,

     Rebecca

Pageviews & Gratitude

Today I hit 1000+ pageviews of my blog from 14+ countries! It seems like a milestone worth celebrating. I am amazed and humbled at the reach my simple words have had, and the ability to hone my skills as a writer.
Thank you so much for all the support! :) I can't wait to share all of my Swiss adventures with you! 
T-Minus 19 days!

xoxo,

     Rebecca

Packing & Moving

Phew! 

Today I spent a couple hours moving stuff from my apartment back to my parents' house. So tired! haha. As someone who has moved 10+ times, can I just say that packing/moving SUCKS. It makes me want to throw out all of my stuff... but I'm too sentimental to actually do that. Now I must sort through everything to see what I am actually going to take with me to Switzerland and what my parents get to store in their house :P they are so nice!

I'm on a little break, and I wanted to share this awesome video my friend showed me: 

Perseverance people. It's the key to life. :)

xoxo,

     Rebecca

God Bless the USA!

I'm so blessed, and so grateful to call America my homeland. I hope you all have a safe and happy Independence Day! :) 

xoxo,

     Rebecca