Made it to Columbia!

Mamasita!

I AM ALIVE!!!!

I only have a few minutes to write. I tried to call you like a million times from the payphone, but I could not for the life of me get it to work. There were 14 missionaries on the flight to Bogota! I sat next to two elders. We landed and my bags were there! Hallelujah! I thought they were going to get lost. We took big vans to the CCM. We arrived at like 1130. Guess what? There were only 10 missionaries here! Today there will be lots more latin missionaries coming. We didnt get to sleep until like 1 am, and then woke up at 6 am! The CCM is so small! But everyone here is so friendly. It feels like a little family This morning, we had an hour of scripture study, and then breakfast. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, hot chocolate, pineapple, and these weird green cutie things. It was good! We had orientation this morning, and I received my first companion! Her name is Hermana Webb. She is from Utah. I knew we would get along when she told me that she was sick of the Let It Go song. Haha! They took away our cameras and candy. They only give them to us on PDays. 

Sorry that my writing is sloppy. The keyboards here are crazy! I cannot find the colon button! 

Thank you for all the nice letters and notes. I havent had time to read them all. They dont have a sd card reader, so you will have to send me a cord so I can send pictures back. 

Bad news... my next PDay is not until NEXT FRIDAY! I know... Im so sad about that. But they said that I will be writing around 1 to 3 pm, so keep an eye out for my email! I think I am only an hour ahead of you, because it is 950 here. 

Good news... the PDay after next Friday will be on Tuesday. Does that make sense? They happen every 10 days and then 4 days after... I have not idea why... 

Im so glad that you guys are having fun. The aquarium is awesome. 

I wont have time to write everyone else, so please let them all know that I love them so much. 

I forgot to change my name on facebook to Hermana Kari Routsong, so you should do that for me.

How are things there?

I am still very nervous, but everyone here is so supportive. I will admit, I woke up this morning, and was like "What the freak am I doing?" hahaha But Im not the only one... Hermana Webb asked me at breakfast, "Is it just me, or do you kinda want to go home, too?" Hahaha

Its all good. They say it takes about two weeks to adjust. I hope it comes that fast! 

The flight was good. They had this cool flight tracker that I watched the whole time. We flew over Cuba and Jamaica! 

The weirdest food Ive eaten? Airplane food. Ive never eaten airplane food before! It wasnt too bad. They had water in a jello cup! Hahahha

Customs was a little crazy considering I dont speak spanish very well. The guy looked at me like I was a total weirdo. 

I am finding that my spanish is decently good compared to others. Thanks to dad, of course! 

I hope you are all doing good. I dont know how much time I have left...they only gave us 15 minutes... 

Oh! I saw bishop at the airport! That was pretty cool. And there was another Hermana on the way to Peru on my first flight. That was nice. 

So much has happened, and I feel like Im forgetting to tell you stuff! 

Saying goodbye was so hard, but I felt the love of the Savior the entire day. Dont get me wrong, I am still way freaked out, but that should go away soon enough. I hope... 

I was going to tell you that I kind of hate my camera. All of the pictures come out blurry. But I dont know how easy it would be for you to send me a new one... Ill test it out some more next PDay and let you know... Maybe the settings are off or something. 

Now I know why missionary emails are so crazy, because Im trying to type fast on a totally weird keyboard that I cannot find half the buttons on. Esta bien! 

Hmm.... Yeah, my cold is okay. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, but it feels better today. 

There are 9 hermanas going to Cochabamba here! And there are about 4 elders going to Colombia in my district, too. 

My CCM president is so nice. And his wife is amazing, too.

They gave me all of my books today. Yes, dad, there are a lot. I will probably have to get rid of some stuff. And they gave me another one of those waterbottles that filter, so I have 4 filters now! And filters last a whole year! Hahaha

I miss you guys so much, and it is really hard still, but I know that I am supposed to be here. 

Oh, the showers here are nice! They are tall, so I dont have to bend over or anything.

They are telling me to "vamanos" now. So I better end this. Ill write next Friday! I know...super super lame. But we can do hard things, mama! I love you SO SO SO SO much! Tell everyone that I miss them and love them!

Love,

Hermana Routsong