My love for my electric blanket exceeds all the vegetable oil the world

I've got to say, I am a bit mixed on my blog. I mean, I like to write it, and since there are a little less than 1000 hits on it, I have to say it's reasonably well-read...but the inability to upload my pictures is a bit discouraging. This might be fixed in about 3 weeks, or less, if I figure out how to make my camera work with a Mac before then...Also, sorry this post is late because *Drum Roll Please* my mom sent me an electric blanket! Oh, sweet relief from the cold of my host family's spacious but concrete house! It is really really cold...or was, I should say. How this relates to my blog--I have gotten into the healthy-yet-inconvenient-for-blog-readers habit of going to bed at 8:30 pm, as to get the most use out of my very very delicious blanket.

Okay, now I am trying to remember what happened last week. This electric blanket is definitely dangerous--memory loss, among other things.

*thinking*

Well, not to much exciting happened that I can remember.

I got the results back from my Japanese level test at the Tokyo University (if you don't remember this, it's because I took it ages ago.) I passed quite nicely, so no worries there. That was the level 4 test, and in 2 weeks, along with my math and chemistry finals, I will take the level 3 test.

My speech that I was writing was accepted for the foreigner's speech contest. I don't know how selective the judges are, so I can't say if the acceptance is anything to brag about but...for lack of interesting material from this last week, I present to you my translated speech! (To be memorized and presented in Japanese on March 8th.)

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"日本に来て感じた事" (literally: stuff I thought when I came to japan)

Written and translated by yours truly

(I will skip the first part, because it's an introduction of myself, and translated, it sounds a little more than cheesy.)

Before I came to Japan, I heard a lot of different things. For instance, I heard things like "Japan is really safe," and "All Japanese are really helpful." However, I also heard things like "There are a lot of strict customs to follow, so be careful," and "Japanese people don't show any emotion and don't express themselves." Because of this, I was worried upon coming and did a lot of research about Japanese customs. Before coming, I was worried about things like the right order to enter the bath and unkind host families.

After starting my life as an exchange student, I was still worrying. I wanted to do everything right. Even though my host family was really nice, and I could take a bath whenever I wanted, I wasn't comfortable. My teachers, friends, and host family noticed that I seemed frequently nervous {I insert: embarrassingly} I really liked school and I enjoyed my everyday life, but because I was still thinking about the things I heard before I came, I was worried about making a mistake. For example, in the beginning, because my Japanese wasn't so good, the teachers seemed really scary to me.

Time went by, and I became more comfortable. When I relaxed, I learned more about Japanese culture.

In America, yo u are expected to take care of your needs yourself, while in Japan, cooperation is considered better.

My host mother told me that in Japan, there are old traditions that Japanese people follow. Because I am a foreigner, I didn't understand these in the beginning. However, once I learn them, I too am expected to respect and follow them.

I went on a school trip with the high school second graders where everyone was expected to bath together. I didn't really know the people in the grade and I was a little nervous about it. I thought it was going to be awkward, when I first tried it, it really was fun and the second graders were really nice. Now, I really like the public baths.

I think that foreigners can't ever 100% understand Japanese society or culture. However, because I have spent 6 months {by the time I give the speech} here in Japan, I have learned so many things and gotten a much better understanding of the Japanese lifestyle. I am really glad I have been able to come.

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Sorry i f the wording sounds weird--translating it was harder than I thought. But that is the g ist of it. Interestingly enough, my Japanese teacher is convinced I will win the contest because there will be "housewives and salarymen" at the contest, and as I will be the youngest, I will win on my feisty pluck. =P

Since I can't remember any outstanding events in regards to my last week, I will skip to my weekend. (This memory loss is depressing.)

On Sunday (Saturday, too, was pretty free) I met Julia Blood, which was really nice for me. She

is still studying in Japan, though, as a college student, she has a long break right now, and she is going to go home for a week soon. (Lucky...) It was really fun to just meet up with her, eat, and talk (a lot.)

On Monday, it was (according to my planner) National Founding Day, so it was free. The de finite highlight of the day was getting ready for hinamatsuri, which is a special day for girls. Most families in Japan all set up a collection of dolls, which I wish I could show you with my extraordinary pictures, but unfortunately can't, once again fueling my remorse on the subject of Macs....but excuse my mini--rant. I'm just a PC person, that's all.

February 14th, as many of you might know, is Valentine's Day (wink wink). This is definitely a very big holiday in Japan. Technically, it is a girl-to-buy gift giving holiday (and then there is another day in March where boys return the gift, called White Day), but as a) there are no boys at my girls' school, and b) we all just can't resist the urge to hand out sweets, I am making a huge batch of brownies tomorrow. Be prepared.

I am excited because my family will be coming to see me! We have actual dates, and they will come for about 2 weeks and a half in March!

Tomorrow, if I can write 5 selected kanji in my Shodo calligraphy class, I can allegedly achieve my Shodo license. I am going to dominate. I hope. I really want a license...a Shodo license.