Week 55! Antwerpen

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lance Andrew Thornton <lance.thornton@myldsmail.net>
Date: 31 July 2017 at 04:40
Subject: Week 55! Antwerpen
To: Deveri Thornton <deveriwthornton@gmail.com>

​

 MVI_0820.AVI

​Hallo!

My first week in Belgium was an adventure! Thankfully nothing bad happened on the way here, and even though neither of us had been to the apartment or even the city, we made it just fine.

Belgium is really different! They speak Flams, which is a different dialect, but thankfully I have been out long enough to be able to understand the different dialects. It actually is way more pretty than Nederlands since they don't have quite as strong of a gutteral "g." And Antwerps (the city dialect) sounds like irish dutch. I like it! I probably will stick with my Nederlands accent though.

It has a different feeling here, but I can't really tell what. The Transportation systems are a little worse than Nederland, but still pretty good. The milk is good until New Year, so hopefully we don't die, but other than that I am super excited.

My new companion is Elder Dial! He is super smart, hardworking and obedient! (and he destroyed me in a quick game of Stratego, so that destroyed my pride :) ) He just got here on Tuesday, but he already speaks pretty good just for being just a greenie. And what is even cooler is that his mom is actually from Antwerpen(he has never been before)! So that means that his grandparents are in our ward! He saw them for the first time since he was 4 this Sunday, and it was a beautiful reunion. So we will have the opportunity to work with them and visit some of his non-member cousins and aunts. So we should be pretty set for dinner appointments :). 

I am dirt poor! We had to pay for some bus and train passes up front, and Elder Dial didn't have any MSF yet, so I had to use all of my money that I have had leftover. I have 5 euros to my name... But we are getting money tomorrow, so we will survive. :)

Overall, the week has been great! We are going to kill it here in Antwerpen!

Loading 8 suitcases and 2 bikes onto the train... We made it!

Loading our 6 suitcases into the tiny elevator from the 70's. 

I hope the video works... If not, it is Elder Dial's Grandpa playing the organ that he made himself! I didn't get it out in time for the best song, but he is really good!

I love you guys!

Love,

Elder Thornton