First week in Argentina!

Wow, what a week. Luckily the mission president here has given us an hour and a half to email.

On Sunday the 7th I received my call that my visa for Argentina has arrived. We then enjoyed conference and left for the airport on Monday the 8th. We had a two hour flight to Houston where we met up with other missionaries. Some had been waiting in California for 6 months! Others, fresh out of the MTC. We then had a grueling over night flight of 10 and a half hours. I slept about 4 of them. The rest of the time I had to read or do something because the person sitting in front of me was watching Man of Steel. But I stayed strong, and haven’t seen it yet!

We arrived in Argentina around 8 am. We then grabbed our bags and met our mission president. We were then taken to the mission home, about half an hour away from the airport in a very nice place called Banfield. The mission home is beautiful with a great yard filled with Ivy walls and a swimming pool. We had dinner and I was introduced to my companion Elder Suarez from Paraguay! He doesn’t speak a lick of English. But thats ok. We were then taken to our area, Budge (Bood-hey), Only 20 minutes from Banfield. That night we went to our villa right above a member. Its super nice, and has running water!

Budge is not beautiful, at. all. But that´s ok. There aren´t any buildings higher than 3 stories, and there is trash everywhere. We are staying with two other Elders, Elders Escobar and Rodreguiz from Peru and Chile. So yes, I am the only one speaking English in the villa.

What is it like down here? Crazy! The buses here remind me remotely of the night bus in Harry Potter. The roads don´t have lines, but I´m not sure if the drivers would follow them anyway. Once you get on, they take off. The insides are like a jungle gym, with bars everywhere. Mostly so you can make it to your seat without flying out the window.

We are very close to cities like Banfield and Lemus, where there are lots of American companies like Mcdonalds and Burger King. We actually ate at McDonalds today, but its expensive! When I tell the other elders that a burger only costs one dollar in America, they Gawk.

The wildlife consists of Dogs. There are more stray dogs than people it seems like, but they are all really nice, and honestly act like normal dogs, chasing cars, and eating trash. They truly are everywhere. I see them on roofs at times, just walking around. The stray dogs are better behaved than the domesticated ones though. The member we live above has a big golden lab named Toby, and every time we walk in and out, he tries to hump our leg.

All of the buildings are surrounded by gates, even the stores and churches. You usually have to have a key to get in and out. I have yet to see a window not barred, even the churches. Robbery is a problem here, and nobody takes any chance.

Soccer is a huge deal down here. Seriously, Saturday, everyone is playing it. Apparently there are two major teams in Buenos Aires, Boca and River. The majority of people ask which one I go for. Right know, I don´t know, but I think I´m leaning more towards River.

This isn´t everything, but its all I can think of. I love you all and hope you’re doing well! ¡Chao!

Elder Chipman