Plantain split

Hola todos!
So we've had a lot of splits this last week. I ended up spending a
little while in the Spanish program. I ended up meeting a family that
has 17 dogs and a tiny, mouse-sized kitten that one of the dogs found
and started taking care of. I didn't understand most of the lesson
because it was in Spanish, but it was still a lot of fun. I talked to
the kids, because they spoke English and Elder Ritter (the zone leader
I was with) translated a bit. I was also introduced to Dominican and
Mexican food. There is a dish called mangu that is basically mashed
potatoes, except instead of potatoes, they use los platanos
(plantains). It was good, but very heavy and there was a lot of it. I
also had fried cheese (it is definitely as unhealthy as it sounds),
Salami and eggs, and icecream on watermelon. That's how they eat
icecream apparently.... Or they were just messing with me. Either way
it tasted good. I listened a lot, but only understood bits and pieces
of what people were saying. I was told by a Dominican woman named
G* that I am a niñito. I do understand what that means, and i'm
hoping that in Dominican culture it's not as patronizing as it is when
translated.
I did get to teach one lesson on the split in English. A man and a
woman on the street stopped Elder Ritter and I and asked us what we
were selling. We then explained that we were missionaries for the
church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They asked us about the
"weird rules" that we have, so we ended up teaching them the word of
wisdom and the law of chastity. Then their questions led the
discussion to the restoration, and then the plan of salvation. So we
taught them almost everything in one lesson on the street. They didn't
want to give us their information, but they asked for our information
so they could contact us. We're hopefully going to refer them to the
missionaries in South Bronx and Yonkers (where they were each from).
By my understanding the girl was very Bronx-esque.
We also started meeting with a man named M*. He's not Italian, he's
African American and he moved to White Plains from south Bronx, so of
course "Mario" is pronounced "May-ree-oh." He had about twenty
different bottles of pills on his table and it was easy to establish
that he was not all the way there. Every time we told or asked him
anything, he responded with something completely different and
irrelevant, but acted as though it had everything to do with what we
were talking about. Whenever we seemed confused by what he said, he'd
say, "it's the way I think." By the end of the lesson, however, I
started figuring out how to understand him. I started seeing some
sense in what he was saying. He was speaking almost entirely in
allegories. When I kept that in mind as I listened to him, I could
somewhat understand what he was saying. When we left I explained this
theory to my companion and he said he was picking up on the same
thing. We're interested to see what we can make sense of next time we
meet with him.
Oh, just for the information of those who may be interested, I am
currently emailing from Manhattan! We get to spend p-day here! I'm so
excited!!!
Well, got to go now. Things are going great! I love it here!
Until next time,

-Elder Samuel Brent Burton

Pictures!!!