"Mother's Day" Phone call - May 14th, 2006
We got to talk to Mark on Sunday, May 14th for Mother's Day. One of the two days each year that we actually get to hear his voice. He sounded wonderful!! We got to talk to him for almost an hour and a half. Of course, the International connection kept disconnecting and we had to call back about 3 times during the course of the conversation. I think Mark really appreciates all the blessings that we all take for granted here in this country ... such as toilet paper! You know that it's not quite the same when you can read the toilet paper before putting it to its expected usage!!!!! I will spare you the rest of his "toilet humor."
Mark has told us in his letters that the place he is staying is very small and that the walls are covered in mold and the kitchen is awful. We asked him to tell us about his home and he said that he spent about 45 minutes the other day scrubbing the sink trying to get it clean. He told us about his shower and what he has to do. Apparently the water pipe is either broken or leaking or something so the water comes out in three places. This also contributes to the mold on the walls. The water comes out of the faucet, it comes out of the knobs and it comes out of the showerhead. The water has three temperatures ... hot, very hot and unbearably hot! The unbearably hot comes out of the showerhead. So somehow he rigged it up where it doesn't come out of the showerhead. He took off one of the knobs and so the water sprays out at about his waist level. He stoops down to wash his hair and take a bath. Most of us never think twice about our showers and what a luxury this is in our lives. So when you are standing in your nice clean shower with your controlled water temperature with water coming from the top down, think of Mark and take a second to offer a prayer of gratitude for this blessing you have been given!
An interesting custom that he told us about was the way the Argentineans announce themselves when they go to visit someone. In America, we go up to the door and ring the doorbell or knock on the door. Well, they do not have doorbells where he is at. Every house, no matter how small, has a fence. Visitors stand outside the gate to the fence and announce themselves by clapping their hands. Here, we would think that strange and wonder why that person is standing at the street or sidewalk clapping. But down there if they hear someone clapping they know to go to the door just as we do when we hear a doorbell.
The next thing that Mark is learning to appreciate is English ... as in the language. He is having a hard time with the language in Argentina. Not only is it not English but it also is not quite Spanish either. It is a variation of Spanish called "castellano". He said they talk very fast but do not move their jaw ... he said it is all tongue. He said it sounds like all they are doing is clicking their tongue when they talk. He said he is learning but it's coming very slowly. He has adopted the motto "fake it until I make it" when it comes to the language. He nods his head until someone asks him and question at which point he turns to his companion, Elder Wendorf, and asks him to repeat the question for him. On Sunday, he said he was grateful to be able to talk for that long in English. If you are interested in learning more about "Castellano" please visit the following website: http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/s/sp/spanish_language.html. I found it very interesting.
Before I knew it, the hour and a half was gone and he had to leave to go to an appointment. We both had a hard time hanging up. He kept saying "you hang up first." Finally we just counted to three and hung up. I can't wait for Christmas so I can talk to him again!!!!!
Mark has told us in his letters that the place he is staying is very small and that the walls are covered in mold and the kitchen is awful. We asked him to tell us about his home and he said that he spent about 45 minutes the other day scrubbing the sink trying to get it clean. He told us about his shower and what he has to do. Apparently the water pipe is either broken or leaking or something so the water comes out in three places. This also contributes to the mold on the walls. The water comes out of the faucet, it comes out of the knobs and it comes out of the showerhead. The water has three temperatures ... hot, very hot and unbearably hot! The unbearably hot comes out of the showerhead. So somehow he rigged it up where it doesn't come out of the showerhead. He took off one of the knobs and so the water sprays out at about his waist level. He stoops down to wash his hair and take a bath. Most of us never think twice about our showers and what a luxury this is in our lives. So when you are standing in your nice clean shower with your controlled water temperature with water coming from the top down, think of Mark and take a second to offer a prayer of gratitude for this blessing you have been given!
An interesting custom that he told us about was the way the Argentineans announce themselves when they go to visit someone. In America, we go up to the door and ring the doorbell or knock on the door. Well, they do not have doorbells where he is at. Every house, no matter how small, has a fence. Visitors stand outside the gate to the fence and announce themselves by clapping their hands. Here, we would think that strange and wonder why that person is standing at the street or sidewalk clapping. But down there if they hear someone clapping they know to go to the door just as we do when we hear a doorbell.
The next thing that Mark is learning to appreciate is English ... as in the language. He is having a hard time with the language in Argentina. Not only is it not English but it also is not quite Spanish either. It is a variation of Spanish called "castellano". He said they talk very fast but do not move their jaw ... he said it is all tongue. He said it sounds like all they are doing is clicking their tongue when they talk. He said he is learning but it's coming very slowly. He has adopted the motto "fake it until I make it" when it comes to the language. He nods his head until someone asks him and question at which point he turns to his companion, Elder Wendorf, and asks him to repeat the question for him. On Sunday, he said he was grateful to be able to talk for that long in English. If you are interested in learning more about "Castellano" please visit the following website: http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/s/sp/spanish_language.html. I found it very interesting.
Before I knew it, the hour and a half was gone and he had to leave to go to an appointment. We both had a hard time hanging up. He kept saying "you hang up first." Finally we just counted to three and hung up. I can't wait for Christmas so I can talk to him again!!!!!
posted by Debi Putnam at
1:55 PM
