Well that took a while....

Yowza, it's been such a long time since the last post! I've got an excuse, though--I've been insanely busy. Which is good! And exhausting at the same time.

Time for a linear progression of events--shall we?

Okay, so last month before testing, all the other foreign exchange students came to the school. There's one from China, whose name is Tei; both her English and her Japanese are fantastic, because she went to a language school. She's very nice, and usually helps me when I get confused with Japanese. Unfortunately we're not together as often. Then there're the Aussies; and boy, what a bunch they are! There's Jaida, a girl, who's color scheme is very, very orange; both her hair and her eyes are orange. It's kind of cool, actually. Then there's Ronen, a guy, who's very funny, and likes making fun of America. We get along just fine. Then there's Dimitri, another guy, who's very serious and doesn't talk all that much. The only thing they have in common is they all like making fun of America together.

They're cool people, though; we study (and sometimes procrastinate) together, and I introduced them to cream puffs. Good stuff.

Speaking of testing--guess who got the highest score! That's right. Of me, Dimitri, Jaida, and Ronen, I got the highest score. Even though it wasn't very good (62? Blegh). I'm not entirely satisfied with that score; I've been studying a lot to try and get a better one for the next test, which is at the end of the month. (AIIIIIII--)

What else....oh! I saw a Japanese Noh performance, which was pretty awesome! It's traditional theatre kind of stuff, with drum beats and chanting and....all sorts of interesting things. Though....they did very little in a very long amount of time. Here's some pictures.

Tres cool.

Next. Went to an island called Tokoshima, went to Japanese temples, and ate Japanese pizza. Went on my very first open-ocean ferry ride and did not get sick, which was very pleasing. The view was gorgeous, of course, as Japan is very photogenic. I wish I could post some pictures of the temple, because it was very cool, but unfortunately you're not allowed to take pics there. 

We also went to Koyasan, which is a world heritage site, and has definitely earned that title. It was absolutely gorgeous; there's a view at the top that stretches for miles around, which is unusual because normally there's always a mountain in the way. There are many, many mountains in Japan. It's very pretty. It sucks for biking. I got some pretty good pictures

Us and the group eating food at Koyasan. And....

Enormous Koyasan buddhist temple. Awesome!

Me, determined to get a really good picture. Thanks Michael for taking the picture.

So yeah, cool sightseeing. Nice destinations. Very nice.

Okay, what now? I guess I should talk about the things I've joined, since they're such an important part of my life!

I go to badminton every Saturday nights, and let me tell you, it's really fun! Everyone's very serious about their playing, but they also know how to have a good time. We're a pretty big group, so there's always someone new to play with and against. 

On Monday evening and Sunday morning I have aikido, and guess what--shodan test in April or so! Super excited for that. The aikido in Japan is really different than American aikido, though, because it's mostly kihon, rather than a variety of arts. It's really challenging, but that's the way to grow, right? The sensei is hysterical, though; my second day, he came up to me and showed me a magic trick. During class, he says, 'pretend I'm a pervert!' before attacking. 

On Thursdays I have Volunteer club at the school, and everyone in the club is super nice! My first day there, they all threw me a party; we had drinks and snacks. And the leader of the club said to everyone, 'Only English, okay?' (I immediately said, no. Please don't. Let me muddle through my Japanese a little.) It was very thoughtful of them. 

Finally, BRASS BAND. 

I have brass band every day after school, which ends at six o'clock. That's on average two-three hours of practice a day. At first it just about killed me, because a) we don't practice that much in the states, and b) I think if I burned all of those chairs I would be doing the band a favor, because those things are literally the most uncomfortable things I've ever sat on. They should've gotten something at least a little more comfortable, like. You know. Rocks. I think my butt is permanently deformed. 

But anyway. 

I'm used to it now; the only thing I really have trouble with anymore are the weekends, because then we practice from 9-5. (On Sundays I have aikido, so I only have to come after lunch to five. Still, that's four hours, usually five because the Japanese are insane and love practicing. I'm kidding. Not really). 

Band is a ton of fun! I love it dearly now. Everyone is super nice; the other saxes are a ton of fun to be around. Just the other day the band went on an overnight to a location about four hours away from the school. We stayed in a nice hotel. Here are some pictures. 

At the giant band performance, one of our school sensei's conducted a song that apparently everyone in my school knew the dance to. Excellent photo opportunity. 

Katsura is pretty, ne? I suppose the four hour bus trip was good for something.

The first year students say hello! It was pretty funny; after this picture was taken, Kana, a first year, ran up to me and said, "GRACIA-SENPAI! Hug!" And I said "COME HERE YOU ADORABLE SMALL CHILD I WILL GIVE YOU MUCH HUGS!!!' and we had a hug fest.

God Mae stop photobombing my pictures!

Me and the team. Peace signs are in, apparently. 

In the hotel room. All of us were saxes except for the girl second before the end. Poor clarinet was surrounded on all sides by the enemy. 

Very serious game of Uno. Minami(on the left) and Yuzuna(on the right) were duking it out for last place. You know, I can't remember who won. I do remember that Yuzuna kept having to draw cards. 

Uno game before the epic one v. one between Minami and Yuzuna. Left to right: Minami, Reika, me, Yuzuna.

The saxes before leaving. I've already named the other three, but the girl on the very left is Fuki, a first year. She's super adorable, but I'm pretty sure she has secret evil schemes. Nah, just kidding. (Or am I?)

Well, that just about sums it all ups. I'm writing many speeches, getting better at Japanese. Life is good. Life is hard, but life is good.