Bucket List -- Check!

I was really going to try to title all of these blog posts in Spanish, but I didn´t bring a dictionary with me. Also, I know that there are people who actually know Spanish who would probably no be impressed with my Spanish. Anyways the first great and exciting thing is that I totally checked something off of my bucket list today! I got my hair cut in another country! You would have thought I would have done it sooner after being outside the country multiple times, but lets me honest I hate paying for hair cuts and it turns out hair cuts are free in the CCM and getting a hair cut in another country is definitely on my bucket list! The only one slight problem was the fact that neither of the nice ladies working at the salon spoke any English and I know none ungospel related Spanish. Luckily, she did a pretty good job for there being little to no communication between the two of us. However, she did first straighten my hair and then cut is dry, which I found super weird. I had previously thought that you only cut hair when it is wet, so hopefully my hair is not ruined or anything. It reminded me a lot of when Rachel and I got our hair braided in Ghana and couldn´t really communicate with those ladies either. I think I can safely say that my haircut experience today was probably one of the scariest hair cuts that I have ever gotten. I was just scared that she was just going to chop it all off. Sorry I haven´t taken any pictures with it yet so you can´t see how great it is. Maybe I will be able to check some other things of my bucketlist before I get home.

That may be the most exciting news of the CCM, o except for the fact that they have like these parrot birds that are so awesome! They are like blue and green and so pretty. I am pretty sure it would be impossible to get a picture of them as they hide up in the very tops of the trees. I am determined to become friends with them in the next week. I think I may have a strange feddish for birds, the only thing that would make the CCM better would be a pond with duck that I could go feed when I get stressed, which is like every single day!

Overall, thing are going really great. Some days are better than others, but you have to just keep moving forward. When I get frustrated with the language I just think hey five weeks ago I knew absolutely no Spanish. It is hard to think that at some point I will be able to converse with others, but I have faith that that day will come and look forward to it. I see all the guys that got home from their missions in the last little bit and see that they were able to figure out crazy hard languages so I figure I can handle the Spanish. My mission President sent me some pretty interesting facts about the mission the other day. Here they are:

Mission Growth: In February, there were approximately 80 Elders and Sisters serving in this mission. They now have 138 missionaries serving and after my group of 28 missionaries coming there will be193 Elders and Sisters serving.

Mission Composition:  Before the wave new missionaries, about 30 % of the mission were assigned as Spanish speaking and 20% of the total mission were sisters.  By the end of October about 40% of the mission will be Spanish Speakers and slightly over 40% will be sisters.  There are 6 senior companionships serving, 2 in the mission office. 

Isn´t that like the craziest thing ever! 40% Spanish and Sisters! We are almost not the minority!

Thanks for all the love and support!

Hermana Ashley P!

PS- I will be leaving for the field September 16th, and would love love love some letters!