Tennis Lessons

I feel like I should once again state that I am not athletically inclined. I'm one of those people that when playing volleyball (or basketball, I suppose), if the ball comes my way, I either duck and cover, fearful of it hitting me, or I simply watch it bounce right next to me. Simply put - I don't like playing volleyball or basketball, and most people don't want me to play on their team for the aforementioned reasons.

Much like the random desire I had to learn to swim, I have wanted to learn to play tennis. Lucky me, my rooommate for spring/summer also wants to learn how. So a couple weeks ago, we went and hit some balls around...and I'm sure to the other players on the court, we were quite hilarious, looking like a bunch of pansies not knowing what we were doing. It was good though, and reinforced the fact that yes, I think tennis could be a sport I actually enjoy.

Yesterday in the mail we received a booklet about different sports and recreation programs in the area, and in Heidi's and my perusal of said booklet, we came across adult tennis lessons, taught over the course of 4 weeks, two times a week, for only $30. Needless to say, we got very excited. So, we're both going to take them, and then hopefully, we won't feel so silly on the court.

Hooray, Hooray!

I finally bought a digital camera! Yay! Unfortunately at this point, I have yet to take any real pictures (thus there are no pictures still) (and I've yet to do anything in the past two days requiring picture-taking), because I'm just trying to figure out how it works. Never having had a digital camera, I really don't know much about them, and this one has so many different features, that at this point, I'm pretty much overwhelmed.

In two lovely weeks I get to go on vacation, and I am incredibly excited. There are a few reasons for this. Number one, getting to spend time with family. Number two, getting out of Utah. Number three, letting my body enjoy humidity (I'm strange, I know, but my skin is peeling right now, which is one reason I dislike UT, and which is also gross). Number four, non-stop flight to Washington DC. A few days spent there, about a week in Boston, and a few more days in DC (thanks Brandon and Felicia for letting me spend so much time with you). Number five, no working. No picking up other people's messes. No coming in each morning to find that nothing was done the day before. Number six, I finally have a digital camera that I can use and take as many pictures as I want.

And those, friends are just a few reasons why I'm excited. That and I LOVE the East coast. It reminds me so much of Brasil - all the green, the rolling green hills, the big cities, the high humidity, the proximity to the ocean. Ahh. It is love. I can't wait for the day when I can live somewhere east of the Mississippi.

The MTC

almost three and a half years ago, when I was in the MTC in Brasil, we had one privileged day to go to the TRC (teaching resource center). We all looked forward to it - a day to not teach our fellow missionaries, but actual natives who didn't know the memorized forms of our lessons. We'd been warned that sometimes not enough volunteers arrived, but we would still get the chance to teach and be video recorded so we could see our progress. We showed up at the TRC to find out that not only were there not enough volunteers, but indeed, no volunteers. We were once again doomed to teaching other missionaries, even missionaries from our own district. It was a letdown, to say the least. (and no, we didn't even bother watching the videos after....)

Jumping forward to present day, up until a few months back (where did the time go, it was only February, yet that seems like it was just yesterday) I had never experienced the true TRC experience (we'll blame it on my "bad" experience in the MTC). I'd always known about volunteering at the TRC, but I never knew where to go or what to do. Luckily for me, my roommate would go sometimes on Friday nights and volunteer with the English as a Second Language (ESL) missionaries. As soon as I found out she was going, I joined her. It was life changing. I had been thinking for quite sometime how I needed to be doing more, needed to do service somewhere, and this became the most amazing solution. I love it. Instead of sitting around on Friday nights, wondering why I'm not on a date, I get to go be with missionaries, and sometimes even use my Portuguese, and I get to be taught the Gospel.

My goal now is to share some of the experiences I have, because they really are amazing. I have quite a few stories to catch up on until I'm up to date, but hopefully over the next couple of days I can catch up and share some of these things, and hopefully share the spirit of this marvelous work that these elders and sisters are a part of; that we are a part of.