First Full Week

Hello!

I wish I could tell you everything, but there is only so much I can fit in an email. Today was my first full week on a regular schedule, though (last week was full of orientation meetings), so I thought I'd write a little about that.

Every day except Tuesdays (preparation day) and Sundays, our day is divided up into three blocks of time, plus a gym period, three meals, and an hour before bed to prepare for the next day.

Two of those three blocks are class time. We have two teachers who teach both Korean and how to teach gospel subjects (which felt a little schizophrenic to me at first--it's the first time since sixth grade that my teachers have taught more than one subject).

The third block of time is "MDT" or "Missionary Directed Time," which is a bit of a misnomer, since after we get in an hour of personal study time, an hour of companionship study, and an hour of Korean study, there isn't much of it left. We do things like go to the Teaching Evaluation Center, where some nice teacher listens to us practice.

Saturdays, we have our "teaching appointment," where a volunteer comes in and we teach the lessons we would teach investigators. Also on Saturday, we spend time in the call center.

Our whole schedule is the same for our "district"--a class of ten missionaries. We go to class together, eat together...I share a room with the other sisters in the district...we're getting to know each other very well.

Tuesdays are preparation day, which means I get to write letters, wear normal clothes, and do laundry. In the afternoon, we go to the temple, and Sister Jensen and I go to choir practice. The choir practices on Tuesdays and Sundays, and sings at the devotionals for the whole MTC that happen on Tuesday evenings.

Sundays are calm days--more time to get ready in the morning (we usually have just a half hour, unless you're willing to sacrifice sleep), more personal time, which I like to fill up with reading. I thought that I would be reading the scriptures all the time here--for more time than I could stand--but it turns out it feels like I never have enough time for them. We have Relief Society in the morning, after watching the broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word from Temple Square (which is a very calming thing--I bring my journal or some other activity). We have Sunday School later with our district, then Sacrament Meeting with everyone learning Korean later that afternoon.

So there you go!

Lots of love,

Carrie