よんでください！

　　My 2 quick apologies...sorry for not posting in a bit...I've been busy and tired, which is a fatal combo, but alas...also, for those on FB...I am having technical difficulties, meaning that I can do little more than read what people write me, so I'm not ignoring you. No hard feelings? =)

　　This last Saturday was unofficial "bring your host student to work" day. All the girls at school have final exams this week, so all my friends, including Natsu are doing intense studying = I can't wait for test week to end so I can have my friends back. But I digress...I rode in a Suzuki Twin (little car! 2 seats! like in the Wii commercial!) for the first time with my host mother as we first went to the hospital where my host father works as the head pathologist to drop something off. As part of this, we went in, and subsequently he showed me his staff and even slightly cooler, the autopsy room, which, in case you were wondering, is not in use at this moment--though he is going to take me to the hospital the next time he does an autopsy to watch! Sounds....fun?! After that, I went to work with my host mother, who is a pharmacist. After being the good student I feel obliged to be and finishing my homework, I helped in the Japanese pharmacy in which she works. [FYI, a Japanese pharmacy is, as far as I can tell, no different from an American one, save for the country.] I practiced my oh-so-valuable katakana alphabet skills as I sorted through these orders for drugs (ex. リボトール　＝　ribotol, and so on and so forth.) After getting through about 40 (tired!), I fell asleep multiple times in her office before we left to look at places for their pharmacy business, which is moving.

　　Sunday was interesting. My host parents offered to run with me at a nearby park, the one I wrote about before that is really really beautiful, and near an art museum and a concert hall. Running was fun for me, but afterwards I have decided never to let them run again; I felt so bad because afterwards, my host father hurt his leg and limped the rest of the day, and my host mother had some sort of allergic reaction from being in the sun too long. I felt really bad!

　　Also Sunday, I got a cell phone. There were all these awesome cell phones in the store, but since I got a prepaid card one, I had limited choice (aka between 2 colors of the one phone model). Regardless, it's a phone, and I am so glad to have it. I'm not going to post my number on my blog, but I've sent it around, and also you can email me (audreywoz@gmail.com) if you would like it! Call me!　And yes, that is Hello Kitty attached to it, along with a fuzzy thing. I had to give personality to that brick somehow. O_o

　　Sunday evening, the shrine that is one block from my house here finished its 2-day festival, which included a really big drum, a mini-shrine, and a lot of lanterns.

At the end of this festival, they take this huge drum and people are on top of it, while others pull it around the neighborhood while it is continually, well, banged ceremoniously. This lasts 3 hours.

My picture timing wasn't great, but if you look a bit closely, you can see this.

Monday was "Respect the Elderly" Day (けいろのひ, or keiro no hi), so it was a holiday. Not too much on Monday that I recall.

Tuesday was the start of exams...what everyone else had been cramming for since the week before. I personally can't wait for these tests to be over because I haven't seen my friends for almost a week, and I still won't until next Monday, so it's a little lonely because EVERYONE, including Natsu, is succumbing to the compelling urge to study hours and hours. Natsu, yesterday, for example, didn't stop studying until 4 am. Egads!

　　I had my first violin lesson with my new teacher, Muramatsu-sensei. She was really nice, and it was a good lesson (even for a first one!) regardless of the fact that we both only know relatively little of the other's language. Right now, I am trying to figure out what to tell her about my next concerto, since she asked what I was planning on playing after Barber. The only downside of these lessons is that I have to practice. =P

　　Now, Wednesday evening--today, I went to school by myself for the first time (Natsu went early to study, of course). I was a little worried, since I have to change trains and get on the right ones, etc...but it was much ado about nothing, and it was quite fine. I made to school early, which many may know is quite a feat for a Wozniak. Also, I had a Japanese test over everything I had learned up to this point. I didn't do very well...91. That sounds very perfectionist and persnickety to say that a 91 is awful, but my mistakes were really stupid, always one little detail. I'm so careless.

　　Tomorrow! I have only 2 hours of Japanese and then I will go for Mexican food with Sakurai-sensei, Kobayashi-sensei, and Hiratsuka-sama (heh heh), followed by Sakurai-sensei and I visiting a museum about the director Miyazaki and his animation. To get ready to visit this museum, Sakurai-sensei lent me 2 movies he directed, both of which I thought were great...in particular となりのトトロ, which is in English "My Neighbor Totoro." This was the first time I had seen it, and I really really loved it. It is on my favorite movies of all time list...I'm very excited to go now! here's the theme http://youtube.com/watch?v=5xIrQGxFbzI I'm so obsessed. But, for another Shakespeare reference, all's well that ends well.

　　Also, Kobayashi-sensei invited me to a classical concert in October. The orchestra--not sure what it's called at the moment!--will be playing Shostakovich, Khachurian (sp?)--more I can't recall off the top of my head...Her daughter couldn't come, but told her to invite me instead, which was so thoughtful. I am awaiting approval from my host parents; they might have something planned, so I need to figure that out.

I start learning kanji next week! Finally! Ok, that's it for now.