So, I have figured out how to transfer Danie's letters to her blog.  Having a degree in English means I can't let myself do this unless I correct them first.  I did my best with this one, but after an hour of struggling to correct mistakes generated by the confusion of Danie using a Spanish keyboard, I have given up, and what you see is what you get.  This is the first letter we received from Danie after her arrival in Argentina:

     Oh my goodness.  Where do I even begin?  Well first of all I can’t type on a Spanish keyboard yet so please bear with me.  I will tell you the crazy stuff first and then the awesome:)  So I am super poor here.  I saw a lot of poor people in Utah, but I have never been poor before ha ha.:D 

Today was my first day of doing all of my laundry by hand.  It was actually kind of fun!  The first day was super hard because I had no idea what I was doing and my companion does not speak any English but I am learning quickly.  I don’t eat much here, but every meal I pray that the food will fill me so that I can do the work and the Lord always grants.  

     I definitely cannot understand most of the people here but I am learning quickly.  I know everyone says this but the language here is not the same as I learned in the MTC!  They use different words for a lot of things in Argentina.  My companion is from Chile and she had to relearn many things herself.  

I can communicate what I need to, and some things that I want to, so I am getting along pretty well.

     I left Monday morning and didn’t arrive in Cordoba until Tuesday evening so the journey was super long and I didn’t even get to my area until Wednesday.   I had to do a lot of paper work and my area is a few hours away from the city.  We ride two story buses to travel a lot and the elders call it cocha de cama, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha :D  if I don’t come back from my mission a little more humble than when I left there is something wrong with me.  The first thing I ate was cereal con leche.  The milk isn’t the same, but it isn’t bad here and they have chocolate cereal :)  It is a little stale but I am content:)  I didn’t know what anything was at the store today but I decided to just buy the food I recognized.  Milk, cereal, eggs, and a little pasta :)  We don’t have a toaster, microwave or anything and they don’t have cottage cheese here so for now eggs are my only source of protein.  They eat so much meat here. We have lunch with the people instead of dinner.  In fact we don’t eat dinner at all because it is the best time to contact people.  It’s really great though!!!  I ride a bike everywhere with my companion.  I don’t think they know what helmets are here.  So, I don’t wear one because I don’t have one and the traffic is crazy so pray for my safety here.  Ha ha.:D  it is a miracle they don’t have more car accidents here.  

     Oh my goodness Dad. I love it here!!!!  I never want to leave!!  The people are so nice. Actually, well I think they are nice. We talk to everyone, but I cant tell when people are being rude yet so everyone is nice in my book ha ha :D  Our ward is so awesome!!!  We get to work in the same area as the elders and it is super, awesome!!  The balance of having sisters and elders really helps the work so much!!!  Also I got to listen to the broadcast in English last night because the elders both speak English and wanted to hear the real voice of the profeta so that was so, so, nice!!!  Did you go to it?  I thought it was amazing and our ward is so, so, so, excited about it!!!   Oh, I have to tell you this.  My first day in Cordoba before I went to my area we had a little time to work in the park while groups of missionaries were taking care of their paper work.  Well we got right to work and I talked to this Buddhist man (sorry I cant spell anymore) he was pretty cool and I could understand a decent amount of what he was saying. (I tend to get myself in trouble here because I speak a lot better than I understand ha, ha :D)  Anyway when we were leaving I got pulled into a kiss and I wasn’t quick enough to get out of it ha, ha :D  He was an old man and it was on the cheek like they do here, but I was definitely super embarrassed. :D  

     No one can sing here! Ha, ha, ha, ha.  :D It is so funny to go to sacrament meetings because the hymns don’t sound like hymns at all.   My ward has already learned that I can sing though because even though none of them can (aside from the bishop) they can tell when someone is singing the hymn correctly, ha, ha, ha :D   My bishop was super nice and took ten minutes to just sing with me the other night after I sang for a baptism.  It made my day.  He is very young, only 26.  He is a very good bishop though :) I had to teach relief society with my companion on Sunday as well and I am giving a talk next week.  Talk about being thrown into everything.   :)  I think I like it that way though.  It helps me work hard and not have much time to think which I do a lot of because I can’t speak very well yet.  The language gets better every day though.  I love, love, love, Spanish!!!!!!  

     It smells like meat here by the way, and the first thing I smelled getting off the plane was smoke and perfume.  The people here use so much perfume!!!  Also, they don’t have very much carpet here.  It is very, very, uncommon.  Little things like that are so interesting to me.  I am serving in a city called Bell Ville and I don’t ever want to leave.

     Dad, Remember how you had that stiff neck thing way worse than a stiff neck?  Well, my situation is not nearly as bad but my neck is definitely in bad shape.  I am praying it will heal quickly.  It is so neat.  When I say what I will do with what I pray for, the Lord seems to give more readily :) I am here to work and He knows this.  Can you see my Spanish brain already?  :D  I don’t ever speak in English so I have no idea what I am going to do after the mission.  

     There was another Sister Fairbanks serving here so my name is a little easier for the missionaries to say but the people in general can’t say it at all.  Ha, ha, ha. :D  She told everyone that her cousin was coming to the mission but when they showed me a picture of here I did not recognize her at all.  So I have no idea what that is about, but at least they can say my name and she was a really good missionary so I have a good reputation already Ha, ha. :D   

     We didn’t stay in the mission home because the mission president leaves next week.  We are getting a new one so they are completely redoing the mission home.  I stayed in a really nice hotel for one night though and had my first experience with a bidet?  I don’t know how to spell that...also they throw their "toilet paper" in the trash here.  Definitely learning lots. Ha, ha, ha. :D I am racking up the minutes though so I ought to go before I have to give an arm and a leg to the cashier, ha, ha :D  Just know that I am having the time of my life!!!  I am so, so, so, happy and I love my mission and this new adventure also:)   I love you!!!! So, so, much!!!

Love you always,

Hermana “bancos de fuego” (my nickname) Fairbanks

Danie

There you have it.  We can hardly believe our girl is so far away, and almost a third the way through her mission.  I'm guessing for her it is going too fast, but hand washing her laundry won't stay fun for long.  If her letters continue to be so difficult to "translate" (she didn't spell well before speaking Spanish) I may have to resort back to summarizing in my own words on occasion. We love her.  Keep her up on all your news.