BALUT !!!!

Dear Family;
It totally happened. I ate balut, but I'll talk more of that later.

(Click here to find out what Nik is talking about.)

First, I got the pictures, surprisingly the picture of my car made me most homesick, I really miss driving.

Second, I got two Christmas packages (Bingo!) but I haven't opened them yet since we just got home from Cebu, so my reactions will come next week.

Third, I have a ton of way funny stories this week. The first is on Sunday. We woke up to a “brown out,” not too weird, then the power came back and surged on and off, then on again. This time when the power came on there was a really loud noise like something going to blow up. Elder Deguidoy starts running around shouting that the car is going to blow up. I actually believed him for like a second, then Elder Torrie and I realized how little sense that made. So he runs away to the CR and Elder Torrie and I look outside where the truck is and we see a powerline is on fire and buzzing out like crazy. So that was cool.

Then, Sunday afternoon we went to Cebu, and had a really sea sick journey over there. There's a pretty big storm over the pines right now I guess. But I'm still wearing short sleeves.

Then, Monday we were in Cebu for leadership training, but I'm not a leader so I worked the city again with 2 elders who are even newer here than me. Fortunately one of them was from Mindanao  and he knew Bisayan, so it tuned out alright. I realized that I knew more Bisayan than I thought.

Then, that night I ate Balut. It was 18 days fertilized, they hatch at 21. Elder Torrie tried to order me 20 day balut, but I heard him and I knew better. Most Pinoys don't even like 20 days, it has too many feathers. Anyway we sit down on a street corner, (there isn't a non-sketchy way to buy balut) and we crack a hole in the top. Then, you pour a little vinegar in there. I have really developed a taste for vinegar since I've been here. We drink out all the juice. Try not to think about what that is. Then, you peel it and it’s like a huge Hard Boiled egg, except that it is obviously a baby chicken. Put some salt on it and then I just popped the whole thing in my mouth and chase it down with straight up vinegar. The scariest part of it was how much I enjoyed it! I have no doubt that I'll eat it again, soon.

Then, we had a super long time trying to find a way back to Camotes which was a drag. The boat we usually take forgot it’s anchor. So we got home a day late, and now we're here. Coolish week. It was different, but all in all I've got the best job in the World!

I love all of you a ton, I miss you all a bunch, Happy New Year.