rocky mountain oysters are nothing‏

(This is last week's letter, which Rachel sent to the wrong email.)

To start off: those who read Scott's letters should write him back and call him a pansy. At least you KNOW what PART of what ANIMAL that is. If that's the weirdest thing he eats on his mission then he's got it made. I eat things weirder than that EVERY DAY!

Karina asked me if it was ok to send pictures and the answer is a resounding YES! Anyone in the family can send me pictures via email or snailmail anytime---much appreciated.

Speaking of, if anyone has any decent pictures of Scott and I TOGETHER I'd love a print of it. Neither of us is overly photogenic, so I think it's kinda unlikely, but some effort to find one might be appreciated.

So, Mom, you'll like this: everyone here has and uses a parasol---and if they don't have a parasol they use their umbrella to shade themselves from the sun. You'd fit right in here!

I've decided that watermelon is the most misused and abused flavor in America. That pansy adaptation they call watermelon is just high fructose corn syrup as you well know. Well, here they have things that are watermelon flavored and DUN DUN DUN---it tastes like watermelon! The tomato and watermelon smoothie was a little weird, though. The Koreans loved it. I ate it because it tasted more normal than whatever was in the soup that smelled like vomit. My life is so fun.

People here are obsessed with blood types. No joke. People ask "What's your name, where are you from, how big is your family and what is your blood type?" It's kinda weird. It's sort of like your astrology signs (capricorn, aries, etc...) and they associate certain personalities with certain blood types. On top of it there are "horoscopes" so you can know what kind of a day you'll have if you're A+ or whatnot. I tell people I'm O + and 1) they're surprised the American knows her blood type and 2) their eyes light up like they suddenly know everything about me. Weird.

Can anyone tell me why I heard the impossible rumor that Obama made gay marriage legal in all 50 states? That kinda thing doesn't happen overnight---what started this nasty rumor?

Um, Mom, can you forward me the email Pres. Jennings sent about me? I was kinda sad when Scott mentioned it in a letter and I had no idea what he said about me. Apparently the whole world has read this letter and I haven't :). Also, what did he say in the snail mail letter?

A little news about N. Korea would be appreciated. Chalene mentioned something about nuclear testing and the next day we got some adament phone calls about 72-hr kits and re-reading exacuation procedures so you know them well. I'm sure we're afe here, but it'd be nice to know what the hype is about.

I've decided that the Buddhists have it figured out. I'm trekking around Korea in the heat and humidity with nylons and dress shoes not to mention the frumpy skirts while the Buddhist monks where lightweight neutral colored robes that hide stains and wear socks and tennis shoes. Church headquarters should look into revising the uniform plan.... :)

So I didn't fully realize it until this week, but as I was slowly learning the names of people and places I put t he strangest titles to things in my head. Some examples are : smurf-land, flame office church (my Korean comp tried to tell me it was by the fire station, but what came out was flame office), radish street (there's a giant statue of a radish on an archway---weird), and ugly lady (there's a picture of an ugly, immodest woman there.) These are just a few examples. The list, I'm finding is endless. At least I know the real names of things now and they're starting to sound normal.

As for the work it's slowly progressing. We had to drop several investigators this week, which was depressing, but one of them agreed to be baptized 20 June (the one who broke up with her boyfriend). We're praying for her to make it through. She's great! We've decided to spend more time in Gupo because it's been kinda ignored the last few transfers and therefore the members don't really trust us. Hopefully we can make it better for missionaries to come and help the members get fired up about the work.

WE had choir practice in Gupo. That was...an adventure. The whole branch is in the choir---I'm not sure who we're planning to sing to...

Well, we're going to go play soccer. Much love to all!

~R~