I'm doing good! I'm in a city called Chapeco, near the Argentinian border. I took a 12-hour overnight bus ride from Florianopolis to Chapeco. I slept most of the way. I'll be here for at least the next 12 weeks.
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| Chapeco, Brazil (courtesy of Google images) |
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| The red portion is where Chapeco is located in the state of Santa Catarina |
I tried to send pictures today, but the computer I'm using wigged out when I tried to do anything with my USB. Sorry 
Hopefully
I'll be able to send pictures next week. The place where I'm emailing
only allows one hour on the computers, so I don't have much time at all.
My
companion is an American named Elder Close. He's been out in the mission field for exactly
the same amount of time as I have, but he went straight to Brazil. Had he not gotten his visa, he
would've been in my district in the MTC in Provo.
I'm living in an apartment with two other elders besides my companion--one of whom is from Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil.
I'm doing well with the language. People have a different accent down here, but I can understand a fair amount of what they say and I can teach pretty well. I'm hoping to be fluent in six months.
Lunch
is the main meal of the day here, so we eat lunch with members
every day. The food here is really good! I like it a lot. Rice and beans
isn't the only thing we eat, but it's almost always part of the
meal. The food is actually a lot like the stuff you usually make, Mom. The only weird thing was an herbal tea that tasted a little like dirt to me, but other than that, it's not too foreign.
They
have blackberries that grow on trees here. I took pictures of me in
front of them. They look and taste exactly like blackberries, but they
grow on a tree!
It was pretty hot yesterday, but today is misty and chilly--reminds me of home! I can wear long sleeves again--YAY!!!
The mailing address for the mission office is:
Mission Office
Rua Feliciano Nunes Pires # 42
Centro-Florianopolis-SC
CEP: 88015-220
Love you Mom! Glad you and the family are doing well; I pray for you every day! Thanks for all you do for me!
Talk to you next week!
Elder Duffin
