ROTA or a ROTER?

October 8, 2017

     I am thinking I have become hard of hearing since we arrived in England. I hardly trust myself repeating back to people what I truly hear. We are heading into our fourth week of serving in the temple. At the beginning of each week, I am given my schedule of duties. I have just discovered that schedule is called a ROTA, not a ROTER. Here, I've been packing around a Roter - which would mean I had a big ol' Belch or Burp.

     I also have to admit that my Proper English lessons may be a sham. But, will you all just go with it? The reason my lessons may not be accurate is that we are finding that there are such strong dialects for different areas of the country. As a result, there are many different sayings - depending on where the person may hale from. I shouldn't be so floored by this. The United States prides itself on different dialects also.

    Back to my Rota. I spent my first day of this week (Tuesday) in the Initiatory. I am seeing that this may be common. I walked out after our shift Braindead. I blinked back tears and told my Mikie that I couldn't do it. I would surely die. He was comforting but had no answer. I came home and told Heavenly Father the same thing. Don't I sound like a Bum?? I am embarrassed to even write this. But I have to do it, so I will always remember it. That night I read Elder Hallstrom's talk about Miracles. One line stood out to me - The Lord is not concerned with our comfort as much as he is about our growth. Well, I needed that. By the next morning I was ready to go back and be the best worker I could possibly be.

    I am beginning to feel more at Home in this temple. I have mapped out in my head what routes to take on my short walks when I get five minute breaks. The two sets of stairs are Killers. I kind of Love-Hate them. I have made a vow to myself to never ride a lift here in the temple. I'll let you know how that works out for me. Many of the patrons come with a stick. That's a Cane to me. I have been asked to hold several of them as these good sisters do their work. I like to quietly practice different positions on them. And the thing about SO MANY of these patrons - young and old. They NEVER seem to do one session. They spend at least a DAY in and out of sessions. I am humbled by them.

     We were able to do a session on Friday afternoon with Mark and Laraine Eddington and their friends, the Brook's, before Mark and Laraine flew home to AZ. As we were leaving, Laraine gave me an AZ necklace. She told me she would surely see Lindsay soon since the Baum's are in her mom's ward so she would give her a hug. Well, this whole exchange had me blubbering like a Baby. This mission life is just grand - as long as I don't dwell on thoughts of my dearest families at Home. Facetiming is saving my bacon this time around. But, I beg of any of you who read this - do not let a Seaman grandchild ever pass by you without giving them a big ol' hug.

YOUR PROPER ENGLISH LESSON FOR THE WEEK:

*"Drop a penny" - When Sister St. John whispers this to me and walks into the Toilet, I figure it out on my own. (#1 this week)
"Sort it out" - everything gets sorted out, eventually
"Dapper" - my Mikie and I were told we looked dapper as we headed out the door to church today.
"Rubbish" - used all the time - (in place of junk, crum, or messy things)

and then, there was this.......

This morning from the pulpit the bishop announced that a bracelet and brooch had been found in the toilet and if it was anyone's, come claim it. If you recall a former English lesson, the toilet is the bathroom, not the actual toilet.  Haha, we both looked at each other and giggled.

Oh, I love you all!
Sister Seaman


The Welsh

     The language in the UK is suppose to be English.  But the UK is a melting pot of languages probably due to loose immigration policies of past administrations.  It is certainly tighter now.  There is hardly a day goes by that there are people from Spain, France, Portugal, Croatia and more that come to the temple.  Most speak some English, as English is fast becoming the business language of the world, and most countries have it taught in the schools and universities.  We try to help them but it is difficult at best, if they don't speak English, as most of the temple workers only speak English,  which is surprising.
     There are some languages that profess to be English but cannot be understood by Americans.  One of those languages is "Welsh."  There are several couples here who are from Wales.  Their English is very difficult to understand.  Another thing about the welsh males is their height.  They are short.  Of the ones we know, they are all about 5' tall,  They have a very happy disposition and will break into song at the top of their lungs at the drop of a hat and have a little bit of a devil in them.  At church yesterday, Kim and I were sitting by two welsh couples.  At the opening hymn, they started belting it out, and a guy in front of them got up and moved out of range.
     There is one welsh temple worker, in particular, that likes to talk to Kim and I.  He is very short and very difficult to understand.  He likes that the Americans can't understand him and talks faster and faster.  Kim just looks at him and nods her head, not understanding a word, and then she will say, "what did you say?"  He will repeat it again and again with a straight face.  It is pretty funny. The crazy thing is that his name is Bobby Gabb. He says he has the gift of gab.
     The welsh claim to have over 6000 words of the pure Adamic language still in their vocabulary.  I don't know how they prove it but they are sure proud of it.  They are an exceptionally proud people.  They like who they are and where they came from. It is easy to see how they could be called Leprechauns.  They don't like being called English though.  It offends them.  It pretty funny to watch, as Kim doesn't even know that she is doing it.
     Well, we are off to London today.  Steve Fotheringham is showing us the ropes of riding the train, busses and tube in London.  I am staying off the bridges as much as possible.

Sincerely,
Elder Seaman