Week 2 at the MTC

Hey everyone! It feels like just yesterday, I was the new guy coming into the MTC, and now I only have 6 days left! It's funny to see the new missionaries arriving. Elder Asuao and I sat in the grass and watched them arrive today and say goodbye to their families. It was interesting to think of how far we feel like we've come in just these two short weeks. The weeks seem like they're flying by. I heard someone in a talk say "On a mission, the days are long, and the weeks are short." I can definitely testify to that, as I feel like every day drags on, but then, once I'm in bed that night, it hits me that I'm already over halfway done with the Missionary Training Center. If time keeps moving at this rate, I'll be home in no time.
I met an English missionary today who lived in my brother-in-law Trevor's mission, in London, England. He had the coolest accent. He said he was going to Alberta, Canada. He was brand new, just got here today, and was confiding in me about how he wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it two years. I assured him that the MTC would get him totally pumped to go, because I know it did for me. I also gave him my mission address and my mailbox here at the MTC and told him if he ever felt like he couldn't make it or something to write me. He smiled really big and thanked me and said that he was really glad he had talked to me and that seeing my excitement to serve made him more excited to go. That really meant a lot to me.
Anyway, enough about the British kid. All the guys who lived on the floor of my residence hall have left except my district and it was sad to see them go. Even in the short time we've been here, a lot of us had made friendships and it's tough saying goodbye. There's also an element of jealousy that they get to go to their missions while we're stuck here eating the MTC food, which gets old REALLY fast. Except, on Fridays, they have TERIYAKI STIX :D I hope all of you at home are doing well. Thanks so much for the letters you've been sending. It means so much more than I can adequately describe with words to know that you took time out of your day to write me. I really appreciate it. I hope everything is going well with all of you. I'd LOVE to hear about what's going on and give you more insight about what's going on with me. I only have 1/2 an hour to e-mail, so I can't go into too much detail or I'd run out of time. I guess college starts back soon for most of you, right? Like a month away or something? That's cool. I kind of miss college right now, because being in these residence halls reminds me of dorm life, even though when I go back to BYU-I after the mish, I'll be in an apartment.
I also think I'm going to try to learn some Spanish, because apparently there's a decent amount of Spanish speakers in Idaho. Elder Cruz said he'd help with that.
Other than that, everything here is golden and I'm so excited. This is going to be a huge adventure and an amazing learning experience. Again, thanks to all those who wrote me and all of those who didn't, it's not too late! You can write it or type it and mail it, or send me an e-mail at Mike.Hopkins.BIM@myldsmail.net, although I might not reply because I use most of my time writing back to my parents and then typing out these lovely blog posts for all of you to read!

Here are some photos from the Elders in My District:

My District (L to R: Elder Asuao, Elder Davis [Grey shirt], Elder Martinez [Top left], Elder Cruz [Top Right], Elder Tang [The Asian], Elder Greenhalgh and Elder Allred.