Week 1 - The MTC, first impressions

The MTC. I feel like I'm in a different world, even though I can see Heritage Halls from my classroom. Everyone calls each other Anziano or Sorella and on the first day everyone, and I mean everyone, would just wave to you and say "Welcome to the MTC Sister!!" in the most enthusiastic way.

After I got dropped off, the sequence of events went something like this:

Hauled luggage up three flights of stairs

Got my tag

Dropped off my luggage in my room

Went straight to class

that's it. no time to unpack or take a breath or pee or realize I hadn't brought a Preach My Gospel. nothin. straight to class.

I was literally here for maybe ten minutes before my host pointed me in the direction of my classroom and said, "Okay, room 433. Have fun!" and then left me. On top of that, when I got to my classroom, two sisters were already jabbering in Italian and the teacher came in and just started giving me instructions in Italian. I have never been more confused, but eventually (mostly through sign language) I understood what she was telling me. 

The two sisters who were already speaking in Italian were Sorella Dean and Sorella Helgeson. Sorella Dean is in a Masters Program for Vocal Performance, specifically, Opera, so she knows Italian because it was a required class in her opera study. Not to mention the fact that she was the lead role in an Italian Opera in Milan. Sorella Helgeson took Italian for 7 years, and she's amazing. She knows so much Italian. She's also my companion, which is going to be a huge blessing, since I know nothing except for how to say "let's go" and "give me a kiss", one of which is not exactly helpful missionary language... (thanks mom) 

So Sorella Helgeson is my companion and our roomates are Sorella Dean and Sorella Walker. Sorella Walker is so cute, she's a yoga instructor and a rock climber and we have pretty similar personalities, so that's been nice. 

So I've only been here for three days, but here are some initial thoughts I've had:

HANNAH AND ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE LEAVING TO SERVE A MISSION : BREAK IN YOUR SHOES BEFORE YOU COME. I have six blisters already. yes. six. and they're awful. so bring lots of bandaids and moleskin too. 

Personal Study is the best. I've started over reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning, and my first personal study I dedicated to the intro and the testimonies, since I usually skip those. If it's been a while since you've read those, give them a look over!

The environment here is so positive, and I'm really happy! We had our first interview with the Branch Presidency and I just couldn't stop smiling because I'm so excited to be here. The second counselor told me to try to keep up that smile through the rest of the MTC experience so I'll let you know how that goes. 

I'll try to send out some pictures later this evening, but I'm a little crunched for time, so if not this week, then next week I'll have some to share!

I love and miss you all!!

MTC Roomies

MTC Selfie

Companion