Dad! And hopefully Mom if this is your email address. If not, Hello Linda Read. You have the same name as my mother. Here's hoping you enjoy this as much as she would. I couldn't remember either of your email addresses, but I'm about 85% certain I got dad's right. Yesterday they asked me for my parents' email addresses so they could send out a reassuring email complete with Picture Of Your Missionary With The President, and I reeeeeally couldn't remember either address then, so I gave them davidread4@gmail.com, only to realize later that Dad uses daveread... Sooooooooo if you happen to have a davidread4 also, well okay, but if not, some complete stranger may or may not have received an email telling him that his daughter arrived safely in Russia on Saturday (although technically of course it was Friday, and let me tell you it's throwing my sense of time off completely. The Time Zone change wasn't too bad, because in reality we're only 4 hours behind you, or 16 ahead if you really want to get technical about it. I'm pretty sure I've adjusted okay, but then again it's only been two days).
Anyway, I talked to President Pratt about using other email services, and, well, I guess you can see what he had to say about it. Meh. One email service is as good as the next one, I suppose. I think I'll just forward everything to my gmail, so that it won't take up the .00000000000000000000000002 mm of space they give me on myldsmail. I wasn't sure if I would be able to create a myldsmail account seeing as how I'm not currently in the MTC and I'm pretty sure that's the only place you can create an account, but the office couple here, Elder and Sister Magill are pretty much amazing and miraculous. So behold, or as they say in Russia, "вот," which is probably spelled something like Vot in English and rhymes with Boat. It's quite a useful word around here, because it can be anything from a random filler to a direction (Look there!) to something like, "look what I found!" or, "Oh, no worries, I found it." I've been using it a lot in the latter context lately. Who knew that travel required so much finding? And who knew that the passport is a very vital part of international travel? Huh.
Speaking of travel, let me tell you about the journey over here. (You may or may not have noticed, by the way, that this is going to be a longer letter than usual. Apparently I've just experienced a very large change in my life or something.) The flight from SLC to LA was uneventful. I ate Sour Patch Kids (of course I purchased those before leaving. How could I not?) and took a nap. Then we got into LA and spent 30 minutes wandering in circles trying to find our gate, mostly because the airport in LA is currently undergoing a large amount of remodling and construction. Eventually we managed to locate it, and we sat and waited another 2 hours to board the plane, which, by the way was not a 747 but was, in fact a 777. Holy cow, talk about flying in your living room. Someday I would like to fly internationally on Korean Air again, preferably when not a missionary so that I can play all the games and watch all the free movies they offer on the individual television screens placed on the back of every seat. As it was, when I wasn't attempting to sleep sitting up, I would pull up the airplane statistics and watch the progress of our plane across the screen. It was quite entertaining. Because of the way our seats were booked, three of the members of my district ended up at the back of the plane and the other three (me included, obviously) were more towards the middle. In addition, somehow it ended up that Sister Lewis and Elder Kezele were in a side row together and I was in the middle row by myself. Well, mostly by myself. I might've been nice and switched seats with Elder Kezele, but I wasn't feeling particularly generous and I figured it would be good for him to sit where he was. Meanwhile, I was next to a man, who, when he heard that I was going to Russia (and that I was paying to do so), said something to the effect of, "I am so sorry. Good luck. You're going to need it." He then spent most of our mutual waking hours trying to persuade me that I had no idea what I was getting into. I guess he found my situation really worrying, because by the end of the flight he had not only given me his complimentary muffin, but also three or four of the free toothbrushes they had available in the restrooms and told me to "give them to your boys. I mean, your elders. You'll need them." Apparently they don't know how to brush their teeth in Russia, or something.
Other than my newest and bestest friend, the 13 hour flight from LA to Seoul was also fairly uneventful. Actually, now that I think about it, the whole trip was fairly uneventful. Long, yes, but not particularly exciting. We all made it through the screening processes in Korea and Vladivostok, and all of our luggage arrived when we did. It was kind of strange going through Customs here in Vladivostok though, because while we were standing in line (very much like cattle waiting to be processed, for the record) waiting our turn there was almost no talking going on around us. I mean none. It was crazy. But, as I said, we all made it through safely, no extra charges or anything, and then we met up with President and Sister Pratt, who were simultaneously sending off 3 missionaries and welcoming all of us in.
After meeting with President Pratt, Sister Lewis and I piled into the Pratts' car with them, their driver (Americans aren't allowed to drive over here), and all of our luggage. The elders got to take a taxi with the APs. Then we drove for an hour from Arteyom (That's where the airport is located, and also happens to be one of open cities in the mission. I just wish I could figure out how it's spelled in English (This whole conversion thing is lame). That's the closest approximation I've got.) to the mission home where we stayed until this morning, because they had to fly in various companionships and get all our Visa and 2nd passport stuff done, and obviously some of that couldn't be done until today.
So yesterday we got to go to the branch here in Vladivostok, and that was pretty interesting, because of course it was all conducted in Russian. I understood Sacrament meeting, because it was all testimonies, and I'd say we're nothing if not experts on those anymore, and I got most of Sunday School, but holy cow, the Relief Society President (who looks like a Relief Society President, for the record. It's good to know that the church is true even here in Russia) speaks at about 500,000,000,000 miles a minute and so I only caught 3 or 4 out of ever 15 words. And I'm told that's how they all speak around here too.
We got our assignments while we were staying with President and Sister Pratt, obviously, and they told us who our companions would be. I've been put with Sister Ivanova (who is flippin cute, for the record. We met last night when she flew in, and of course she's one of those people who makes friends with absolutely everybody, and whom everybody absolutely adores. I'm pretty sure we'll get along quite well, especially because she speaks about as much English as I do Russian, so communication is only occasionally interesting, as opposed to constantly.) and we're heading to the island of Sakhalin later this evening. There's only one open city in Sakhalin, and it's all the way on the south of the island (of course I'm using the term "island" very relatively here. It's about the size of California, I think.). Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, I think it's called. I'm so excited. I can't even tell you.
Anyway, that's my hour up. I've got to go figure out how I'm going to compact all my belongings into 1 suitcase, because that's all they let you take out there. Luckily they let you take up to 70 lbs, though. I'm seriously doubting it'll be much of a problem.
I love you, stay safe, and have fun!
-Sister Read
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