Hello from Boston August 27, 2012

Hello from Boston,

 

It's a nice sunny day here in the city. As you may have guessed, there have been a lot of changes for me in the last week. It's still sinking in for me. I hope that you're having a good time and getting into the groove with school starting and the normal schedule as well.

The work here is the complete opposite of how it was in Gardner. The biggest change is transportation. We don't have a car here in Boston :) We get around by bus and on the metro but especially- on foot. It has been exhausting but im getting into good shape pretty fast.

 

On the day of transfers we actually had to ride the metro (also known as the "T") into the city. When we went to the surface to change trains we were right smackdab in the middle of downtown Boston. I can tell you that I felt kind of like a fish out of water for the first couple minutes.

I love to be in the city though. We talk to more people, see more things, just overall it's more exciting. I have always enjoyed being in the city and seeing the many various buildings. There are some arabic people too, and i hope to talk with some in the near future.

 

 Another difference is that I live in a four elder apartment and spend plenty of time around other missionaries. The other two elders are haitian speaking and theyre really cool. In my ward, Boston 1st, there is us, Elder Swasey and I, two spanish sisters and two english sisters. A couple of wards meet in our building and there is a spanish group that is working on becoming a branch. Yesterday we had the opportunity of attending a baptism that the haitian missionaries had and it was really neat.

 

Elder Swasey is an excellent companion. He is from Boulder City, Nevada and is a lot taller and bigger than I am. He's very concentrated on learning spanish so that has been good for me. Im finally spending time with spanish speaking people for the majority of the day.

So im not sure if i made it clear but- and this is mind-blowing to me- Elder Swasey and I are the only english/spanish Elders in the entire city of Boston. Then there are the four sisters, english and spanish. It's crazy to think about.
 

I have eaten some more ethnic foods since arriving here. Rice, meat and fried plantains are the usual fare. My stomach is still making the adjustment. Brick Oven definitely sounds good right now. There will be more updates there in the future.

 

The area where we live isnt ghetto exactly but its not what my last apartment was like. You learn to adjust and appreciate the things that you have.

I dont have any time left but I love and care for you. May God bless you!

 

-Elder Jared Ludlow