Week 10

Carnival is coming up! That means a lot of silly string and squirt guns, just like this! Yikes.

Just a note from me!

I adopted this as my personal mission motto after I fell. Remember: "Come What May, and Love It"

Me ready to go to work!

Ecua-Facts

1. Gas prices have been at $1.48 for about 2 years without changing so much as a cent.

2. They have shopping carts for inside and outside, if you use the outside ones a bag boy comes with you and you tip him.

3. There is no tipping at restaurants

4. You eat cereal in yogurt, they even sell personal sized portions.

5. Nobody owns real silver or gold, Sorensen and I always get asked if our earrings are real.

6. Movies cost $1.50 and are all pirated.

7. The only non-fruit soda they have is cola. They have Strawberry, Pineapple, Orange, Apple, and Lime.

8. They love popcorn and put it in soup, much like we do with crackers.

9. Pineapple is white here, if it is yellow it´s Hawiian Pineapple. They also have a Mora berry, it´s a mix of a blackberry and raspberry. Kinda weird but good.

10. Almost nobody has doorbells, you either bang really loudly on their gate or whistle.

Hey Everybody!

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes from everybody! I had a great mission birthday! I was sung to in 3 different languages including: English, Spanish, and Kichwa! It was all pretty cool. Sorensen and I were able to find an ice cream cake, the very kind I loved as a kid. It was all pretty awesome. Thanks again to everybody!

Things are going really well down here in Quito! Most of all because I´m back on my feet and sans one really bulky uncomfortable cast! We are able to go out and work much more effectively. I said good-bye to my crutches on Saturday, just counting down until I can lose the ace wrap as well.

We had a great service project this week with our Ward. The Bishop wanted us to clean some stairs. Sounds weird I know, but here they are about 13 flights (seriously) and covered in weeds and garbage. Still on crutches at this point I had to hobble to the top, but we had a great time. I even got to use a machete on some of the weeds. That´s a lifelong goal I can cross of my list: I think we can all agree that machete´s are awesome! It was a great service project because we had a lot of curious by-standers. Perfect for Sorensen and I to go and contact later this week! The stairs also look awesome now!

We also have a investigator with a baptizmal date! It´s not until March but Sorensen and I are very excited for Elena Iza! She is a really great person and really has a lot of potential!

Love and miss you all! Chow

Week 9

Hey Everybody!

Ecua-facts:

1. Nobody has car seats for toddlers and infants.
2. Nor is it illegal to have an entire family on a motorcycle, including infants.
3. Sometimes on the hills that are particularly steep, natives walk them zig zag style. Like you would on a hike. I tried it once, didn’t seem to help the breathless panting much.
4. Making 10 dollars a day is a decent living.
5. This is really more of a mission fact but they have their own lingo: To machete is to lecture.
6. Garbage day is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You just leave it on the street, in some places they pick it up every day.
7. They don’t think there is any poverty at all in the United States.
8. They also think that North Americans are really racist too my companion always has to tell them that her sister is married to a black man. They are actually a lot more prejudice.
9. They aren’t big fans of flavor in anything, not just spicy. They don’t like too much of anything sweet, sour, spicy, salty. You name it! I just miss me some flavor!
10. All the pre-made Superbowl memorabilia for the Cardinals will be sold down here! Anybody want a Cardinals Champs T-shirt? Hehehehehe.

My cast is off finally! I’m am however, still on the crutches, but only until Friday, I’m very excited to get back to work! A broken ankle isn’t very much fun when you have work to do!
I’m not having any companion problems don’t worry, except I do feel bad that Sorensen is basically my glorified babysitter. That has got to be wearing on her. We still aren’t doing as much as we would like and were able to get out yesterday. There is a woman at the Cabina’s, like pay phones, and she has had a really difficult life. An abusive husband, major health problems, and her mother is dying. We taught her about a month ago but she kept standing us up after that. We had kind of given up on her as an investigator. However, the other day we were making some calls and she had her bible out and asked us what the verses were that we had shared with her. We were so excited and explained that they were in the Book of Mormon. Yesterday we were able to drop one off to her and tell her a bit more. Angel and Norma are some recent converts that are having some hard times, and we got to drop off their triples too! They were so excited! Triples down here are a little uncommon. Interesting fact for you- They don’t have the King James Bible down here so every member has a different version of the bible. The church is retranslating the Book of Mormon into Spanish right now and working on making a quad, which doesn’t exist in Spanish either. I also carried on a 3 hour conversation in Spanish with a member. My companion and I did splits so she could get some more work done. Our numbers aren’t great, it is still really hard and expensive for me to get around, I feel like I’m just blowing through money. Not really a great feeling!

We had zone conference this past week, they are so long, but always good. This one was all about how we had to have more faith in this mission so the Lord can work miracles. They also teach us how to make some sort of food every conference. I think that portion is mostly for the Elders, but we always get to sample. Cooking is hard down here because nobody has ovens, they don’t even have microwaves so we can’t live off of hot pockets! Just kidding, eww. We really do eat a lot of Raman noodles, we have some pretty creative ways of cooking them though. Then we get some training from the Assistants from Preach My Gospel. The best part is when you go to President’s class full of doctrine. Then there is always some sort of activity. Last month is was tug-o-war, this month we played red light, green light. Then they sing Happy Birthday to all the people who have Birthdays this change, I tried so hard to get out of that but I didn’t succeed. At least I got some Peanut Butter M&M’s out of it! Then a Testimony meeting, then we get to close at around 5 o’clock, it takes so long!

Week 8

I attempted to Bowl. I think I ended with a score of 40, I know your jealous!

Elders Montgomery (my D.L.), Gonzalez, and unfortunately I don´t remember the Last ones name!

Elder Green was trying to hide because he lost to a gimp! I think he ended somewhere in the twenties.

So Stylish, can´t stand it.



Ecua-facts

1.Not many people have waffle irons, if they do they use them for sandwiches.
2. They collect figurines, if you give somebody one they will probably treasure it forever.
3. They play Ecua-ball. It´s their own version of volleyball. They play with a soccer ball and honestly it´s kinda wussy.
4. They strongly believe in public urination. EVEN THE WOMEN. Awkward.
5.They don´t know how to hold babies, you wouldn´t believe the amount of times I´ve seen them get dropped.
6. Chickens walk through people´s houses, even in the second largest city in Ecuador.
7. Almost nobody has kitchen cabinets, they have shelves. The majority of people also don´t have ovens. If they do, they´ve no idea how to use it. The Bishop put his wet jacket into the one at church to dry...
8. A lot of people don´t actually have addresses, I think that´s why they paint their houses such bright colors.
9. You can´t buy cocoa that doesn´t already have sugar in it. Flour also comes with baking powder already mixed in. Makes it really hard to convert recipies.
10. Everybody hangs pictures right below the celling, granted they don´t have tall cellings but they aren´t a tall people either. You sure have to crane your neck a lot!

The rain is definitely hitting! It makes it hard because I´m already a bit of a clutz! What can you do though? My ankle is okay, we are starting to be able to work again, which is really nice because I was going out of my mind!

I just hate Obama, being in Ecuador with a broken ankle is better than having to see what good old Obama is doing to my country. The President here is making some pretty radical changes. Everything imported will now be seriously and heavily taxed. He doesn´t want any outside anything. The problem with that is that Ecuador doesn´t make anything. Nada, zip, zilch. I have no idea how they are going to keep everybody happy here. They are already complaining about how much the cost of food has gone up here. It is actually pretty noticible, especially on imports! Ecuador has never been very stable in the Political arena though.


I´ll talk to you again soon! Chow! Love you all!

Hermana Hop Along Part II

Anyway there isn´t much to say, lately I´ve not been up to much! Unfortunately...I´m pretty much stuck!
Don´t my legs look great? I do a lot of falling here in Ecuador, those aren´t all from the same incident!

After the soft cast came off just today...Still pretty swollen.

After they put my cast on I had to have everybody sign it! President Sloan was one of the first- he even did the smiley face!

Just Call Me Hermana Hop Along

Just remember that the H is silent in Spanish, but it still has a really nice ring to it don´t you think?

In case you haven´t heard, I had a little disagreement with some stairs yesterday and the stairs won, my ankle is broken! Stupid stairs. My companion reminded me that this was my 5th fall in Ecuador, seems my balance issues are going to be a problem here. Blast.

This is me at CCI (mall) with my Zone Leader Elder Cedeño. The Elders seemed to really enjoy my crutches. Unfortunately they are far more skilled with them than I.

My at the Clinica Pinchicha, one of the nicer hospitals in Quito. I think my being white made the process go quite a bit faster!

Pre-cast, it swelled up like that instantly, totally wicked.


Me and my big fat cast, I think I get the real thing next week...this is just a soft cast that is open on top.

Week 5

Ecua- Facts!

1. Everybody wears yellow underwear on New Years. No idea why.
2. They also eat grapes on New Years , 12, one a minute till the New Year
3. They are confused and think flavored marshmallows are candy
4. They aren´t legally allowed to name their children more than one American name, if they even do one it´s really, super expensive
5. They don´t know how to use Drinking Fountains, they look like they are going to be attacked when they try. Most of them just use the communal cup they leave. Talk about unsanitary. They also stare at us when we use the proper way trying to figure it out.
6. My ward in Santa Ana burned our Bishop (ChinChin) for New Years.
7. I have yet to meet a Lopez or Garcia. I have met Almachi´s, Chinchin´s, and ECT.
8. They all wear masks for New Years.
9. I only saw two Tyrannies’. :(
10. They have holidays that last forever….The kids are still out of school. And their parents let them run wild, seriously I go to bed earlier I swear.

Soooo…This last couple of weeks has been pretty uneventful; nobody wants religion at Christmas unfortunately. Things are just starting to pick up again which is really nice. Since we are not allowed to contact in our sector it´s been a lot of walking to see who else we could possibly visit. We have a lot of appointments set up for this week, and I´m excited to be doing something again. We have a few new references that we will be contacting. Monica´s baptism is still on hold for now, but probably some time in January.

New Years was pretty much Awesome, although it took some convincing to wake me up. Midnight is awfully late whilst you´re serving a mission. Although I did go to bed and then they woke me up 10 minutes to midnight. It was amazing- all of Ecuador was alight with fire and fireworks. Later smoke, but that was all clear by morning time. No firework laws in Ecuador, so cool the fireworks came out. We also had a lot of fun lighting our effigy. New Years in the States just doesn´t compare to the massive party it is here in Ecuador.

We couldn´t leave on New Years day so the Mission decided it was a perfect opportunity for us to clean our apartments, we actually had a ton of fun. Sorensen, Larsen, and I decided it was time we painted our apartment finally. It looks worlds better. I had a picture for proof but I decided it was just too unflattering to post. Yuck. Now only our bedroom looks sketchy still. We have to get more paint from the offices to finish the job up. I was sore for a couple of days, painting is a long, long process.

We lost Larsen this week; she had to go back to her own sector when the assistants found her a mini-missionary to work with. Sad day, Lars cooks and is really funny.

Me and My Ecua New Years

I can´t believe I´m posting this. I´ve some serious bed head and I´m sans make-up. I thought I would tell you some more...

New Years

This is Larsen lighting our Ecua-man, we had a little trouble. And yes that is a Liahona, but an old issue.


You´ll have to forgive my no makeup. I was super tired. Hehe.

My very first effigy!

These are me with Larsen, and Sorensen! I´m the skull and Sori is the Clown. Fitting no?

Week 4

Hello Everybody!

Ecua-facts-

1. I was really confused as to why so many men were getting nose jobs...not women. Turns out they have to because of all the bar fights they get into.
2. On New Years they burn dolls.
3. On New Years the men dress as women. Weird.
4. Only really, super weathy people have carpet
5. The stake center is about one third the size of ours in Utah.
6. Its guava season, completely different here. White and cottony and you suck it off big black seeds.
7. The bus costs .25 cents to ride. That is the most in all of Ecuador.
8. My hair cut cost 5.00, cheapest ever. I also was completely ripped off.
9. They do have Malls, but they are pretty insignificant compared to ours in the States. However, they are only frequented by the wealthy.
10. Canned peaches are a desert. They love them down here. That was our Christmas desert.


I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! My Ecua-Christmas was pretty dang great! Always fun to talk to my family and friends! We spent our Christmas with Digna (a member here) She even made turkey, which they don´t eat here ever. Then we had a nice ecua-salad consisting of cauliflower, peas, carrots, and potatoes covered in mayo. It was one of the better ones I’ve had.

For Christmas we wanted to do something, there are so many poor people here! So my companions and I decided to buy a bunch of happy meals and give them away to some of the homeless kids on the streets. McDonald’s wouldn’t sell us the happy meals, so we decided to go to Burger King and get Magic Boxes for them instead. Besides they came with a crown. It was really pretty sad. Some of those kids shine shoes on the streets for money. They were pretty dejected looking. We really do have so much in United States.

I’m now in a threesome, for the rest of the change (transfer). Sister Larsen is my new trainer. We are 3 of six gringas in the whole mission and come June, I might just be the only one left. She is tons of fun and a good worker. So far this threesome is awesome! Not at all like my MTC experience in a threesome…good.

My Spanish is coming along...slowly, but the members tell me that I’m doing okay and I understand a lot. I have to give a talk next Sunday, so I guess I’ll see then. Yikes.

I did take a nasty trip (twice) on the escalator, they don’t always work properly, and now I’m a little bruised. Darn my craving for American ice cream on Christmas! I’ve had to wear flip flops a couple of days because my foot is too swollen for my shoes! That´s really weird, going without my nylons!

The work has been a little slow here lately. Hopefully it will pick up again after New Years!

Oh, Yeah.

Don´t be mad Mom, but I chopped my hair again. I just like it short. It only cost me 5 bucks too, definitely my cheapest, fastest hair cut ever. I totally love it too. Nobody give me a hard time. I´m just a short hair gal, I think it gives me an edge.

Week 3

Ecua-facts.

1. The richest person I know in Ecuador pays $170 dollars in rent for an apartment bigger than mine at home, and I payed $300 and had to share it with 3 other people.
2. The only hot water is in the shower. Not in the faucets.
3. If any of you send me money don´t send anything bigger than a $20 dollar bill. That is hard enough to break. They didn´t believe my hundred dollar bill was real. Fives and Tens would be much appreciated.
4. I´m the best piano player in the Ward. Scary thought.
5. The cheese is super nasty. It´s soft, tangy, and that´s pretty much the only kind they´ve got. You can find swiss but it´s super expensive.
6.They use military time. That one is odd.
7.La Liga lost to Manchester United 1-0. Ecuador is still number 2 in the world!
8.For lunch I had a sandwhich, fresh pineapple juice, and a bowl of fresh fruit for $2.70. It was soooo good.


Well not a whole lot happened this week, I´ve been a little sick with the flu, no biggie. Not a parasite just a little asprin needed! I didn´t even throw up. Just a little achy and had a small fever. All of our appointments are falling through because it is right before Christmas. Monica didn´t end up getting baptized this week. She missed her mission president interview. So we are shooting for next week. December is a hard mission month because nobody wants to meet with us. Or we get stood up. We had one day when every appointment stood us up. We did a whole lot of walking that day. Boring!

I did have to play piano for sacrament meeting yesterday. That was horrible, they can´t read music so half notes became quarter notes and I had to play to keep up. They just sing it how they want to. Good news is that the piano kept them on tune more often. I hope this isn´t a weekly occurence. I think I picked the easiest hymns in the book, Silent Night, Come Follow Me, and Green Hill Far Away. Nice and simple.

We did get a new investigator who is pretty promising. Her name is Elena and one of her kids is already a member. She also completes all the committments we give her and always has a ton of questions for us. A very good sign. She also doesn´t try to feed us when we go over there, which is fabulous because everybody tries to feed us. The food is seriously nasty. I think I´m going to come home loving herbal tea. EWW. I also be able to make juice though and the juice is really good here. They have amazing fruit.

I also ate fish. I know, it´s a miracle. I actually liked it better than the chicken. Fish is a lot better down here, not so fishy. The bad news is that I had to eat it off the bone. They don´t de-bone the fish here. That was a little nasty. My pickyness will also probably disappear by the time I come home.

Week 2

Okay some more Ecua-facts:

1. They are obsessed with Avon. Tres chic here in Ecuador.
2. New Years is a bigger holiday than Christmas.
3. I ate mushrooms and almost threw up at the table. My companion had to start talking to cover up my gagging. I’m lame.
4. My apartment overlooks the Panacillo- massive angel on a hill.
5. They don’t refridgerate eggs and milk comes in a box.
6. Quito is not hot, it’s freezing. Send me chocolate. Hehe.
7. Electric Showers.
8. They hate spicy food. Hate.
9. Only poor people drink water, they always try to serve juice (way good) or pop. They have a lot of fruits here that aren’t available in the States
10. You can buy 2 dozen roses for a dollar fifty. Pretty much any kind of flower, actually.
11. You need a key to get in and out of your apartment.


Okay, can you believe that I ate mushrooms? Neither can I. You think I’d be able to just get over it considering some of the things I’ve had to eat lately. Nope. I think you would all be impressed by what I can stomach though! I think ginea pig might be coming up soon...hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Monica is getting baptized this Saturday. We are trying to find her a job so she can stop selling things on buses. She also works at the courts (volleyball) you have to put money on the games and they also charge you to use the bathroom. Not really a great enviornment. She has a really sad story, but every woman here does. Seriously fidelity is not on people’s list of important things. I don’t think I’ll come home with an Ecuadorian.

Intresting tidbit for you: Did you know that Ecuador’s soccer team pretty much rocks ? Go Liga! They won the championship last year. I’m bursting with Ecuadorian pride!

Nobody worry, my companion is pretty awesome. We get along really well, and she thinks I’m pretty funny, which is good because people ususally just look at me funny when I make a joke. I must have a strange sense of humor. One of the first things she said to me was: “Your so clean.” Yeah, she’s been here awhile. I also cleaned our apartment up it was pretty dirty and me being ocd just couldn’t handle it so I went to work. It’s now decent. She also has taught me to make Rapidito which is the latin version of Top Ramen. Only here you cover it in hot sauce because you miss spice and flavor. I feel like I’m eating more than I ever have but I am still dropping weight, I feel like I’m going to need some new clothes really soon. Fortunately my companion had a similar experience so I’ll probably just get some Mission hand me downs! Rad.

What more...oh yeah, Ecuador is cold! At least in my area. It rains every day. The great news is that you can all send me chocolate now, because American chocolate is really hard to find. Don’t worry you don’t really have to send me anything! Seriously I’m 9,000 feet up in the air and it is chilly. I already had to buy a sweatshirt!

Missions are awesome but definitely hard! I’d still recommend it!


Chow!

Week 1&2 Photos

My companion, Sister Sorenson, and I.



The Young Women and Young Men at a Ward activity. They put on a traditional Ecuadorian dance!



The Greenies with President Sloan and his wife!



My Desk Area, Kinda Scary!



My room.



Crazy Sorta Closet.



Kitchen. Also sorta.



View from the top of my building.

Week 1

Okay Ecuador is pretty cool, some interesting Ecua- facts:

I´m going to have to kill tarantula´s with a machete. Massive ones.
Ecuador uses scented toilet paper-wanna know why? Because you can´t flush it.
Jam, Ketchup, shampoo all come in bags.
They put glass on top of fences to keep theives out.
You have to use a key to get in and out of your house.
Ecuador is cold and I have to use an umbrella everyday.
You put your bag and backpacks in lockers at the grocery store to decrease theft.
Most people don´t have ovens so everything is fried.
McDonald´s is where the rich people eat.
They consider cough drops candy.
Bottled water is only a quarter.
I am one of 6 white sister missionaries, guess they thought I could tough it out. We get called barbie a lot and everybody and their dog flirts with us. It's kinda sad, they honk if they are alone or flash their lights if a girlfriend or wife and kids are with them. They aren't real big on fidelity.

Alright, so Ecuador is so cool. Sometimes when I can´t flush toilet paper I just remind myself that I wanted an adventure!
The first time I saw my apartment I thought wow- this is a third world country, but then I saw our investigator´s (Monica). She lives in a room, just a room with a queen bed and a bunk bed for her two children ages 14 and 8, and a tiny section seperated by sheets for a make-shift kitchen. NO BATHROOM. I´m just grateful for my blue toilet, blue sink, and blue shower at this point! Monica´s entire room is smaller than my room at home and looks quite a bit like uncle Craig´s storage unit. The richest people here could probably not even be considered middle class in the United States.

We have lunch appointments everyday with members. Wow the food is bad. It´s awesome! I´ve had a fried banana at every meal. I´ll have to make them for you some time. They aren´t that bad if you like banana´s, I almost cried at our Sunday appointment because they give you so much food and you have to finish it or else they are offended. I actually think I did cry... It´s a ton of food. Yesterday it consisted of a chicken wing and a dinner plate (like those massive white ones we have) full of rice, 4 tomato slices, with potatoe and squash soup. I was thrilled when I saw cauliflower. I took a huge heaping fork full and just as I put it in my mouth my companion said : It has lime juice! Turns out that they serve it cold with lime juice squeezed on top. Just about the nastiest thing ever! I´m sure I gagged a few times, but I finished everything but the rice. People feed you everywhere here. It´s ususally an aguita and bread. An aguita is like herbal tea- water, cinnamon, and sugar. Not to brillant but edible. The bread is pretty good. Sometimes they have empanada´s! The milk here is way good too, I don´t know what people are talking about, they even have caramel milk.

Okay so my area or sector as they call it here! I´m in Santa Anna, that is in South of Quito. Quito is massive way bigger than you think! It takes about 3 hours. Massive. We take the bus most of the time but we also take an occasional taxi. Travel takes a lot of time! My companion is Sister Sorensen from Arizona. She is really cool. Her favorite companion was her last companion so I face some tough competition. She has been out for 13 months. We have a lot of fun and success together though. We will have 3 baptisms this month! Cool!

Monica- the one who lives in one room with her two children, Irene, prounounced ear-n-yay and edgar who looks like a latin Harry Potter. Irene has a friend, Nellie, who will also be baptized this month. The last one doesn't really cound because the Bishop just wanted higher numbers so he "forgot" to baptize this kid when he was 8. Now that he is 9 we have to teach him a couple times and he's in. Weird.

Unfortunately for me, it looks like I will either be the Ward Pianist or direct the music. Yikes. I decided to practice since it looked inevitable, and all the sudden I was swarmed by little kids. One woman even asked me to teach her children. Another thing that surprised me is that they cannot sing. The Latin people here are like 80 percent tone deaf. It's so depressing when you sing hymns.

My first week was kinda weird. It's been Quito Days all week long, kinda like the fourth of July but they do it by city here. It's basically one big drinking festival. There are people passed out on the street drunk everywhere! My companion and I have had to be in at 7:30 every night, but our norm is 8:00 or 8:30 so it wasn't too much earlier.

I love it though. Ecuador is awesome. If you come to pick me up you have to stay at the Marriott because that is the only place that will let you flush the toilet paper. Seriously.

Love ya,



Hermana Whitney Tanner

I'm in Ecuador!

Family! I got into Ecuador last night about 11:19pm, so about 9:19pm your time. It was pouring! You should see it here it is so beautiful, it is a lot like Bermuda only not quite as tropical. I also gave somebody a Book of Mormon we met at the airport. It was pretty awesome! My spanish seemed okay and she spoke English so when I was completely unintelligible she could understand me still! We were loaded off the plane outside and when we entered the Airport we looked up and saw our Mission President and his wife and a couple of Elders! It was all very cool! Customs didn't even check our bags, so we got through pretty quickly!

We dropped off the Elders (don't know what I'll do with out my Elders!) at their apartment. It did look a little third world...but clean. I stayed at the Mission President's apartment with his family. It looks nothing like the Elders apartment. They live in the same building as the Vice President of Ecuador. I'll send you some pictures soon! My room has a massive window about 20X7 and it opens like a screen door. This morning I opened it and took a ton of pictures! So pretty. It's chilly here but nothing like Utah! I love the humidity, I don't know why people dislike it!

My mission Presdent seems very nice as does his wife. He told me a little about the Mission (btw-haven't met my companion yet!) It sounds like he is very aware of the Sisters mom, so don't worry. I'm convinced I won't be going to all those scary places I wanted to go...sad. But you should be happy. The good news is that I may still get to the Amazons!!! President Sloan let us sleep in, but I was too excited and got up at 6:00, or 4:00am your time! The toilets do in fact flush the opposite way. Weird.

I really don't know very much yet, we haven't even had an official meeting. We have one in about 20 minutes. I just wanted you to know that I made it saftely and I love it. It's pretty amazing that I am finally here!

It was a long ride and they asked us to not watch in flight movies, which was particularly hard because they had those personal screens where you can choose! They had The Dark Knight! I obstained and played a trivia game for about 4 hours of the flight! I now had the high record on the plane until Elder Cloud finally beat me! Anyway, this is not interesting in the least, I'm sure, so I'll let you go now! I miss you and love you all!

Be happy, I'm happy,

Whitney
Hermana Whitney Tanner

The latest!!

Hey Everyone! How are you all?

I'm doing really well here in the MTC even better is that my District gets flight plans next Friday! That's right only 3 weeks left in the MTC and I'll be in Ecuador finally! Which is good, I'm so ready to be out and teaching!

My spanish is okay but I have a feeling it will really come along when I'm in the Country and with the natives!

Sister Dunoskovic has been ill, but thanks to Dr. McLane ( who is the same Doctor who did Dramanda's stitches) she seems to be doing much better. Although I have my suspicions that that is just the oxycodone talking... and giggling a lot!

Sorry! The only thing on my mind is flight plans, flight plans, flight plans! I can hardly wait to get to work!

Thanks also to everyone who answered my Brad and Angie question. I think all of you answered! I wouldn't normally care, but any news is news in this 10 acre place!

I'm currently sitting in the sweatshop (laundry room) writing out my weekly email, but nothing has happened. I'm probably just distracted and really nothing new happens after 6 weeks. When I get to teach I'm sure I'll have some real news to share!

Sooooooo.........Obama won. Not surprised really, yet still disappointed. The best thing about going on a mission though is that I can be true to my word now and acutally move to another country when somebody I don't like is elected president. MAYBE, just maybe I'll move back to the USA in April of 2010, but I make no promises!

Love you,

Hermana Whitney Tanner

Guess Who?

I just thought I would remind everyone to vote tomorrow! Muy importante!

-Your Favorite Missionary-

Ps. Really me!

Happy Halloween!

The Update

Hi everybody, I just wanted to tell you all that I love the MTC, and not to worry about me! I really do love it here! Hard to believe that I've been here a week already, new missionaries are arriving with dork dots as we speak. I've already recieved more packages than anyone in my district, so thanks everybody, it's making me very popular.

I did have some companion trouble! But I know that none of you are surprised. Honestly I've never tried with anybody so hard in all my life! Sister Makelani is tongan and really didn't like me. She actually ran away from me and some other sisters hid her, which I thought was very inconsiderate consider we searched for her for about 5 hours and checked that room repeatedly. Even though I told the Branch President that I would like to remain her companion and try to work things out, but he felt it would be better to change companionships. As hard as it was for me to accept that I failed I have to admit that life is so much easier with Sister Dunoskovic. I do feel embarrassed that somebody was so unhappy with who I am despite my efforts could still dislike me so much. I think I cried more on October 7th (yesterday) than I have ever in my life.

The MTC is so amazing. I love it here, it has the best spirt.

The Elders in my district are great, there are 4 that I really, really enjoy and they are all going to Quito. Elder Taylor is great, he's adorable (in the little brother kind of way) and unfailingly kind. He bought a journal for everyone in the district to write in and in the future people he baptizes and companions with. We all liked the idea we all bought similar journals. He reminds me of Garrett, he is always in earnest, to learn, to converse, you name it.

Elder Morris is from Rexburg, and he has the same type of humor as I do, so we keep eachother entertained, Elder Stieber is also really funny and has the best ties. Elder Robinson is really sweet as well and is our districk leader. Elder Berghout and Elder Saunders are going to Argentina along with Sister Makelani but none of them are very chatty so I don't know them well.

My new companion is amazing. She comes from a family with 8 children, 2 adopted, and 3 are foster to adopt. WOW! She always has a story to tell and makes it very easy to listen. She is also very cheerful. I know it will come as a surprise to you all, but so am I in this place!

The food is about what you would expect. Yikes. I have found a couple things I like however. Everyday I eat a grapefruit for breakfast and a wrap for lunch and dinner. You can put whatever you want in them, and they are a great alternative for me, becasue I'm not very fond of mystery meat! The chocolate chip cookies are really surprisingly good too!

I look forward to Gym time too! I know you all had to reread that, but after sitting in a classroom for 9 hours a day. You really need to get some exercising done!

I can already pray, bear testimony, and contact people in spanish. So you can see how much I am learning in this short amount of time!

I only have 8 minutes left, so I'll leave you with my testimony:

I Know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and that He atoned for the sins of the world, even mine! I know that He loves us and wants the very best for us!

Yo se la evangelio es verdadero, y Jose Smith es El Profeta de Dios. Jesucristo es me salvador. Yo se en mi corazon Jesucristo vives! En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

Adios mis amigos y familia!
Hermana Whitney Tanner

Posted via Melissa

Finally.

Okay, I'll admit I was hasty and I have new found respect for Mr Mayne, but as for anon. I still don't think you know what you are talking about. I won't be making my blog private but I am going to switch to google users only! I'll also try harder not to get offended.

It's Never Going To End...Apparently

Get it? He's two faced.

I just thought it was an interesting email I received, I checked it out. All true Roaring' Rory! Don't waste my time, I don't have to cite anything- I'm not writing a paper and I'm not being published, so back off.

I don't care if you like Obama! I'd expect nothing less. If you don't like my opinion, that's fine. I'm tired of feeling attacked and I don't feel like I can properly defend myself and my views. When Emory and anon. come forward I'll go public again.

I'm going private...and I really hate people who do that. I'm perfectly entitled to support whom I will, as are you. Leave me your email addresses if you want to keep reading my blog.

Also, quit attacking my readers. They are people whose opinion actually matters to me. They are actually invited, and defending me. And honestly, neither of you seems all that intelligent so who can blame them.

tanner.whitney@gmail.com
wmt.tanner@yahoo.com

Uno Mas

Okay, as soon as I say I'm done blogging something comes up! I'll probably post a couple of things before I go! This is for all those psycho B. Hussein Obama fans!

Just Some of What Defines Barack Obama:

· He voted for partial birth abortion.
· He voted no on notifying parents of minors who get
out-of-state abortions.
· Supports affirmative action in Colleges and Government
(quotas)..
· In 2001 he questioned harsh penalties for drug dealing as
0Abeing too severe.
· Says he will deal with street level drug dealing as minimum
wage affair.
· Admitted his use of marijuana and cocaine in high school
and in college.
· His religious convictions are very murky.
· He is willing to meet with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Kim
Jung Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
· Has said that one of his first goals after being elected
would be to have a conference with all Muslim nations. Why?
· Opposed the Patriot Act.
· First bill he signed that was ever passed was campaign
finance reform.
· Voted to allow law suits against gun manufacturers.
· Supports=2 0universal health-care.
· Voted yes on providing habeas corpus for Guantanamo
detainees.
· Supports granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
·
Supports extending welfare to illegal immigrants.
0 · Voted yes on comprehensive immigration reform.
· Voted yes on allowing illegal aliens to participate in
Social Security.
· Wants to make the minimum wage a 'living wage'.
· Voted with Democratic Party 96 percent of 251 votes. (241
votes Demo, 10 votes Republican)
· Is a big believer in the separation of church and state.
· Opposed to any efforts to Privatize Social Security and
instead supports
increasing the amount of
tax paid into Soc. Sec. Tax Increase.
· He voted No on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax which
now hits middle income brackets. Tax Increase.
· He voted No on repealing the 'Death' Tax. Tax Increase.
&nb sp; · He wants to raise the Capital Gains Tax. Tax
Increase...
· Has repeatedly said the surge in Iraq has not
succeeded...which is not true.
· He is ranked as the most liberal Senator in the Senate
today and that takesA
0some doing.

If your political choices are consistent with Barack Obama's
and you think that his positions will bring America together or make it
a better place, then you will probably enjoy the ride and not forward
this Email. If you are like most Americans that after examining what
he stands for, are truly not in line with his record, it would be
prudent to get off the wave or better yet, never get on, before it comes
on shore and undermines the very foundations of this great Country. We
have limited time to save America or the Supreme Court as we know it.

Inaction is action.

Adios!

Everyone, I only have two weeks until I report to the Provo MTC. So my hiatus will begin now! I'm sorry if you actually enjoy reading my blog, but I find that I'm just way too busy to continue.

However, I will probably be sending updates to my sister and she will be uploading them for anyone is interested! Thanks again!

Sorry everybody, I've been super busy all weekend and week! I'll be back with posts tomorrow!


** Um, even later than I thought!**

Update

Dear Anon.,

Consider me your personal Ann Coulter. I don’t consider it petty, it’s my honest opinion, and you’ve given me no proof otherwise. Grammar is of the utmost importance to me.

Certainly, you would not drag your family into the race, but they really don’t seem to care. So I don’t see why this is even an issue to you.

While I don’t consider infidelity a good thing it in no way affects my political opinion. If this is so important to you, I wonder at your Democratic philanderers (e.g. Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy).

I also accept that, no, McCain might not live forever. You should accept that he probably won’t die tomorrow either.

The only reason I mentioned anything about Obama’s experience is because you flout Palin’s. Okay, sure he worked on a few things, nothing worthy of presidential excellence. I might be more inclined to accept him as an acceptable nominee (as a Vice President I think he’d be quite brilliant) if he had more than 2 years as a junior Senator. I want a little seniority. You tell me what he can offer except moving speeches and one example of legislation, and I’ll consider giving him another chance (Note: I’m open-minded). I also think that successful is a relative term and I found nothing in common with the examples you provided and the Senator.

I don't waste my time. You keep arguing the same points over and over and it's a waste of my time to try to change your opinion or even make mine clear. I'm permanently a Republican; therefore, there is really no reason for you to read my blog. Also, I said I have a pretty good idea who you are, not that we had met. A Master's does not a genius make, and it's my blog. If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen. I still love the comments, but it makes no sense for me to debate just for the sake of debate.

Whitney

Ignorance is All Bliss and Democrats

Although I've always suspected my anonymous blogger is an idiot, now I'm pretty certain. If I thought said commenter was just another Democrat with bad information I would bother writing a simple retort. Since it is now obvious that this person didn't even read my last rebuttal or the facts that I backed it up with, now the claws are coming out.

Congratulations, I'm annoyed. I listened to your points and given you my thoughts, but honestly, you just seem intent on pissing me off rather than respectfully challenging my belief system.

I considered voting for Obama; however, I quickly discovered that the only thing he is capable of is giving a convincing speech. His voting record is abysmal, his books are full of elitist wishful thinking, and his experience is paltry.

As for Sarah Palin, and I'm not going to repeat myself on the notes you already hit. I don't think her family is in anyway embarrassed. Newsflash, politicians lead very public lives, I can't believe I'm letting you in on that. As for her scandal, I don't believe for a second that you even know what it was about. Cronyism is everywhere, this was just a more public example than most, and considering most political scandals are much worse, I’ll take it.

If she was a "token choice" what in the world do you think Biden was? He's Obama's last grasp at legitimacy. The man is so inexperienced and lackluster that he needed to get a democrat with a long record of liberal service. He needed him, to appeal to white middle-aged men. As for the inaccuracies (I won't bother pointing out your party's) I believe Joe Biden has been formerly accused of plagiarism. They were not blatant blunders, they were slight exaggerations. He really has not written any legislation if you compare it to all of McCain’s. It was a convention not a major debate, the whole goal is to rally. Question: Do you even know what earmarks are?

Did you happen to notice McCain's mother on stage? She is ninety-six years old, I don't think McCain is going to drop dead anytime soon. Palin will not have to take over.

Just so you know, I consider you one of those "dumb Americans", so stop commenting on my blog until you have an informed opinion instead of being another idiotic proponent of the mass media.


Sarah Palin was a token choice. It was an attempt to pull Hillary supporters and make McCain have a 'something new' edge. She lacks experience, she was involved in scandal, and she brought her family into the political light in a very embarrassing way.

Not to mention her speech the other night had several 'inaccuracies' and misleading's in it, but she will get away with it because Americans are too dumb to do research for themselves.

here is the link so you can see how much she lied to the American people.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

September 4, 2008 7:42 PM


PS. Really? How hard is it to run spell check?
I also have a pretty good idea of who you are, seeing as I'm not the first person you've harrassed, so really I'm going to need that informed opinion cowardly Anonymous.

SP is Awesome.

Sarah Palin = Genius.

I'll give you the blow-by-blow later.

Ahoooohhhga!

Yes, I'm the proud ownner of these shoes...don't you wish they were yours?

Um, Really?

This is yet another retort to another silly anonymous comment left about my political affiliations. Sorry this one got my back up and is therefore rather wordy.

...If McCain is in fact inaugurated, he will be the oldest President in History, at 72 years old. If he dies, would you want her to be the next President?

She was the mayor of Alaska for 1.5 years. I just find it amusing that McCain chose someone as inexperienced as her for her VP, when he is slamming Obama for having no experience.

Also, something I find strange is that a woman of 5 children could possibly be the next VP of the United States. I am not saying that women should not have careers and all stay home with their children, but I really hope her husband stays home with them or something... but I think that is just my maternal instinct speaking...

Also, she is not concerned about the environment at all. Okay--Global Warming is this huge controversy, and who knows if there is really such thing? God, i guess. And he's going to burn the world in the end--so what is the use in worrying about the Earth? I find it SO difficult to believe that people don't care about the planet we live on. You gather up clutter and say, "i'll just throw it out", well what people don't realize is that there is no "out". We can't just launch it out of the solar system in hopes that it will never find its way back to us. Someone told me a few weeks ago that some of the garbage they are putting in the ocean is making it's way up to beaches and there are children swimming and playing in it, and swallowing it! I would have a hard time ever voting for her, if she is McCain's VP, if she doesn't care about things like this.

And about the oil, sure McCain's plan sounds lovely, but if we keep finding these short term solutions, nothing will ever get better. It is going to take a long time to get the whole oil problem worked out, and our impatience isn't helping.

OBAMA 08!!!!!

Women should not be allowed to hold a high government office because they have children? It is sad to think that some consider a highly qualified, educated, and driven woman with genuine concern for her children’s future should be limited to a self-proclaimed “hockey mom’s”* existence. It’s preposterous, that her skill could be so disregarded simply for procreating. A woman of this caliber should not only be shuttling her children to various after school activities but valiantly lobbying for a better future in such dangerous and uncertain times. Instead of merely complaining about what is wrong or unfair Sarah Palin chose to fight.

Sarah Palin is tough as nails and fights her own battles. Starting with her local PTA, she rose to a City Council position, then on to defeat the incumbent (John Stein) become the Mayor of Wasilla, and eventually filed a formal complaint 2 members of her own party for their “lack of ethics”, they resigned. She ran for Governor of Alaska in 2006 successfully with a clean-government platform. How many of Mothers of 5 do you know who care enough about their communities, friends, and family to take matters into their own hands? Her committment to motherhood is probably best shown by her choice to keep her youngest son (Trig) affected by Downs Syndrome. I’m sure her children will be looked after and no doubt, better than most. Her appetence to change the world into a better place for you and me as well as her children is laudable.

It is ridiculous to think that McCain will drop dead mid-office, he has excellent health. As an Obama supporter you ought to know the difference in the experience of which you speak. Yes, she is relatively inexperienced when compared to Biden or McCain. However, her experience (1.5 years) as Alaska’s Governor is superior to Obama’s 2 years as a junior Illinois Senator. With no EXECUTIVE background how can we as a country possibly hand him the most important office in our esteemed nation? Palin was supreme leader, to quote someone more sage than myself: “what she said happened, whereas Obama was laughed at”. I’m not disputing your claim that she is less experienced than we would prefer, nonetheless she is not our tickets frontrunner.

As for environmental policy, let me enlighten you or at least shed some perspective. We cannot expect change overnight (nor can most afford to), although the Democrats always want a change now. Republicans seek a more gradual change, more conducive to reality; radical changes would send our nation into chaos. Short term fixes are necessary to implement a lasting change. Drilling is a means to an end. I find it poor logic to say that because she isn’t an alarmist like most Democrats she is not concerned about the environment. Global warming is serious, but rather than alarming the public in order to win votes about a cataclysmal event that may or may not occur, they agree that something needs to change. How can our nation expect this to occur if we continue to send our money to hostile nations? Venezuela, Russia, and many Middle Eastern countries are burgeoning because of our dependency on finite resources. All of which display defiant and brutal traits not worthy of our most base consumerism. So I ask you: Why not drill ANWR?* Just a few statistics on this project the liberals oppose. There are 586,412 that make up Alaska (it is twice the size of Texas) and there are 640 acres per square mile; meaning that Alaska is composed of over 375 billion acres (375,303,680 acres) ANWR would mean less than 2,000 acres would even be affected. That means that .000533 of that 375 billion would be affected, roughly equivalent to a dime on the floor in the Olympic stadium in Beijing. It is no comparison to the benefits. They far outweigh the negative aspects. Besides more crude oil production, it would increase jobs, and decrease our nation’s dependency on malevolent countries, you can read further here.

Genius. Pure Genius.

I've never been a huge McCain fan, but wow, this is the smartest move I have ever seen.

Sarah Palin rocks:

She can be tough as nails- she really rose from being a self proclaimed "hockey mom" to Governor. Her nickname is "Sarah Barracuda".

She's young, which doesn't matter by itself, but everybody is concerned with how old McCain is.

She has a son in the Army.

Her youngest is a Down Syndrome child which of course hits close to home for me!

She is a woman, which will certainly help McCain with the female vote, which in the past has tended to vote democratic.

Wow, I'm so excited. I'm sure I'll say something more about her in later posts.

Um, Really? Something Needs a Change.

Is anyone else worried that Presidential candidate Barack Obama stole his campaign slogan from a Disney channel movie, wait- not even a real Disney movie, the made for TV variety?

Yes, that is our favorite Ugly Betty, America Ferrera herself. Notice the catchphrase at the top of the poster. At least Barack translated it to English, although the Spanish may have helped him with the Latino vote though...not that he needs it.

Personally, I feel that any movie about a middle school dance team probably does not offer the best material for campaign speeches. I guess we know why Obama picked Biden now, he does know how to cover up a plagiarism scandal.

Obama, you've Gotta Kick it Up!


If I had to steal a campaign slogan from a movie:

"This country deserves a better class of criminal (cough) Politician." The Dark Knight

"You can do it!" Waterboy

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take Bush anymore!" Network

"Congress, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Casablanca

"As God is my witness, Nobody anywhere will ever be hungry again." Gone with the Wind

"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Auntie Mame

What he'll say when everybody finds out he's simply Nancy Pelosi's political puppet:

"Well, nobody's perfect." Some Like It Hot

"There's no crying in The White House!" A League of Their Own

"I felt the need- the need for change." Top Gun

"You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." On the Waterfront

"La-dee-da, la-dee-da." Annie Hall

Just for Fun

Memory Game

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.


2. Next, repost these instructions on you blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. it's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and i'll come to you blog and leave one about you. if you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Stole this from Ashleigh's blog.

Frustration...

What is wrong with Utah's movie theatres? Seriously, in a conservative state not one person wants to see Vicky Christina Barcelona (besides myself)? I happen to like Woody Allen movies. I know it's practically blasphemy, me being a Utahan and all, but c'mon the guy has his funny (albeit neurotic) moments.



Also what about Brideshead Revisited. A remake that might actually be worth a revisit, and not one single solitary theatre can make room in it's schedule for maybe one showing a day. How often do we get to see Emma Thompson these days. I'd snatch up any opportunity to Laud her acting.



I feel like I'm living in Footloose. Instead of banning books, it's any movie that might be remotely interesting.

Encounter With a Dramanda

You know what is great about the name Amanda? You can really combine it with other words like Diva, Demand, and Drama. All of which are fitting when describing my 13 year old sister...

The look we were frequently given.



Stitches, uncomfortable? Yes, of course, but there are worse things. Needles, really not so bad if they are going to help alleviate pain from aforementioned stitches.



My mother and I were not prepared for her tantrum. Oh my gosh, it involved countless tears, flailing and gnashing of teeth. IT WAS SO BAD. Instead of thanking that poor pitiful ER staff we found ourselves apologizing for Amanda's theatrics.



We went through this for an hour and half for just 4 stitches.


This is a shout out to my sister Amanda. Thank you for keeping me wildly entertained even in the ER, and for still looking good after all the mascara stains and crying were long gone.

DRAmanda

Amanda at the emergency room, for FOUR stitches. I'll post some really great pictures later!

So Happy.

I think my favorite thing about blogging, are anonymous comments. If you think I'm being sarcastic, I'm not. I LOVE THEM. Especially the scathing ones, they really make my day. Somebody reads me and cares enough to comment. I consider your comments my letters to the editor, so let me respond:

"I don't know why you continued reading after the first book...? You're obviously FAR too intellectual for this series. Heaven forbid there's a little fantasy/sci-fi and a "happy ending." Yes definetely, writers should just stick to reality and not venture farther than the everyday. And I'm guessing you're not married? If so, probably not happily....but I'm just reading between YOUR lines."

1. You're right. I am way to intellectual for these books.
2. I like some sci-fi. So long as it is enjoyable. I believe I've mentioned sci-fi before on my page.
3. Not married, and your right I probably would be unhappily if I were!

Seriously, best comment ever. I love it.

PS. You spelled Definitely wrong.

ILOVEIT.

My Favorite:

Archery by Yves Saint Laurent



Fencing by Alexander McQueen




In honor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 12 fashion designers each designed a uniform for their favorite sport. Their creations will be on display in Beijing through the end of the month and then the uniforms will be auctioned off to benefit Unicef’s relief funds for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. See more here or here.

Los Estados Unidos

The French Suck.

As much as I like Lochte, Phelps pretty much rules.

Can't Decide?

If you can't decide who you are going to vote for, maybe you should check out some of Obama and McCain's pop culture picks on EW.com. They dish on music, movies, and their favorite superhero's. Totes rad. (I started saying totes ironically, and now it's taken place in my permanent vocabulary. I apologize sincerely.

From his answers I'd say McCain takes it. Although Usher? Really?
I found it completely amusing.

Hate It!

I am going to give away some of the major plot points of the book and I don't really care if you want me to or not. Don't read if you don't want to know.

I'll admit it. I like Twilight. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be caught dead at a launch party dressed like a werewolf or anything. Totally chagrining, but I really did enjoy this series. Notice the past tense did, is there any better way to ruin a book than to throw in a pregnancy?

Oh no, wait... A mutant pregnancy. I have a pretty low tolerance for any suspension of disbelief but for the past three books I made an exception. This one was just too much. Instead of being the lovable, somewhat far fetched fantasy novels I loved they turned into full fledged sci-fi. Something only a prepubescent teen boy reads (Although I acknowledge that it was always for the prepubescent crowd). I'm sorry and vamp-human hybrid was a stupid twist that honestly just made me mad, I think that was the point that I threw the book on the floor and seriously considered not reading it any further.

Jeez. If you thought Bella was annoying as a human, just wait until she becomes a vampire. All of the sudden she one of those girls that turns into a total zombie as soon as they get married and have children, so typical. She is like Katie Holmes with superpowers.

This book even turned me on Edward. Shut up already. We get it, he's tortured. Stop whining. Now not only does he hate himself, but he can add me to the list. He's so moony and brooding that I kind of wish that James had been successful in taking a snap at him in the first book.

Jacob, um, ewwwwww. If vampires smell so bad how can he stand being imprinted on a half vamp. Stupid, stupid, and more stupid.

Also could it be anymore Mormon? I don't know if that's a bad thing, but c'mon. She ends the story after Edward and Bella get hitched and procreate. Yeahhhh, because life ends after marriage and children. Um, lame. Way too tidy.

The only redeeming thing about Breaking Dawn is the knowledge that Midnight Sun is still coming and hopefully make up for the killing of the Twilight series.

I'm a little obsessed with...

So this is a lame post and I know that Tim is going to give me flak about it, but hey, a post is a post.

The most beautiful cupcakes in the world. Unfortunately Dear Lizzie is up in Highland, but alas it's the closest place to Provo I can buy cupcakes, because try as I might mine are never as pretty...
Dear Lizzie has lots more to offer than cupcakes though it's also a boutique and full bistro, and everything is good. Although let's be honest, incredibly overpriced. Part of me is a little disgusted with myself for loving a place that is so pretentious, but I am.