Walmart Trip and Birds

¡Hola!

I did get your letter last week, but we had limited time to write because of district conference, so I was not able to respond to it.  I'll try to be better at responding to everyone, but know that if I don't get to you, it's not because I don't love you.

Pesos are pretty simple to figure out, because the exchange rate is just about 10 to one for dollars.  It still feels kind of weird spending 50 pesos on something, and I have to remind myself that it's only about 5 bucks.  It's really weird seeing the prices in the stores as well.  They use the dollar symbol for pesos as well, so you will see something priced for several hundred pesos that normally would only be like 30 dollars.  That will take some getting used to, but as far as the value of the money, I've got a decent hold over it.  

We went to Walmart today, which was very similar to going to Walmart in Utah, except that everyone was Mexican, instead of almost everyone being Mexican.  Oh, and the display of whole frozen fish on ice in the middle of the isle, that was new.  We went with a couple of the elders in our district, Elder Thomson and Elder Diaz, and since Elder Thomson and Elder Tadeo both love to skateboard, we somehow ended up by the skateboards, which they started riding down the aisles, until someone told them to stop, which they did.  Then he threatened to call the cops on them.  To this, Elder Thomson replied that he had twenty pesos in his pocket, so he could go ahead and call them.  It's a very different world down here.

We actually have a bird nest built right into the side of the building, right next to the door to our apartment.  I've tried to get some pictures for you, but I'm not quite the photographer you are.  Still, I'll send you what I've got, and try to get some better shots.  And as far as the parrot or monkey goes, if I have eaten any they haven't told me what it was.  In fact, I've only seen parrots once, and they were in cages at the home of one of our investigators.  If she ever feeds us, and one of them is gone, then I'll know.  Keep going strong and know that I love you.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long