Greetings from the MTC

Oi,
So much has happened in the last few days, so expect no order to this letter. I have a little less than 30 mins so I'm going to just type like mad.
First off, my companheiro is a pretty awesome guy named Elder Anderson from St. George, Utah. He moved from Soda Springs six years ago, so he knows Idaho pretty well. He and I have gotten along very well. We have yet to have any contention or real big issues. He is easy going, but smart at the same time. He is serious about being here. This is a good combination. Especially for someone who you are with 24-7. He sweats a lot like I do. He did the Nauvoo Pageant with his family this summer. His dad was Charles Maypeace this summer. Sound familiar? He likes running, so we have been running each day at gym time. He helps me be outgoing (because he is a natural socialite) and I help him at the language (my specialty). He is also going to Vitoria. That's awesome. We are rooming with a good pair of guys, one from Aberdeen, Idaho (the only other going to Vitoria that I know, besides a random sister in our branch) and the other is our district leader. In addition, the district I am in (six companionships) is pretty amazing. We have a really good mix. A Canadian, little Arizona, couple Colorados, two Idahos (including me), Minnesota, Washington, and of course a chunk of Utahs. We get along just great thus far. Good diversity in the group. Most of us in the district are going to Brazil, most to Cuiaba and then a Salvador South and then three Lisbon Portugals. All of us Brazil people were supposed to report two weeks ago. Our branch absorbed all those visa floaters from Sao Paulo, so instead of being the normal size (approximately 30) we have 88.
Language goes so well. I am constantly ravenous to learn more and can't wait for language time. I just can't get enough. However, I have developed quite the reputation of being good at languages. The real trick is, Spanish is much much much closer to Portuguese than I thought. There will of course be some confusion. For instance the pronunciation is death. Death I tell you. The word for resurrection is resurrecao (can't type accents here) but it is pronounced (hey-sue-hey-sowng). Crazy. However, the word are so similar that most phrases are easy. The first day, our teacher gave a prayer in Portuguese, and everyone was like oh my. And to be honest, I was a little to. But I am pretty sure I know what each sentence was saying. Which is a huge advantage. One elder in the district speaks Spanish at home and another studied through high school and into college like me so we all kind of charge ahead. I don't want to be a know it all, but I want to help people. It's kind of a rough spot. Elder Anderson is really good at practicing. He has made tons of flashcards and even though some of them are easy, it is doing wonders to help me review.
The food here is insane. We sit in class ALLLL day besides meals, where food is in abundance and forty-five minutes of gym. I just can't eat at some meals because I am not hungry. I am already getting over my chocolate milk craving. Food food food all the time. It is better than starving to be sure, but hey, I don't want to eat myself silly. Good food though.
It is super weird to be in Provo. My classroom is on the fifth floor, so there are views of BYU from the lobby where we often study. We exercise on the field by the Provo temple. Occasionally, when I time things well and get lucky, I am outside when the bell tower on campus rings. It is like I am in a mini-secret-world inside Provo that I have never been to before.

I feel loved. I got the most letters out of anyone when mail came. Took a while to read everything.

Overall, I feel okay. However, because I am so new and we have had so much information barraging us for the last 77 hours (so hard to believe that that it has only been that long), and so much of that information coming from rather disorganized and hard to find Zone Leaders (over several districts). We aren't really sure what's going on. And by we I mean all twelve of us in the district who spend most of our time together all day. Anyway, I have run into several BYU friends from my ward including the one who Nathan's roommate Elder Ward (who happened to be companions with my host- the elder who showed me around when I first arrived), and Alex's roommate Elder (IDK his last name) Ben from Glenns Ferry. Fun Fun. They all say that time makes things better. So...I hope so.
Wish me luck,

ELDER JOSHUA BODILY (PS. My email day from now on is scheduled on Friday.)