I miss Sister Price

God has pulled the joke on me. I already have a new companion. Sister Price is gone, which really upset me. She's a fantastic missionary, and I learned volumes from her as a senior companion. I only pray I can one day be half the missionary she is. In those four weeks we managed to keep busy despite having no teaching pool. I will spend at least the next eight weeks with Sister So-and-so. I don't want to disclose her name yet because I'm not sure about this one, and it wouldn't be nice to plaster it all over the place in the case that this goes sour. This transfer, still being in Baton Rouge with a companion with whom I have no connection with (thus far), will be very challenging.

That's okay, because I need to stop relying on companions as crutches. This will force me to be more aggressive and forthcoming in my efforts. We have many long, awkward silences, and I get bored quickly of them. So I pray. Of all the things I don't want to do when I'm bored, prayer is probably at the top of my list. I would much rather read a novel or listen to some music or watch a movie, but since none of those are allowable I pray. It might be helping. I'm not sure.

I also talk to people. Since my companion and I don't talk, I take advantage of every opportunity. It's bizarre. I've never felt so eager to have a conversation with a stranger before. Anything to get some feed back and put a smile on my face is worth it. I need something to do!

I think the prayers for less lasagna in my diet have been working, but here's the punch: all I get now are tacos. I don't miss the lasagna, but I'm not a fan of the tacos. Why are these dishes staples in people's lives? Why do I feel shocked that they are? What were we doing wrong at home by not eating tacos and lasagna on alternate days? What other dishes am I going to get an abundance of that are not exciting and increasingly less Louisianan? It's like this ward is conspiring against us, or they're so brainwashed (most of them ARE BYU grads) and ho hum mormon-y that they prove the theory to be fact: Zoobies are robots and have no imagination. I predict chicken and rice to be the next fad dish of the month for August.

I can't get pictures of the bike. I have no opportunity to ride (let alone want to), and it's in a closet on our balcony. So you'll have to wait on that. I'm not regretting getting it at all, in fact I'm excited to have a decently built bike on which to commute when I get home, but I'm not riding it here. It's too dangerous. I went out once a few months ago and got hit. That and it rains heaps and heaps. Water pelts like shards of glass down here.

What year is this Chevy Impala? Why did you get a Chevy? What is wrong with you? I drive a Chevy Malibu. It's a piece of junk. At least it looks okay.

I'm super excited about the house. I think about y'all moving everyday.

Mom told me about Tonks. Not funny. She is my child! Don't lose my child!

Gyros are tasty. There is no decent asian food to be found here (Utah gets better), but there are a lot of Greek places to go to. I love Greek food. I crave Greek food. Not as much as pizza because it's been centuries since I had a pizza.