Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a series of questions, submitted mostly by prospective missionaries
before they departed to serve in the MMG. Although the answers are
targeted towards future missionaries, they have proven useful to students
studying abroad in Jalisco as well as retirees looking to find out more about
the region.
Can packages be sent? What is the best way to do so?
The mail system stinks. You will not want to depend on packages, they are
always nice surprises, but I would recommend to never rely on the mail system
for any type of article that you absolutely need. It just might not arrive. Loss
rates were probably around 20% when I was there and the current economic crisis
probably has raised that amount. If your parents are willing to splurge, DHL,
UPS and Federal Express all serve Guadalajara and the mission offices there. The
only thing is that rates can be as high as US$30 for a simple letter to be
delivered. UPS ground service may have arrived, but is still expensive. Overall,
I wouldn't send a precious gift or important item by mail, including checks. My
parents were smart enough to give me an ATM card that was multi-system
compliant, and if they wanted to give me something that I could buy in Mexico, I
would just use the card to withdraw the money from an ATM, it automatically
converts your money to pesos and runs no risk of being stolen in the mail.
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What do you do on P days?
P day activities are driven by one factor. YOU wash all of your clothes. No,
you do not put them in a washing machine and walk away, but you use a little
brush, a bucket of soap, a concrete slab and a clothesline to wash all of your
clothes by hand. It is a very demanding job and usually takes about 4 hours for
a companionship to do all laundry. That is if the water doesn't run out. By the
time you wash your clothes and clean your house, most of P day is gone. It is a
rare occasion when we would get to go any where. You will try to establish a
couple of traditions, like find a favorite place to eat out or visit a member's
coconut farm or something, but I would always be more exhausted on P-day nights
than others. Laundromats are rare and expensive, personal 'maids' used in other
missions aren't feasible due to the high wages that they demand compared to your
limited economic resources. You will come to view it as one of the worst aspects
of the mission, but you will learn to function without a washing machine. The
situation may have changed in the last few years, but as far as I know the
majority of missionaries still do it this way, especially the native Mexican
missionaries.
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How well do you learn Spanish in the mission?
It was very rare to have an English-speaking companion while I was there, and
if it has stayed the same you will probably speak Spanish better than any other
missionary in another country.
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Is it difficult to learn the language?
That depends on each elder's genetically determined facial muscles, knowledge
of the English language, determination to pronounce Spanish properly, avoidance
of slang and how many hours are spent reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish
(aloud or silently). Immersing myself in Spanish was a life-changing
experience as it will be for all missionaries in the MMG.
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Does the Spanish there have a lot of slang or is it pretty formal?
Depends on where you are. . . Residents of Guadalajara generally have
excellent grammar, of course that depends on the educational level of who you
are speaking with. The more rural parts of Mexico suffer from grammatical
problems just as 'rednecks' do in our country. They at times have a different
accent and use vocabulary that could be considered slang, but for them it is
just Spanish. Many people from the older generations did not receive a public
education, so you will encounter many who cannot even read, so that will
obviously be a challenge.
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Did you ride a bike?
Bicycles were banned in 1993 in most of the Mexico North Area and in the MMG
when a North-american elder lost his life to a truck while riding his bike. The
policy may have changed, but most areas are readily accessible via public
transportation. Even the most rural areas are served by regular, economic bus
service. I enjoyed walking most of the time, but take good shoes (despite some
recent advertisements, Dr. Marten's are THE most durable shoes on the
cobblestone streets of rural Mexico, two pairs lasted the entire 24 months,
compared to 3-4 pairs of most other 'indestructible' brands, there that's my Dr.
Marten's endorsement). Some missionaries prefer shoes that are a bit lighter but still durable. Rockports or Dexters are good. The soles wear out much more quickly than the rest of the shoe, but they can be resoled in Guadalajara for a small price.
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Did you eat at members' houses a lot?
Every day. In order to keep costs down, each ward is supposed to provide the
main meal of the day "la comida" to each set of missionaries. You will
eat some very interesting dishes, but all of them prepared with love and I never
got sick from member's food.
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Any weird unappetizing food?
Depends on your tastes. The thing that I miss the most about my mission
(besides the daily spiritual experiences) is the food. Even some of the
strange-sounding foods are really quite tasty. It shows that Mexican cuisine has
been developed for more than 2000 years, because some of the foods are among the
best I've ever eaten. You will eat parts of animals that you never imagined, but
smile, shovel and swallow and you will be all right. Some of the strange animals
I ate were pretty good. Iguana, muskrat, some weird types of seafood, were all
well prepared and I even developed a taste for octopus. Never say 'no' to
anything unless you truly fear for your life, every time an elder refused to eat
something at least one sweet sister's heart was broken and it became a pretext
for not inviting the missionaries back. I was happy to be famous as the elder
who always ate the most, and I made many good friends of several families who
didn't receive the missionaries well before because I made sure that they knew
that I enjoyed their hospitality. I tried to show it by always asking for
at least seconds. Not everyone can do that, but for me I know that it helped me
make friends.
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Is film easily developed in Guadalajara?
Yes, but at times it is very expensive, especially in the more rural areas.
Most of the time you will make deals with missionaries who have found
inexpensive developers in their areas and ask them the favor of developing it
for you in exchange for something. Pay close attention to the materials
sent by the Missionary Department, they tell it how it is, "A great deal of
money can be spent on picture-taking."
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How were the living conditions?
They vary widely from city to city, but you can count on the fact that you
will never see carpet for 22 months, except in the mission home when you arrive
and when you leave. You will usually live in areas that will be considered
'lower-middle class' by Mexican standards, in apartments that fit the mission's
standards. Those standards are; running water, working toilet & shower,
electricity, proper locks on doors and windows, washboard sink (to wash your
clothes), and in some areas hot water is optional, creating the great
possibility of taking cold showers (of course when it is 120 degrees at 8 in the
morning you will actually enjoy that, in one area I actually took 3 showers a
day just to stay reasonably cool). The furnishings in the apartments are
primitive to put it lightly. You will always have a stove and a refrigerator,
but dishes are at times optional, so you might want to get a good camping
cookset, probably something heavy duty and not aluminum. I didn't have one but
at times I wished that I did. For several reasons, you will want to either take
your own bedding or plan on purchasing it the first week you are in Mexico.
During the winter in the MMG it gets kind of chilly at night so a good blanket
is a good thing to have, but they are cheap and readily available, so you might
just want to buy one during the winters and not have to lug it around.
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What was the MTC like?
I loved it, it made me crazy, it motivated me to get out, I appreciated every
minute of it, I gained close to 25 pounds on the food there, my MTC companion
was my best man at my wedding, I wanted to kill one of my roommates, I learned a
lot, but I hope I never have to go back. In one sentence that about sums it up.
You will enjoy your instructors and the excellent spiritual experiences, but the
two months is tough especially when you see the English-speakers leaving after 3
weeks. That is what made me stir-crazy, not being able to leave when I saw
others getting out. So, I spent a lot of time writing letters on P-day, reading
the approved set of books (Jesus the Christ, Marvelous Work & a Wonder,
etc.) and I memorized the first discussion in Spanish. That memorization took a
lot of time but if you do it, it will give you a great start on the
certification process that the mission requires for your discussions.
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How safe is it?
Safe is a relative term. You will always be protected as a missionary, which
has definite advantages. I often went places at night as a missionary with no
fear and never being harmed, but when I returned to Mexico to visit and walked
through the same place, I did not feel comfortable. Follow the mission
guidelines and you will not have to worry about it. Tip 1: don't wear an
expensive watch. Get a cheap, ugly one that no one will want to steal and you
won't have to worry about it. Tip 2: never carry large amounts of cash. Tip 3:
Never have credit cards or drivers license with you. The idea with all of these
is that if someone wants to rob you then all they can take is the Books of
Mormon that you'll be carrying.
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Are banks easily accessible?
They are very accessible. Even the smallest towns had an ATM available
somewhere. There are several large chains of banks that are stable and
government controlled, especially Banamex. That is who the Church uses in all of
its large transactions. I found it much more reliable for my parents to
send me money during 'emergencies' through an account with an ATM card.
Cashing personal checks drawn on US banks in Mexico is very expensive and can be
avoided by using the ATM.
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Do I need sandals to wear to shower?
I always wore my tevas while getting ready. In Mexico, no one ever goes
barefoot. It is just a whole different culture as to how you walk around the
house, mainly becuase there isn't carpet and you only have time to really clean
the floors once a week. That said, you can imagine the dust that builds up and
it is really gross to get out of the shower and then stand in a puddle of mud
while you are getting dressed.
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Should I take medicine with or are they accessible?
All medications are readily available without a prescription in Mexico, in
fact most of the US drug companies now have their largest farmaceutical plants
down there.
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Are the personal-care products there lower quality?
No, not generally. Colgate-Palmolive just made a major investment in
the personal products industry down there and all deoderants, toothpastes, hair
products, etc. with the brands that you recognize are of the same quality as in
the US. If you don't recognize the label, I'd suggest staying away from
it, though.
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I heard all that you drink is soda and bottled water, is this true?
Never, never, never drink tap water in Mexico. NEVER. So, yes all you will
drink is bottled water or soft drinks. Bottled water is very inexpensive, You
will buy one or two 5-gallon jugs every week that you can keep at home and fill
smaller containers. You will always want to drink soft-drinks while you are out
during the day, sometimes you can eat fruit to replenish your bodily fluids, but
you will only want to do that after they have been thoroughly washed. You will
receive more instruction in the MTC about water-borne diseases and the like and
how to avoid getting sick.
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