First Email from Curitiba

"I am now in Curitiba and loving it."

In his email, Dallin reviewed his last days at the CTM and then his journey to Curitiba. He said it was really hard to stay focused when he was so excited to get to Curitiba but he did it.

"I got up at 4:30am yesterday to drop off my companion at the front desk and then at 5:30ma I checked in for my departure. I was the only one who was going to Curitiba so I pretty much got dropped off at the airport by this guy who doesn't speak English and was told to find my way through the airport. We only had about an hour to pack so I didn't check the weight on my bag and it ended up going over..."

"...Eventually my flight left, it was only about an hour so we were there in no time. My baggage got through with no problems and President Cordon met me at the airport. We then went to the mission office where I met my companion, Elder Brown. He is from Atlanta, and has been out here 11 months. He is super enthusiastic and we are going to work super hard together. After that, we went to the Curitiba temple and President Cordon took a picture of me and Elder Brown outside. After that, we went to the mission home where we ate with President and Sister Cordon and their family. I'm the first missionary they've received and they were pretty enthusiastic."

Dallin said that the mission home is actually on the 13th floor of an apartment building in downtown Curitiba. Apparently in all the cities there are apartment buildings with 15+ stories everywhere.

"Riding around Curitiba was cool, its very green and MUCH cleaner than São Paulo. Its also very chilly. Ive been wearing sweaters since I've got here, which beats São Paulo and me wishing for a pair of shorts."

"After lunch, President dropped us off at our apartment and told us to get to work. I'm in a place called Pilarzinho (little pillars). Its the very farthest part north of the actual city of Curitiba with our area going a little over into another town. It is VERY hilly- I'm going to start dropping weight way fast and I have a feeling I'm going to develop legs of steel quickly if I want to survive. There's a pretty well-off area and there's also a not-so-well off area so its pretty diverse. I've also already started to develop a hatred for dogs. They growl and bark and sometimes they follow you until you act like you're going to pick up a rock and throw it at them- that usually makes them scamper."

It sounds like the language is a little more difficult than originally thought:

"I understand maybe 60% of what everyone says so having a conversation is kind of difficult at times."

"I'm super excited to be here and I know its going to be hard work but I am super excited to be out there doing it. I know that this gospel is true and I love sharing it. I'm going to do great down here."