Erich at the CTM - Vol 2http://www.lds.org/pages/we-lived-with-god?lang=engI just finished watching this. Was anyone else's mind blown?Yeah. Things are getting interesting as the time for the field comes. I know that the training period and its lifestyle have a fair amount of discrepancies, particularly when it comes to getting burned by realistic situations - my teachers here haven't gone to town on us like I know they can, and I'm somewhat grateful for it. I've been told a couple of times now I have a strange accent with Portuguese, that sometimes I sound faintly like a European Portuguese speaker (primarily because I "shush" things a lot). The end of the conversation would usually go like this:"Sim, tive uma professora de Rio de Janeiro antes de minha chamado como um missionário.""Sério? Ah, isso explica tudo.":) Bahaha. You getting this, Professora Santanna?Also. Totally mastering that finger-snapping thing that all Brazilians know but only Americans think is fascinating. Since nobody else seems to have a name for it, I'm going to dub this the Schwap do Brasil. :D Woot, arbitrary names! I know it's totally irritating my new companion, and I should probably stop doing it 24 hours a day. I'm getting a small calluse on my finger...Oh. Yeah. I got a new comp. I'm sad that I won't be having the doctrinal discussions with my old comps so often anymore, but I'm glad that I'm back into the pattern of two - it can be hard to stay in sync with a tripanionship (woot, arbitrary words!). His name's Elder Maiava, from Olympia, Washington - and he's freaking legit. :D The same day we were companions we got to jump right into teaching...and it went smooth as butter. He's excellent with his Portuguese, and works really hard - I'm glad to be teaching alongside him.However, I won't be able to have him available for...*gulp*...street proselyting in about an hour from time of writing. I'll admit to being a wee bit nervous. Perhaps I'll just laugh when I get back and reread this draft.EDIT: OH MAN. That was nerve-wracking. I didn't actually hand out any Books of Mormon, or anything. :\ I'm feeling pretty darn humble right now. Still...hey, practice! This is exactly what I'll be doing every day in the field, if my mission has a semblance of being normal.Reviewing my journal here, I have several quotes I'd like to spit out here with little or no preceding context. The first is a little lighthearted, but it gave me a good laugh. I was discussing techniques with my district for getting people to listen in the street, and one of the resulting ideas was the following proclamation:"Who wants to have American citizenship?" -E. FroererOf course, I'm not actually going to say it in public. But it's an entertaining thought. :P"Lock your hearts!"Sorry. No context for you - it's an insider thing. :P"Don't forget why you are here. Have you any loyalty to your reasons for coming here? Let them also be the reasons you stay." -E. GublerYup. I said it. Or rather, I wrote it. I was thinking about some of the missionaries I've met here who talk about the people they left behind when they stepped into the MTC, and the things they gave up so they would be able to serve the people of Brazil. It's easy to get homesick about these things, but at least for me...that was sort of the reason I left in the first place. I love my family and friends, and I feel that successfully completing a mission will help me to change in ways that will benefit them - both in the form of blessings while I'm on the mission, and the things I will be able to do for others when I get back home. I'm excited to learn Portuguese, to be able to communicate in something other that English. I'm excited to better understand the religion I feel is true, to gain a great enough understanding to teach it to others and to give them the opportunity to let it improve their lives as I know it has contributed to the quality of mine. I'm scared to have the responsibility as a representative of Jesus Christ, but nobody develops very much when they stay in their comfort zone - which is not to mention the assistance I'll be receiving while I perform this work. I'm also excited to bring these gifts back home, to be a better person for the people I love back at home - at this point, this probably means I'm talking about you.I think on this note, I'll end my report for this week. The future is uncertain, but as always it is bright! I'm getting excited to finally be in northeastern Brazil, where I have been called. I may have to miss out on publishing my thoughts this coming week - I'm honestly not certain how travel arrangements will work out at this point. But y'all are in my heart!