It's HOT! And the roach war continues...

Dear family,

i hope you are enjoying yosemite. i think that is where you are now.

it is really really hot here. its not so humid today...which is good.

it was another one of those `just make it to p-day` weeks. we dendo from ice cream place to ice cream place or from convient store to convenient store. one of the recent converts we have been meeting with suggested we dendo in department stores. my answer was `if only` =p

so lets see... what happened this week? I got eaten by mosquitos, kept up the apartment vigil (so far so good), and nearly ate myself into a coma. that pretty much sums up the day. all our appointments flaked on us and didnt show. oh wait...one showed up... i lied.

all in all it was a pretty good week. thursday was the height of the cockraoch war and i must say we came out on top. i have a video of the final kill...though as usual, its not as cool as it seemed at the time. i missed all the times were were tearing our apartment apart chasing the suckers this way and that. just imagine two sisters missionaries, gross and sweaty and tired from being out all day, frantically trying to kill a roach and so moving every shelf, table, etc away from the wall as it runs behind and underneath things. all this is done while screaming and you get the idea.

well, thursday night the kofu sisters came to stay and when we got home a stupid roach detekita`d (came out) and skittered accross the floor right over my foot. KIMOCHI WARUI!!!! (gross)

so we fought to kill it but it vanished behind the fridge! bummer!

so the kofu sisters arrive and we are doing our best to keep things under control. just before bed, i was telling hardle shimai the sad tale of our fight and how it got away. it was the big one that got away... roach hunting is like fishing...huh who knew.

anyhow, all of a sudden she screams and shes like `ITS BEHIND YOU!!!`

I think `that is NOT funny...this is SERIOUS!` but i turn around and its RIGHT THERE ON THE WALL!!!!

suddenly 4 sisters are screaming and running everywhere. powell shimai is running around saying `i cant see! i took my contacts out!` so i lent her my glasses, and then I couldnt see. we are all running into eachother cuz the apartment is so semai (narrow) and we are probably irking the neighbors as we pound the walls with anything we can find.

finally, it falls off the wall and...GOES BACK UNDER THE FRIDGE!

we decide to close the kitchen off and go to sleep so we turn out the lights and we are all praying and all of a sudden hardle shimai screams, I HEARD IT! ITS HERE!!! I HEARD IT!!!`

prayers forgotte, we all spring once more into action...this time a little more unified. hardle shimai and her supersonic hearing keep track of the bug, i flip on the light, mcmurtrey shimai grabs a phonebook, and powell shimai...still cant see.

hardle shimai shouts directions at mcmurtrey shimai who proceeds to swing at the devilish creature with the phone book. one hit and it runs under the dresser. of course, pride cometh before the fall and it detekita`s into the wide open where mcmurtrey shimai hits it and nails it. its stunned but begins moving again. 2 or three more hits and its down for the count! before it can revive itself we gather it in tissues and flush it down the toilet.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

we havent seen one since. we killed one outside the apartment and i put its carcass on a stick as a warning to other bugs.

we are still on the look out though.

anyhow, back to mission life. Zone conference was the next day. it was pretty much amazing as it always is. that is just how zone conference works. as we were leaving we ran into president hill. ok...we can kill roaches...but we cant look president hill in the eyes for too long. trust me. that is just hard. haha. but it did my best as he shook my hand and then he told me that i was adjusting well to the mission and that i get friskier and friskier every zone conference.

i couldnt look him in the eyes anymore without laughing...i looked at my companion with a look that said `did the mission president just say `frisky`?` We ended up laughing about that all the way to bus stop.

lets see...what else happened?

aside from nearly eating myself into a coma. not much. yesterday was nagata choros birthday so we went to lunch at tabehodai. we ate sukiyaki and between me, darner, and black choro we ate 15 trays of meat. dont ask me why i thought i needed to force myself to keep up with the elders...i dont know. *shakes head* and i didnt learn either because darner choro started talking about the ten burger challenge at mcdonalds and now i wanna try! i am so stupid.

after lunch we had about 4 hours and then we went to sizzler for nagata choros birthday because the inagaki family wanted to take us there. first i ate curry and a couple of plates of fruit then my steak came. (medium rare of course) so I HAD to finish that. then i was so hot i needed a salad and more fruit. and despite the fact that mom sent me nacho stuff, i had to make myself some nachos too. then i had to have ice cream. (this is where i wonder what is wrong with me) after ice cream i was feeling pretty sick...but howe choro kept telling me i was a baby and couldnt handle another ice cream. so...i ate another one! I dont know why...i had already out eaten Howe choro...but i did it anyhow.

now you probably think this has a terrible end...like i threw up or something...

but now. instead i just dendoed home and then proceeded to eat chocolate cake and almond roca...all the while wondering why i was eating...

this morning i was very hungry... =p i remind me of the very hungry catepillar. next thing you know i will wrap myself in a coccoon and turn into a butterfly! wont that be exciting!

in the random news, i saw a rat this week. it was outside the apartment. i wanted to keep it but my companion wouldnt let me. i dont think the white handbook would let me either...and a wild rat isnt as cute as my rats...but i dont have my rats now do i?

it jsut lives outside the apartment with the toad that scares me every night when i come home cuz he blends into the wall. *shrug*

thank you for the packages and the letters and pictures. are more pics coming? you mentioned more than were in the letter.

i laughed so hard when you started talking about peepin bayds...and my comp thinks i am insane now cuz its the second time i have laughed out loud for no apparent reason. she might check me into a mental hospital soon. one of the other times i was at inokashira park and some guy was playing a didgeridoo and i thought of brittan`s dad writing one note songs on his didgeridoo at home and i just started laughing and couldnt stop and yeah....i hope they have email at the mental hospital...

oh yeah, and no, we arent teaching motoi chan anymore. she decided she didnt want to commit herself to one way of thinking...*sigh* she still comes to sports night though. so maybe some day...

the daigakus are still in exam mode so we are still waiting for when we can start meeting with the daigakuseis...

that is pretty much it. oh, and there was an earthquake last night and i actually woke up for it. kichijoji still hasnt had the huge earthquake that i know is coming. and i know its coming cuz my companion and i both pray independently for freak earthquakes and weather. our poor area... =p

well that is all for this week! love you all! have fun!

Love,
sister halliday

ps. sorry, i forgot that we have p day a day early on transfer week. it will be like that every six weeks usually.