Elder Chase Wilcox in Tokyo: Week #8: Travel Plans

Travel Plan Day: About to Wrap up 9 weeks in the MTC

This last week as usual was a busy week. Our Pdays is full where we wake up early to workout at 4am then laundry at 5am, then we moved building/rooms at 6am because they are going to do some construction or something on our dorm, and then prepare lessons, playtime at 8am; volleyball and yada yada. Pdays are great, nice change of pace and we also go to the temple. Always awesome to go to the temple though was a little hot specially wearing a suit to the temple.

We also got to do "people in our purpose" which is awesome. It is for new missionaries that are entering the MTC that are learning how to teach and is awesome. Basically my companion and I started out a visit with an investigator then a room full of missionaries ask questions trying to help and testify of truth. There are awesome missionaries and some that definitely more green, or those that try and be funny or try too hard. For example, one of my favorites and funniest, in a way, but worked.

So it's his turn and he got the microphone and asked, "So you are in college right now?"
She says "yes".
"What are you studying?"
"Economics."
"So you got a lot of important things going on in your life right now like marriage and college. Do you know what Sarah means in hebrew ? (that was her name)
She replies, "No, do you?"
He say, "It means princess. You are royalty."
She says, "me?"
He says, "yes!"

It was a bit awkward, everyone was silent, but trying not to crack up, the approach was so different. This missionary was totally serious, at least when he taught he was focused on her and helping her it was just a different approach that took everyone by surprise.

We also teach some Skype TRC's where we taught Mirau Kyodai a lesson we talked simply about faith and shared it in relations to Alma 37:41,42,44 it was really cool and funny it was this gentleman from Kobe Japan he was super cool. He said he wanted to take a picture of us to put in on Facebook, Mom see if you can find it. (Mom found it, and you can see it below)

Having a tablet helps greatly with scripture and language study, it also allows immersion in the work.
For example, I like to end everyday just sitting in my bed watching bible videos I always find joy in listening to them, they are all on gospel library and I just downloaded them all, plus of course the countless other church videos but I like bible videos the best. I am studying hard, almost more nihongo: right now I study mostly just the romanji PMG and english PMG, trying to understand how they make sentences, or how I can potentially, definitely have a long way to go no doubt... continuously going through the phase where you feel oh I am good at this, I think I am getting this language, and then oh I am really bad at this and then oh I am doing good, and ya just constantly being humbled and confident. I guess soon, very soon as we leave for Japan I will be even more humbled when I find out I know nothing of this language. :-)

By the way we got our flight plans, I leave next week (Tuesday morning for Japan) there are 30 of us here all traveling to the different Japanese Missions that day!

Interesting rumor...so apparently we moved out of the building we were in, but they didn't say exactly why, we assumed because of all the construction, because their is tons outside our residences. Turns out the problem was that there were bats in one of the shimai's buildings on the upper two floors so they moved into ours. Probably didn't tell us why or else the chorrotachi would obviously leave surprises of who knows what for the shimaitachi. Though all is good, this residence seems the exact same, but older, though definitely more crowded and noisy and definitely some hyper eigo senkyoshi.

From the only in the MTC department. . .

One guy here was sent a Shrek script. The whole thing and he just randomly quotes it in his Shrek and Donkey voices and sings the song, kinda nice to have someone to entertain you...I want to challenge him to teach a whole lesson in his Donkey voice.

Anyways this is going the last week here so that is awesome... gonna be awesome to get to work...

There so much i want to write but so tired and no time, honestly these days are amazing!

This is how we practice our Japanese accents to sound like a native Japanese speaker.