1st letter from Prague

Hi!! Well I guess my area isn't a surprise since they emailed you. I'm in Prague! I heard they try to put the greenies away from Prague, but hey I'm not complaining. I wanted to serve in Prague at least once, so now's my chance! My trainer is Sister Bowler, she was actually supposed to go home last transfer but 4 sisters got extensions because the other sisters wouldn't have been ready to train cause of the language, so they got to stay and train us. She is from Colorado (I guess Idaho is sort of a close guess Dad? haha). She's been the perfect trainer for me, I'm really relieved about that. She totally asks for my input in lessons and everything, she doesn't pull any I'm-the-senior stuff. And she's really good about encouraging me to talk to people, but not pushing me so hard that I panic. So I'm really grateful about that. It's still super surreal that I'm living in Prague. And that I'm a missionary. So weird haha. I'm almost over the jet lag I think, which is good. The first day here was rough, we only got about 2 hours of sleep on the plane and then the APs took us all on a tour of Prague and it was SO COLD. I did have my first Czech meal though, svicova (don't remember how to spell it) it was really good, but heavy, like all Czech food haha. So after that we got to go back to the mission office and go to bed early which was really nice. The next day we went to the foreign police so they could stamp our passports, met our trainers and were off! I did get to unpack in the afternoon, which was nice cause it made me feel way less anxious about everything. Something about unpacking makes me feel more at home. So then we just went to work--sounds like it's different from your first day Dad. I was allowed to go to bed a little early that night, but after that you just try to stay awake haha. Our apartment is beautiful--it's on the 8th floor and it's all hardwood floors and windows, totally modern European looking, but I forgot my memory card reader at home, sorry, so I'll have to send pictures next week. So that night we taught a lesson to a less-active member, and had an FHE for some of the adults in the branch. The member said I must have paid attention in the MTC cause my Czech is really good haha. Of course 'really good' is relative haha. It basically means I can say gospel things in a lesson. I can't really understand people or say anything normal beyond thank you and hello and how are you. But that was still nice to hear, Sister Bowler told me that too, but I figured she was just being nice. Anyways. oh and I met a member from Slovakia that knows Daniel, Marek I think? Thursday I got to kontact for the first time, which was nerve racking--since I can't understand anything they say back to me yet. But Sister Bowler took pity on me and let me start the contact and then she takes over when they say something. But I was proud of myself for trying, since the first day I chickened out. We've also taught a recent convert named Charlah, she's from Indonesia though so we teach her in English, which was really nice for me cause I could understand her! She is amazing, she's 19 and was meeting with the missionaries back in Indonesia and moved to Prague for school, and contacted the mission office when she got here! It was kind of strange to teach in English though. So after that we taught a man whose been investigating for more than a year--he keeps all the commandments and comes to church every week, but he won't get baptized. that was a good lesson but I didn't understand anything because it was at a member's home and they just jabbered away in Czech. It was good though. Yesterday we went to lunch as a district and did a singing display, which means that one half of the companionship sings while the other contacts. They took pity on me and Elder Romrell (he was in my MTC district too) and so I got to contact with Elder Cizek, his companion instead of by myself. We got 1 number at the very end of the hour, which was super exciting cause no one wanted to talk to us, and some just outright ignored us. So we are going to call him tonight, he was from Slovakia, and really nice. Oh and yesterday we also had polar bear (no idea why we call it that, no one seems to know) but that just means district language study. That was fun, and really helpful, and we played a game basically like pictionary telephone at the end, except instead of pictures you translate the sentences between Czech and English. That was pretty hilarious. One of them ended "I eat thoughts" hahaha. Oh I did have a neat experience yesterday. So the day before I felt like I should talk to this lady on the tram but I got too scared and didn't. So the next day I repented and asked for an opportunity to recognize the Spirit cause I keep second-guessing myself. So then yesterday, I felt like we should talk to this lady and worked up the courage to do it. Well Sister Bowler did the talking really, cause I couldn't understand her, but it's the same thing haha. She thought we were a cult or something, but she did take a card. But I don't think it was for her, it was an opportunity for me to learn from. So that was cool. oh and yesterday was Sister Bowler's 24th birthday, so we made a cake last night, that was fun. Prague is beautiful, at least the old district, Prague Castle is the biggest castle in Central Europe, we got to see that on the Prague walk. I don't really see much of the pretty part, at least I haven't so far cause it's not our kontaking area, but we are going to go to the Easter markets today cause it's P-day, so I'm really excited about that. They sell the little painted wooden eggs, and other things like that. Oh and there's a Paul's here!! That French bakery? We were in Andel yesterday for singing so we stopped in and I got a pain au chocolat, don't remember what it is in Czech. Super good. Aah I love French things. There is also a KFC, McDonalds, H&M, basically anything you would ever need. So yeah, I don't have to worry about the water or anything Dad haha. Annica's experience will be way different I think. The few members I've met seem really nice, I'll meet the whole branch of 150 tomorrow, so that will be fun. We have training in 2 weeks so I'll get to see my whole MTC group again, they don't do it the first day cause we are all zombies. So that will be fun. I really do love being a missionary, I just wish my Czech would hurry up and get better!! I understand most of the grammar, it's just remembering to apply it and learning vocab that I need to do, and that's going to take time. I'm so impatient haha. I know it's only been 3 days....but it feels like way longer. Oh and Mom, you can give this email address to everybody, cause that's allowed now. We have an hour to email here, don't know if that is going to change or not, but it's way longer than the MTC! Oh and since I'm in Prague letters and packages will get to me way faster--but make sure my name isn't on the package, the office elders told me why, they have package slips here, and they can't pick up packages if it has our name on it, we have to do it. So if you are 4 hours away by train, then you are out of luck and you don't get your package. So even though I'm in Prague it's just better if my name isn't on it so I can just get it from the office. We are at the church like every day cause we teach our lessons there if it's not at a member's house, so I'll get packages the day they get here. And we run into the mission president and his wife a lot cause they live on the third floor of the church. So that's cool. Well I'm not really sure that there's much else to say, I wish I had my card reader with me!! Oh well. You'll get pictures in a week. Happy Easter! I hope it's a good one, eat a peep for me :). We don't do anything differently I don't think, maybe the branch will do something in church. Oh and we are supposed to avoid getting whipped haha. I think I told you about the Easter whips? But they are braided branches with ribbons on the end and the men go around whacking women with them. Well not really whacking, I think they just tap them. But still. I think the women are supposed to give them candy or something. In Slovakia it's the women who dump water on the men haha. Who knows why. So that's that, but we are banned from doing it cause we are missionaries, which makes sense. Oh and I found out about conference, we get to watch it a week after it happens cause they have to translate it, even though we will be watching it in English. They send DVDs of it. So that will be awesome. Oh we talked to a really weird guy yesterday--well Sister Bowler talked to him, I didn't understand anything he said. But he grabbed her hand and started swirling this crystal thing around and said she had good energy but she wasn't balanced, and wanted to hold her other hand but she wouldn't let him. And then he went on and on for seriously ten minutes, while I just stood there and tried to recognize a word or two haha. So that was interesting. We finally just left, and he said something about us rejecting him so he was going to reject us? I don't know. Sister Bowler told me later what he said. haha. So there are interesting people here haha. Most of them just don't want to talk to us, but some people are nice even though they aren't interested. Tonight we have a first lesson, so that will be good. I hope he is actually interested. Oh and I heard that we will probably visit a castle outside of Prague on a P-day soon, which will be fun. I heard that I will probably be training my 3rd transfer cause we are getting a lot more sisters this year, so that will be interesting. But that's still a long ways away. Well that's about it, and I'm about out of time. Til next week! s laskou!! Sestra Cooper