First letter from JAPAN!

Dear Family,

I'm in Japan!  

Sorry for any spelling and/or punctuation errors, the keyboards here are a little wierd.

I'm serving in the Yokosuka area (pronounced: yo-KO-ska) and Elder Cook is my companion!  Yokosuka is a small peninsula by Tokyo bay.  It has an American Naval Base (close to our apartment), and an English Military branch as well as the Japanese branch here.

What this means is that Yokosuka stocks up on American food!  There's even a Taco Bell down the street.  Also we get fed pretty frequently by the American members.  (For example, last night we had dinner with the Amensecs.  Brother Amensec is a professional chef on one of the ships!).

Elder Cook is from Orem, and was once in the Book of World Records for being the fastest text messager.  This is his last transfer, so after he trains me, he will return home.  As you heard, his parents are coming for a week or so, so under President Hill its fine.  I hope the next President also allows it.

Im still getting used to the area and meeting the members.  Just before I arrived, we had a lot of people simply stop investigating.  So right now were doing a LOT of finding.

Theres some different and fun things here, like how Japanese people are very careful about garbage.  It must be separated into burnables, non-burnables, recycling... and for some reason, the garbage trucks play music like an Ice cream truck.

The kids here are all funny, but I have no idea what they're saying.

Our apartment is somewhat small, but I hear there are MUCH smaller ones in areas like Shibuya.

The weather is just fine, it has only barely started Fall here.  The seasons are shifted a bit.  It does get pretty windy though.

The English Military branch is quite big, and they are very nice.  The Japanese branch is fairly small, but they are always.

I've not had any bike accidents yet, but someone backed their car into Elder Cook the other day.  He was completely fine, but I guess no one ever looks behind them before backing up in Japan.

I can actually understand a bunch of Japanese if they are using simple and polite language.  I can't understand a word of informal speech, which is a shame because everyone uses it all the time.  Though, in church people are very understanding and will repeat things, or speak simply, or just get Elder Cook to translate.  He's pretty much fluent and can talk about or translate anything.

Music:  The mission is very specific on what music we can listen to (only certain select albums).  This means that all the wonderful music you loaded my ipod up with, I can't listen to.  Ill try to mail you the list of OK music soon.

The base is actually a California zip code, even though its in Japan.  So, I can send home packagaes for cheap if I accumulate a bunch of stuff here!

Anyways, Im running out of time.  We found this little computer place right next to our apartment, where they give old people classes on how to use computers.  But, they also let us email in here on Thursdays!  However, its an hourly fee, and my hour is about up.

As soon as I get some cool Japanese Stationary, Ill send you a letter!

Good luck to Mallory in College, and Madison in high school!

Thanks!

 -Elder Martin Mumford

-JAPAN, TOKYO, YOKOSUKA!

P.S.-  Also, if Mallory is already working in the MTC, have her find out what they make the "Chicken Cordon Bleu" out of.  Everyone in the MTC thought it was hamsters.

Probably just a myth, but...  ???

                        

 (Martin's sister, Mallory just got a job serving food in the MTC, but because of a mix-up in paperwork, she wasn't able to start work until the day after Martin left)