Homesickness, French and Packages

Hello everyone!

The last week at the MTC was sorta difficult/fun.  I had another round of homesickness but I managed to fend it off pretty well by studying French really hard. So our "investigator" that we just finished teaching is actually our TEACHER. haha we were soooooo happy to have him as our teacher. There is no doubt that our MTC experience would have been worse had it not been him, he is soo tight.  He is from Bountiful, Utah and he served in the Lyon mission.  He has been home for 2 months and he still has a slight French accent when he speaks English to us ( I think its sweet).  He is already engaged, which isn't much of a surprise, but he had been dating the girl for a little over 2 years before he left (hmmmm.....). So there is definitely hope, if you catch my drift. 

We have been learning French non-stop.  My high-school French is finally being overtaken and I'm starting to learn the specifics of the language. A lot of stuff that I had no clue existed. There are like 8 tenses that I totally forgot about, but they will come with time.  

Our teacher gave us some inside tips with both the French Language and lifestyle. He is definitely way cooler than our other sister teacher.  He told us that during January and July all the French clothing goes on sale for 50% off!! Super dangerous for me :) he he he.  He said that you can walk into the store and pick up a super skinny slim fit suit for around $150.  Boy, i'm going to buy at least 3 every January and July.  This is also good for everyone at home as well. I will definitely pick up some gifts for all of you. He said that ties aren't as cheap as we saw in Italy 4 for 10 Euros, but he said that you can find pretty good deals like 3 for 15 Euros and they are good quality.  I will definitely be compiling a skinny fit suit and skinny tie wardrobe. I am going to be the classiest missionary you've ever seen. Even right now, when I wear the ties that Shanna and Trev gave me, everyone want to do a tie exchange with me. I'm not kidding. Everyday that I wear one of those 4 ties, someone is like "Elder, do you want to do a tie exchange with me?"  I respond with, "Sorry, its from my girlfriend and the other is from Finland"  They are always like, ahhh man... they are so sweet.  So props to you both for picking out the sickest ties ever! :)

Anyways, everything is going well here I guess. Still have some waves of homesickness but its getting better. I'm just looking forward to the day that I get to go explore Paris and see all of you again.  Thank you all for the packages and letters again. I have received so much food, i'm going to gain weight instead of lose it.  The Dr Pepper is the prized possession. It sits side by side with the Shanna Shrine. The unlimited coke is amazing, but the caffeine is prized.   

I got your forwards with all the mission visa info, they should have received it, but i'm not sure why I got a letter about it. It looked like a standardized letter, as everyone going to France got one, including the guy that already has his visa.  I guess I could elaborate on my district for you guys.

Elder Wright (companion) - From Wyoming, Laramie.  He is super chill and likes to play basketball.  He is Ruloon Gardner's nephew, which is pretty sick. Looks similar to his uncle.

Elder Ellis - He rooms with us and he is from Pleasant View.  He loves Apple and used to work for them. We love to talk about  Apple products and the future of the company.  His uncle actually owns Vivint, so he is loaded. He drove his uncles 458 Italia (Ferrari) the day before he came in. Super Jealous!

Elder Keenan - From Chicago and is Ellis's companion.  He is pretty chill as well, but strict about the rules, so I sorta like him sometimes. haha. All three of these Elders are going to the Montreal mission. 

Anyways thats all I got for you all, thanks again for all the packages. Trev, I loved the grammar thing from High School and the candy. I started the doughnuts and they are amazing.  Shanna & Loralee (I assume you helped), Thanks so much for the giant package of treats. I'm sure that it took a very long time. I could not believe how much food was in the box and all the wonderful lines to go with it. I kept all the papers :) I hate throwing away stuff that people worked hard on, i'm going to be a hoarder during my MTC stay. :P  The package was the highlight of my day and I cannot wait to return the favor with Parisian style :)

If anything super exciting happens this week, i'll email you during the week :) cause i'm sneaky like that.  

Love, 

Jason

P.S. - I will be getting my Wifi equipped camera this week, so I will be able to send pics on the fly :) 

P.P.S. - Will you forward me everyone's email? (Trevors, Celeste's, Arica's)

P.P.P.S - Trev, how is your training going for Needle? I hope that you are getting the hang of things. Just do a lot of practice chats with whoever is training you and what not. Also, really get to know the products and order a lot to try out. That is the only way that you will get good experience with them. And at 50% off, why not? :) Good luck! Let me know if I can pass you some info that can help you out. Oh and look in the mail for ties once I get to Paris. Some sick stuff I will be sending back.