for you, I have kimochi L--O............V--E

This last week, I took the dreaded shiken (final exams) that plagued the dreams of my classmates for weeks on end before. Big fun.

On Sunday, I took my Japanese Proficiency Test, which was okay, I suppose. On my practice exams leading up to it, I was doing very well (90% and above), but I'm not so confident that my actual test was so good. Alas, but I'm not worried, so long as it's over with--and I pass...=D...I went with Kobayashi-sensei to Tokyo Universoity, where the annual test was held this year, 30 minutes early, I might add...she wanted to people-watch all the foreigners, which I myself will admit was entertaining in a country where some 985 of the population is Japanese (if my statistic is accurate.)

On Tuesday, I took my chemistry exam. I thought I did really well (though perhaps I have jinxed my score by admitting that) considering the class is in Japanese, and while the exam was in English, it was nevertheless a little daunting trying to study. But again, I think I did quite well, I hope, in contrast to math...Math--where to begin...at first, I understood everything and life was hunky-dory--until my understanding somehow plummeted down to a fiery abyss full of complex logs and everything started to seem like "15 log snarkle to the humpity-dink power of 2 divided by a grocery bag full of elderly dancing crocodile-handbag carrying baboons in an economic crisis times 2 over your mother's aunt's cousin in laundry machine's electric cord..." And then this math problem was actually in Japanese. I exaggerate only a little, and I will be happy to testify that math is NOT the universal lanuguage--I guess that leaves music and/or love. But anyway, when I actually started to kinda sorta figure out the math (the night before the exam), I didn't have enough time to finish and left with the final glimpse of my exam being taken away from me, only partially completed and probably half or more wrong. Pity.

Friday was free, since I myself and and my classmates had labored over exams--them even more so because they have 9 subjects in which they are tested. My host parents both had their own separate jobs, and Natsu had prior plans with a friend. Kobayashi-sensei invited me to come with her to the Japanese National Museum of Art (I think) to see this year's commissioned paintings. What I didn't realize was that this meant so much more. Not only did we see this museum, even before that:
-Kobayashi-sensei gave a grand tour of her old college

-we ate lunch

-we randomly went to the United Nations University and met this super-nice bilingual college student

At the museum, we looked at a zillion paintings. They were all really impressive, and just walking around an art museum felt really artsy, suave, and relaxing, but after about 100 I was exhausted, since this last week I have had a pretty bad sore throat and semi-fever (don't worry! I'm fine.) Kobayashi-sensei, too, was tired, so we went home, and the day ended.

On Saturday, we had a half-day of school (a Saturday program, which usually happens maybe once a month.) During these programs, we generally always go to the chapel and listen to a multi-hour speech about hapless children around the world. I am completely for saving the children, but when every month I hear "Don't forget the children" for 2 hours, it gets a bit repetitive. After these programs, everyone writes about their thoughts about the program in those blue college examination notebooks--anyways, this week I wrote (in Japanese! I was surprised--I hope I mildly conveyed my general idea somewhat accurately) that I thought the Saturday programs could be improved if they branched out to a wider variety of topics (since this year's topic is only "Save the Children) instead of the same one for a year. But maybe that's just me.

Yesterday, my host family and I went to Asakusa, which is famous for the many crowded shops within a large temple complex there. I myself found a shop dedicated to my favorite cartoon (Totoro!) and bought myself an obento box(lunch box.) Most definitely worth it, I must say.

Next Saturday or Sunday, while my host family and I are spending the weekend in Hayama, my dad leaves America and will fly to Tokyo! Yay! After he comces, we will be here for a few days, then my dad, host sister and I will go skiing in Hakuba (supposedly very nice) and then my dad and I will go to Kyoto for the remaining time. I am really looking forward to traveling, but mainly I am really excited that I will see my dad. I know I will be homesick when he leaves, but my wild adolescent emotions will be slightly padded by the fact that I will very likely meet Josh (other exchange student from my school in Osaka) and his family a few days after my dad leaves. =D

In January, as part of my once-a-week Christianity and Ethics class, my group (4 people, including Natsu and I) have to do a project about the pope. As I am a bit of a disfunctional member of our otherwise productive group, I am going to handle the entertainment section of the project, which means that I will be dressing up as the pope, reciting a few lines in Japanese (akin to "Hello, I am John Paul 2. I live in Rome.") and breaking out into interpretaive dance to a pope-ular (heh heh get it?) J-pop song (J-pop =Japanese pop, pretty much the one dominant music style here, besides Japanese oldies...) This should be interesting. But I have to work on a decently pope-ish costume.

Also in January, Natsu and I will be doing the school talent show. She plays piano, I play violin, and that's all you need! Actually, we probably need to practice, too. We will play "Meditation from Thais," official winner of the romantic nostalgic over-played song of the year 3 times in a row--but I still really like it =). We stayed up until 3 in the morning trying to figure out a name for our group, since we had to decide the next day--200 random names later, including "Big Tofu," "BANANANA," "Da---me," "Masuda Takahisa wa Natsu ga dai suki," "GUMP," "No calorie coca-cola," etc....I wanted to call our group "Daibutsu" meaning Buddha, because of the stereotypical meditating sound "ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN" which has the letters A and N, as in Audrey and Natsu, as in "ANNNNNNNNNNNN," as in Daibutsu, as in...don't worry, I don't think either Natsu and I got it at all. We eventually decided on "Jasmine Tea," because, as the best of us know, jasmine tea is good hot--and cold--and is good for our health. More news on this later.

Interesting tidbit--because I told Sakurai-sensei about my desire for Mexican food a while back, and subsequently cooked it for my host family, I have been offered the never-before seen opportunity to, in February, teach a Mexican food cooking class. I definitely want to do this, but I am worried because I am far from qualified--but Sakurai-sensei told me not to worry and assured me that likely very few to none of the girls have ever had real Mexican food, so even if I mess up, no one should be able to notice. Very encouraging.

I have been a bit out of contact with everyone this last week, mainly because of studying for everything, but this week should possibly maybe be okay to communicate. However, that all ends next weekend, and I'm sure to be impossibly busy, as you too may be with trying to control your cheery wintery spirit.