finals schminals

uuurrrggghhhh
I am having premature senioritis. I didn't think this was possible, but I really didn't study for the last couple of finals...yet strangely enough, I think I did well. So much for the equation input = output...
Japanese lessons have stopped, which is quite sad (TT) There is rumor that we will keep having lessons after finals, but I'm not super sure...but self study is hard, especially in my condition (refer to title).
Math is tomorrow, so I will actually have to study. O well...only 2 more, algebra, then biology.

After-final activities have been amusing, since Gus has taken to crawling into the pipe next to Clayton. We threw a volleyball in it, thinking it would comeback--it didn't, but rather spurred a new animated series:
"Gus' Pipe Adventures:
Episode 1--I'll do it tomorrow, I'm in good clothes
Episode 2--crap, it's covered in water; oh well--too bad it's covered in spiders, I'll do it tomorrow and bring a lighter
Episode 3--crap, it's covered in red ants, but what the heck, I'll get the volleyball [now 20 ft. inside] while demonstrating my use of profanity"

So yes, he got the ball (and soaked), but all's well that ends well...I will admit that it was mildly hilarious...

Post the tenth

Japanese has been going swimmingly. Ms. Fujii is great, but Josh and I always get sidetracked with questions that we don't get as much done as she plans. It's so sad; every lesson, she shakes her head and mutters that we haven't made as much progress as she'd hoped, and our rate is too slow. So, we made a pact that one of these days we'll surprise her with how much we learned. She be very shocked. (^o^) Right now, we've learned hiragana, katakana, numbers, how to ask and answer some generic yes/no questions, and basic vocab. It's smashing.

The thing about blogging right now is that it's so typical, so ordinary because it's my everyday life, and I see most of the people who read it on a daily basis. There's almost no point...almost. Basically, it's going to get so much more interesting when I'm experiencing a different culture no one else is in and away from the people I ususally see. It balances out...

Mom and I are in process of working through the paperwork. So far, th application for the school is complete, but the visa is taking some time.

That's all, folks.

UPDATE: language skills have marginally increased.

My Japanese lessons don't start until next week, due to lack of appropriate texts, but I managed to further my knowledge of Japanese (minimally) last night, when Moeko and I and our families went out for sushi at Musashino. While our parents talked about...Japan, Moeko decided to start my Japanese lessons then. I learned all the endings for names (that you use when talking to different people, ex. a really famous person, your teacher and classmates, girl friends and guy friends.), a super-emphatic way to say thank you, how to conjugate regular verbs in preterite, "I am tired" and "I am on fire," and the alphabet and consanants in their proper form. (There was more, but I won't put it on my list because I forgot it.) I was really happy when Moeko told me that I got the words really fast and my pronounciation was really good, but she also told me how much of Japanese is just memorization...ah, well...

I have told some of my friends about my premature senior-itis, especially in Spanish, because I don't think that I will be taking it after I come back. However, I am going to take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish...it's okay, though; my lack of motivation in some areas won't have much effect [I think]

: )

PS Moeko, your Bruch Concerto in Chapel was awesome! As if you don't know that already!

Weekly forecast

Today = good day!

I officially have a violin teacher in Japan, who taught Moeko when she took violin there. From what I have been told, she is a graduate of a Japanese super-school for music and an amazing teacher. In Moeko's own words, "If you don't like her, there's something wrong with you." I am extremely looking forward to this, especially as I was a little scared with some stories about really harsh teachers with rulers...

Something many (by this I mean multiple) people have asked me is if / when I will start Japanese lessons, as it has come to be a consensus that I can't get prepared for Tokyo with a copy of Japanese for Dummies. So...my fallback-contingency option (just kidding, this was definitely Plan A) is Josh and I meeting during 2 lunches a week with the Japanese teacher at school--I have heard she is a really good teacher, and she works with all the kids who have come back from Japan. I think it will start next week. I think. I suppose that's something I should get figured out.

Live from the PC, this is Audrey Wozniak. Peace out, friends.

PS I was feeling guilty, because of how similar my blog is to Adam Long's (I mean, come on--The Japan Blog, vs. The Tokyo Blog?) But you have to admit, he has the whole blog situation down.

Here, I will just quote the ancient proverb, "Copying is the ultimate compliment."

Novice Nats in Atlanta...!

I am in Atlanta, Georgia, right now coming out of the Novice Nationals for debate. It didn't turn out as we hoped, and for very illegit reasons...

We had 2 rounds the first day, and were 2-0. The next day, we finished 4-2. We hoped to qualify for the octa-finals, but they took the top 16 teams. Guess who was #17??? What was even more infuriating, though, was the pitiful judging. Three of our rounds were judged by incompetent varsity debaters who didn't understand what was going on. The first one didn't like our arguments based on her own personal bias, but because the other team was infernal, she still voted for us. The other two were the next day, and both of them were in the dark about debate in general. We really should have ended up 5-1, (losing one because our politics evidence was really bad--we actually won that one because of a really little theory argument that the other team didn't talk about at all, thus conceding it.)

It turns out that the really bad judges were all from the school where the debate was held, and after finding that out mid-tournament, it was really a bad feeling. It was even worse when we found out that if we had 1 point higher on our speak records, we would have qualified. After we found that out, I found this book, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, which we voted was one of the lamest books ever. We improved it by editing out the worst "happy things" and adding our own, such as:

+ "Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding." (quote from debate coach)
+ believing that coin flips are the best way to make any decision
+ making up a policy called "Nukes For Friends" that is comparable to "Toys For Tots"

It is now 14,017 Things to Be Happy About.

The tournament really was a downer, because I knew we could have won. It sounds so egotistical, but if we'd had the chance, we could have done so well.
Oh, well...we had a fun time putting gangster slang into our speeches and watching the judge laugh. Word.

the day of the big day.

The Japan news was officially made public today in chapel. I was so nervous going up when it was announced--it seems like unless I have my violin with me up on stage, I freak out. I literally started shrinking, but realized that was probably not the right thing to do, so I went for the grin-and-bear-it-while-twisting-your-fingers-behind-you approach. Hey, it could have been worse. I didn't actually get how much I wanted to tell everyone until the word got out...it's so much less confusing to get that load out of my system. Everyone's response was so great--it was amazing how supportive everyone was. I guess again I was still in the hiding hiding secrets secrets mindset. My mom put it best: "You usually only find out how much people care at your funeral." Yes, indeed.

It is going to be really hard to leave everything behind and have no real in-depth conversations for a long time, but like debate, it is going to still be here waiting for me. On the same line, Japan has already, without being there, made me really appreciate the side-splittingly funny moments my friends and I have. It's the little things, like solving mega-rubik's cubes and crosswords in the library, table-hopping under the watchful eye of authority, and just standing in a circle after lunch talking about (as quoted by Josh) "that which is morally grey" that I will most definitely miss.

It seemed the post required an octupus.

The day before the big day.

Tomorrow Ms. Todd annouces that Josh and I are going to Japan. I don't know what I feel about that...It's going to be weird having everyone all at once know, and getting their take on it, their opinions, their questions...I am really glad we decided not to tell people before it would be annouced, though; it would have been really complicated, with some people knowing and some people not, then the ignorant people would find out and be mad...There is always enough drama to go around without making things more tangled. There is not much to say, though, except that I think I made the right choice.

Did you know that one of the huge trends (among many others) in Japan right now is knee-high and above the knee socks? This could be very interesting, especially as that seems to be, in my opinion, one of the more subdued fashions. I tried to find some pictures, but time is of the essence right now.

Later--
Audrey

My spring break post

Coming live from the Garden State...
[new jersey]
Spring Break is almost over for me, but I'm not complaining. I'm one of those rarer freaky people who genuinely like school and are counting down in anticipation (vs. complete dread). However, a recap of Break in which:
-My grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary--very big deal. This calls for a paternal-side family reunion--Also a big deal in and of itself
-We go to NYC (in part to enrich my pre-Tokyo experience) for 3 days and do touristy things. This involves going to "BODIES: the exhibition," which I now highly recommend, and later me skipping out when my sister goes to the American Girl Place in New York--not my cup of tea. The other eventful event in New York was our family getting semi-held up on the subway [read: a really scary guy was trying to help us out, but his delivery was that of a terrorist].

By the way, in New York, I never realized how many people smoke...It's really disgusting.
-We have another reunion, this time my mom's family. This, too, is quite big.
-I learn to drive (something besides a golf cart) in my grandfather's pickup. It took a lot to get my mom to even let me out of the driveway, but debate is paying off for something... @@@ : ) [side note: where I drove was not illegal--if it was, I wouldn't have been allowed to drive at all]

-The rest of the time was reasonably quiet, which was good. I slept in to ungodly times every day, though, so maybe that's why.

Like I said, it's quiet around here...we come back tomorrow, then school...

Ciao.

Mr. Noggle of Pendleton Heights

In order to both advance to the next level in math and to be prepared for Algebra II in Japanese next year, I have been watching sensational educational interactive Geometry lectures. I don't know what I was expecting, but definitely not a non-stop monotone drone explaining things over and over and over and over again. There is a lot that I get a lot quicker than he teaches, and I am seriously hoping that [get this] Mr. Noggle of Pendleton Heights gets to the point mighty quick. The ironic part is that I flunked one of the self-tests, only because I was super bored.

By the way, I wanted to contribute that he has a one-of-a-kind taste in ties, in that he favors a burnt orange mushroom-embellished ensemble. Just putting that out there.
The things we do in the pursuit of knowledge!!!

the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Here's what's REALLY happening, au contraire what *smirk* some people think/thought:
Josh and I were picked to go to Japan for all of next [school] year to be totally and completely swamped with Japanese culture and language. I will be at a school in Tokyo, and Josh will be at Osaka. I'll live w/ two host families (switch halfway thru the year) and have Japanese crash courses to try to understand Algebra II [and more!] in a different language. [this could be potentially interesting]

At first I was like, "No way am I going to drop everything and go halfway around the world to a place where I don't speak the language!!!!!!!!"

Then I realized that it wouldn't be that bad, except it would mean dropping everything I know here, aka violin lessons with my current teachers, debate, my dogs, my parents, my friends (not in that order). Which was still actually super-bad in my mind.

It was debate that was holding me back. I AM currently qualed for state, have been pretty successful in Original Oratory (in which I give a memorized, self-written, 10 minute speech), and have been having mucho mucho fun...it took me a long time to start to really decide. I really wasn't scratching the surface in trying to figure out the pro / con list, but rather just avoiding it all together.
SoOoOooO...I finally decided to give this LIFE-CHANGING UBER-IMPORTANT FANCY SHMANCY DECISION some thought (after talking to Josh, who made me realize that I actually had to make up my mind) I / he / we came up with some thoughts on the matter...

First, I was already thinking in the mindset of one who has decided to go; I really hadn't considered not going and now was only focusing on the little things that I would miss. Also, not going would plague me FOREVER!!!!! (but seriously, I did some "When I am thirty..." thinking). AND, disclaimer: WEIRD LOGIC; ONLY TRULY MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD ==> On what I base my perspective now is the sheltered bubble at school, so in exploding that bubble, I will completely change my POV (thus realizing that the little things I am worried about are trivial). Plus, the fact I will learn a new language and enter the semi-uncharted seas of sushi! Huzzah! [I do like sushi, I just haven't eaten a ton, hence the "semi-uncharted" part of that sentence]

There are more things, too, but that's enough to get started...

As I write this, it is still CONFIDENTIAL! KEEP OUT! information, so let us count the people who know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (hem, hem)...

*Me + family (but close family only! not even grandparents yet! I said it was TOP SECRET!)

*Josh + family *Ms. Todd & Mr. Cox (they're in charge) *Mr. Bowen *Our yard man


So, like I perhaps already said, it will be announced officially Tuesday after the Break. Until then, like I perhaps already said, it will be me alone on this lonely lonely blog, typing away into the wee hours...

happy happy joy joy.

[this, according to a semi-reliable online translator, is my name in Japanese...only time can tell]

PS. The yard man knows only because my mom was bursting to tell someone about the trip, and she figured the yard man was the best one. Speaking of some strange logic...I can't really blame her, though, but it is slightly amusing.