Excerpt from Dec. 31st email:

So do we know anything about time frame with Gram? If it looks really bad, I do want you to do something to let me know before she goes. She is in my prayers every night and I really miss her. I'm very glad I got to speak with her. 

On a happier note...THEY HAVE PEROGIES HERE!!! I nearly cried when I saw them in the store. I may or may not have bought 24 of them... Whatever.

It's very interesting to be here and talk to people about what 9/11 was like. It has an extremely different feel here. It's very interesting. It's real for us, but for them, they watched it happen from their park. It's interesting to hear their stories of that day...

Man, there is so much weed here haha. I never had a desire to smoke weed, but now it is totally killed out. Like completely. It is funny though because I witnessed my first drug handoff the other day. I have to admit it was very well done haha. If I hadn't have been walking right behind them, I would have never noticed. Haha so that's NY.  I also had someone tell me I was a liar and that I had been here longer than 8 weeks because she recognized me specifically from a year ago. She wouldn't accept the fact that it was different Elders and that I had lived in Utah a year ago haha. Oh well. It was funny to say the least. 

So as a kid I remember hearing comments about racism and stuff like that and just thought it was stuff that happened in the past. In Utah, as much as I disliked [some of the comments], most kids didn't really hate other religions or cultures. That's how I thought it was all around the US. I thought it didn't still exist. I could never see how it could still be that way or that people would be that way. Then I moved here and now I see. I hear so many hateful comments about the Jews [and others] all the time.

Alright, I'm gonna go. I love you so much and really miss you. Let me know more about Gram. I love you so much. I love her. I miss you all. I'm so glad I got to talk to you.