Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Life in the MTC (What they won't tell you in the introduction pamphlet)

So the first week you are on a totally different schedule than the rest of the MTC missionaries. It's pretty much "initiation time". They have you watch missionaries teach an actor playing an investigator several times, which is fun and then they pass a microphone around so you can teach. This literally happens like 3 hours after you get there so be prepared to teach right away!

It's all in English though so, no worries. You can take the orange sticker off at the end of your first day. Saturday will most likely be your P-day but it all changes the next week. You aren't allowed to go to the temple on your first week but once you hit the second week, you can.

A normal day in the MTC usually goes like this:

(This schedule flips around every single day so this is not what it always looks like just the general idea.)

7:10AM
-Breakfast
-Personal study
-Language Study
-"Tall" language practice on computers
-Gym for 45-50 minutes
-Class 3 hours (or teaching investigators)
-Additional study time
-Dinner
-Personal study or planning session with companion
-9:20PM
-MAIL TIME:)
-Return to dorms
-Lights out at 10:30 sharp

P Days are sooo nice though!

-Temple (whenever)
-Laundry (whenever)
-Writing letters (whenever)
-Breakfast and lunch (whenever)
-Bookstore shopping (whenever)
-Dinner 4:45
-TRC
-Plan for next day
-Lights out at 10:30 sharp

(Keep in mind that this is a Spanish missionary's schedule- I have no idea how everyone else's schedule looks like.)

-On Tuesdays and Sundays we have devotionals. Tuesdays are the ones where someone "big" usually comes. At least according to rumors. I love ALL the devotionals though.

On Tuesday I was in the bathroom and this girl was singing The Swan Princess song in the next stall. So I started singing along with her. We finished the whole song together and then ended up sitting next to each other for devotional. Afterwards I got up and finally introduced myself and she told me her name was Sister Eyring...long story short, it turns out President Eyring's granddaughter has great taste in princess movies- and likes to sing in the bathroom with perfect strangers. Gotta love the MTC :)

Here are some more tips (after being in here for over 2 weeks)

  • They say not to bring headphones, but you need them for the gym, so if not, you can buy them here like I did.
  • I actually like tights. But these little sock thingies changed my life. ...My sockies
  • Okay okay...don't take the fruit to your room (against regulation)
  • You can rent sheet music to play over by the president's office for musical numbers or just to play. Heaven.
  • Have your family send some letters in packages so you can open it anytime of the day-if not, you have to wait until night.
  • Temple cafeteria is to die for! Breakfast there every P-day:)
  • Wait to buy things at the bookstore in the MTC-it's 40% off store-wide for missionaries 24/7!
  • You can engrave your scriptures here for free!
  • Bring good smelling body wash. It makes me happy. 
  • Buy missionary stickers to put on the back of letters...seriously so fun! (You can find tons of these in the bookstore here...and in different languages too!) 
  • Bring at least 2 workout pants.
  • Sooo glad I brought my own pillowcase.
  • They have awesome scripture marking pens here! I think they are like 20-30 bucks out in the real world...$8 here! 
  • Use the computers in the laundry room to e-mail home because they are the only ones that seem to let me send pictures. ???? ..could just be a glitch in the system right now. 
  • Make sure your camera cord is a USB
Sister North from our Zone :) Love her cute girl!
P DAYS
Gotta love 10 hours in the classroom. 
Em!...ok no. Sister ALVAREZ. Love seeing this girl all the time! 

Last day with Hermana Pacheco (green tie) in the front. He gets married next week and we will miss this teacher! Nuestro maestro mejor! Ok we have a lot of amazing teachers but we'll sure miss him! 

Watching a talk by Elder Holland on the big screen..it's like going to the movies. 
The whole hall to ourselves :) (Only for the first week though...we are one of the first BIG waves of missionaries but now it's getting so stinking crowded here. That's a very good thing though!)

7 comments:

  1. I'm headed to the MTC on April 3, speaking Spanish. Where did she get her bag that she's using on PDAY? It is exactly what I'm looking for! Love this blog. Does she update it or send it in an email?

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    Replies
    1. Cheri-
      I'm Alli, Emily's best friend and I update her blog. I do forward her any questions and she will respond. She sends me exactly what she wants and I place it all for her. She got her temple bag at Deseret book for $60 I believe.


      http://deseretbook.com/LDS-Totes/Temple-Bag/s/1044#q=&page=1&sort=popularity&facets=sub_category:1044%7Ccategory:28


      Let me know if you have any more questions! Thanks for Reading:)

      Delete
  2. This is seriously the most helpful thing. I'm sending my papers in in a few days and I'm internally freaking out about what to do and take etc. This is one of the best missionary blogs I've seen yet. =)

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  3. Such good advice! Thank you for keeping this blog updated. :) Sister Silva mentions that she is glad she brought her own pillowcase...did she take her own sheets too?

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    Replies
    1. Yep, she sure did! It's a good idea to bring your own set for the mission! Thanks for reading:)

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  4. Hermana Silva - thanks for your blog (and thanks Alli for posting it up)! It is fun to see an elder I keep an eye on through a different lens. Best of luck on your mission! My daughter is in the Phillipines and loving it! And best of luck trying to keep all those Elders in line. I seemed to recognize some of those quotes as being realted to someone I know. Thank you for you willingness to serve. God bless! Pa Hamm

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  5. Such awesome advice! I'm heading to the MTC next week and this is seriously SO comforting. She makes it seem like so much fun! :)

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