1st week in Hungary

Csaladom!!!!!

geez..... where do I even begin????? first of all the keyboard that I am using is in Hungarian so it’s super hard to type!!! haha 

seriously.... I have no idea where to even start!!!!! there is so much that has happened and so much to tell all of you!!!

I guess first of all I’ll tell ya about my past week and what happened and then I’ll answer your questions! :)

so when I got off the phone with you guys I hurried and got on the plane. It was a huge... plane. never been on anything like it! I got an aisle seat thank goodness... ha and I was sitting next to this older lady on the plan, she was from France.. and she spoke pretty good English. anyway.. so I was just getting to know her.. li9ke asking where she was from... where she was going.. etc... and then she started to be really defensive.. and asked who I was.. and what my name badge said.. and then she started to ask why I did what did.. and what I actually do when I go on a mission.. what do I teach.. etc. then she asked where I was going.. oh dear... I apparently said a bad answer... I said "I am going to Hungary!" ..... and then... it seemed like the whole plane blew up! haha she freaked out and went off for about 20 minutes on how Hungary sucks.. and how terrible it is... and how all the people hate god... and etc. ha apparently the French hate Hungarians.. and Hungarians hate the French... I kid you not!! in Hungary.. when they want to insult someone because they don’t like them..... they say " GO TO FRANCE!!!" hahah I thought it was the funniest thing ever!!!!! haha anyway.. after I let her talk for what seemed like forever.. I started to ask her about religion.. and if she was religious or not and what she believed in.. and she told me that she was divorced.. and that her life sucked and she really didn’t believe in anything! so I started to talk about what we go and teach people to her and she pretty much put her hand in my face. ha she eventually said.. " are you going to be talking like this and asking me these questions the whole trip?" haha so.... that kind of ended that. anyway.. the plan ride was really long.. didn’t really sleep! it’s so hard to sleep on planes! so I got up every once in a while and went and talked to people. made some good friends. ha ,) the food on the plane.. was... not very good. ha I think they think we are birds or something? ha 

so we got to Paris! and I’m sorry!!  I literally tried for a half hour to get the phone to work but it wouldn’t! it wouldn’t accept anything American I swear! and no one around me spoke English.. so they couldn’t help!  but yea.. I felt really bad. sorry!!!! but I am glad that the mission president finally got the picture out. ha he told us he was going to do it that night.. apparently not.! so don’t worry! I am alive! and well! it was a weird feeling to be outside of the US. there are so many things that are different. it’s a cultural shock is what it is.. ha

then we got on the next plane to Hungary.. and it was about a 3 hour flight.. and I ended up sitting by this Hungarian guy! oh I was so excited. ha. and then when I said hi to him he started to speak English to me and we started to talk about who I was.. what I am doing.. where I am going.. where I came from.. etc. and then we started to talk about religion because he was a catholic. and for the whole 3 hours..... we talked about religion!!! I pretty much taught him all of the lessons. ha ha but he was super interested especially when I brought the book of Mormon in the discussion.! he was like what!? Christ visited the Americas?! how is that possible..??? so I pulled out some Hungarian set of scriptures that I luckily had in my bag.. and took him thorough the scriptures... because he was really well educated on the bible.. he knew like everything! he was a prime investigator. haha and anyway.. we talked about everything and I gave him a Hungarian book of Mormon and a pass along card that went tomormon.org and we exchanged emails and phone numbers and I’ll have to forward the email he sent me this week. it was a cool first experience. 

so when I first got to Hungary... it is really so flat! there are some small mountains.. but for the most part it is flat. when I first got to the airport we went and got our bags and then went and met the mission president.. and I’ll tell ya what.. these where my first thoughts that were going through my head. I can’t understand what anyone was saying.. it was definitely not the language that they taught us in the mtc.. they spoke so fast it sounded like Chinese.. they mumble a lot.. and everyone smokes and drinks here starting at the age of 12. it’s insane. and.. to be honest.. everywhere I go... I feel like I am on the strip in down town Las Vegas 24/7. the cultural differences... are extremely different. 

anyway.. we met the mission pres.. super nice guy. we had to take a bus for 40 minutes to Budapest to the mission home.. when we got there we had a really good Hungarian dinner.. then we had interviews with the mission pres. then we went on a walk to the top of the city.. it was so cool... by this time.. it was about dark and all the lights were on.. and there are tons of old statues everywhere.. and all of the roads are made out of that old roman brick... it is so cool. I’ll be sending pictures! then after we looked at that we headed back to the mission home.. grabbed some clothes.. and went to our hotel.. geez there is so much to say!!!!! okay just a couple random things that I think you’ll enjoy.. food here.. is totally different. and loaded with fat and oil. sometimes they have this stew.. where they literally throw the whole animal in there. so like.. fish soup... you see the eyes.. bones. everything.. pig soup is the worst.. because you can see literally every part of the animal. - other than that.. the food isn’t too bad! ,) the showers.. oh geez. don’t even get me started. they don’t have shower heads. you literally have to hold the shower while you shower. haha it’s pretty funny. then the toilets!!!!!!!! they are nothing like American toilets so be grateful!!!!! it’s the weirdest things.. it’s so crazy how you flush it! I got pics. 

so then after the overnight stay.. which was my first sleep in 48 hours. we went back to the mission home.. we walk everywhere btw. one day.. me and my comp.. walked for 1 hour straight to get to this ladies house.. and then right when we got there.. she called us and canceled on us. we do so much walking. ha 

and then we got back to the mission home and we had a meeting where we got our companions and our assignments. and I lucked out. I got the best one... and best place.. hahaha you guys are going to laugh when you here this... so I got my comp and his name is Elder Carter.. he is from Syracuse.. and he played football.. and he played against me my soph year... in that crazy game at weber state. and then.. when we played Syracuse for basketball.. at Syracuse.. he was one of those big guys on the front row making fun of me and yelling crap at me.. hhaha he said he specifically remembered that game right when he saw me for the first time. haha so funny huh? ironic... and he said that after we were making fun of you.. you just lit us up for 30 points. haha it was funny. he is a really nice kid.. and we get along so good. because we like a lot of the same things. it’s been fun so far. and we got called to the city győr..... its west of Budapest.. and we had to take a train to get there. it’s  a nice city.. I’ll send some pics.

it’s so hot and humid here.. haha I literally walk around all day with a shine on me. because I’m sweating all day every day. it’s great,) ha we do tons of tracking... people don’t really like to listen to us.. the language is getting easier.. I can’t understand very well.. but I speak better than I understand. everyone we go to is super freaked out at me because they can’t believe I can speak this well in just one week. and we attest it to the power of god and its true! it is really the gift of tongues. and actually one lesson.. this guy was freaked out that I could speak so well that  that alone... made him interested and reallz sparked something in him. it was really cool. when we bare testimony of the restoration... I wish you could feel the power and the spirit that comes into the room.. it’s amazing... but overall... the people are genuinely nice! 

our apartment.. is I guess the nicest apartment in the mission... I have pics and I’ll send. 

mail... when you guys want to send things.... you have to send it to the mission home.. I will never make it if you send  it directly to me in győr... the mailing system really sucks here. so that kind of sucks.. because the only time we get mail is when the zone leaders go to Budapest for meetings and then they will bring back the mail for us. so it’s like.. once.. maybe twice a month. so that’s that..

their ice cream is amazing here.. 

when we email.. we come to this library.. that is only like 5 minutes away from our place. which is nice. 

we go grocery shopping on Mondays.. and it’s really hard because they have absolutely no American stuff.. ha its good though.. I have some pics of what we’ve made. 

but other than that.. I still have tons of things to tell all of you but I am short on time... so I will write more next week! 

but everything is really good!!!!! I am alive.. I’m adjusted.. I got over jet lag.. that was hard.. every morning.. I was so tired.. I probably could’ve feel asleep while I was walking.. haha but now it’s good. 

in sacrament meeting.. I was asked to get up and introduce myself.. and share my testimony and 6that went good.!! members are reallz nice here. there is 1 ward in this city. so there is tons of stuff and tons of work to do!!!!!! 

I love all of you and miss you tons.. it really feels like a different life out here.. it’s the weirdest thing.. it’s hard. but its good. 

I love you and pray for you guys all the time! 

thank you for all that you guys do.. 

love you!

Watson Elder

Shad's Address is:  árpád ut 27 győr Hungary     , but don't send anything to this address because it probably won't make it.  Send it to the mission home.

 we had this stake thing called akadi vasén. and it was an all day stake party. alot of members from everywhere came. and haha i got to play catch with alot of hungarians. ha they.. dont quite know how to play football... ha it was fun though. i got a good burn though!! so hot and sunny!