I had an amusing idea for a subject line with an obviously hilarious punchline at the end, but then I forgot it.

Dear Family (this week that means everybody. Apparently),

 

Last week there was an entire day when I walked around without a coat on. WITHOUT A COAT. Given, I did still have my long-sleeved sweater with a few layers underneath, but that's not the point here. No coats in May is something that only happens in movies, I've decided. Or possibly in America. Sometimes I'm pretty sure they're both just as equally fictional. In any case, it only lasted one day of course, and then the next three or four following were filled with cold and rain. Yay! Rain!

 

Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting Elder Spjut, who usually does the translating in English, was asked to speak, and that meant that somebody else had to translate in his place. So I did. And it was actually fairly entertaining... for me, at any rate. There's a good chance that Brother and Sister Jones spent a good portion of that meeting wondering what on earth the speaker was talking about, but that's okay. I feel edified, at any rate. Speaking of Sister Jones, she gave me REAL FLOUR (like, home ground and everything) a few weeks back, and I'm using it to make bread today. Hooray! But. That's not what I'm getting at here in this particular paragraph. It's just a happy side note. ... So I sat there in Sacrament Meeting, at the very front (amazing how much easier it is to hear up there), holding a mini microphone in my hand and trying my hardest not to move it or bump it, because apparently that causes all sorts of distracting noises for those listening. As I was holding it, I thought about trying to get a very quiet beatbox going, but then I decided against it. Entertaining, no doubt, but not exactly uplifting. So I translated. ... ish. And it was fun. Maybe I'll get to do it again some day.

 

Oh, and: last week I forgot to mention something extremely amusing that happened as we were standing around with the elders waiting for the bus. We were standing in a sort of semi-circle with Elder Johnson closest to the street. An elderly babushka (and that's saying something) walked by, looked at him, and said (very firmly). "Attractive." He didn't quite catch it, so of course he said, "what?" Then she gets this angry look on her face and shouts, "ATTRACTIVE! BLACK HAIR! RED CHEEKS! ALL IN BLACK! ATTRACTIVE!" Then she wandered off muttering angrily under her breath, and although I didn't catch what she'd said, I'm pretty sure it was probably something along the lines of, "Young People Today!" Ha. I love babushkas. They pretty much make my life here. Not only will they tell you when they approve of something, but they're also not shy about telling you when they think there's something off about you or what you're doing. I can't tell you how many times I, walking around in about 67 lbs of winter gear and bundled up to my eyeballs, have been told that I need to "dress warmer. Don't you see it's cold outside? And what is this church nonsense? You need to go home! Find yourself a good man! Get married! And an education too!" Good days, good days.

 

Welp. That's all for today. Have a good week, stay safe, and I love you!

 

-Sister Read