Japanese Proficiency Exam and Reunion, well not in that order

Yesterday I hung out with the Hiranos, my old host family. It was really good to be back with them for dinner. We had sukiyaki, which is my absolute favorite Japanese dish. Theres a pot in the center of the table, and you put things like vegetables and meat and noodles in it and let it simmer. It's so amazingly delicious! Then I called my momsie and dadsie in the USA and found out I got accepted at the American University of Paris with a scholarship! Yay! We'll see what happens with that.
Today I had my Japanese Proficiency Exam, level four. It requires knowledge of 120 kanji characters and 800 words. I think I did well on grammar and kanji, but the listening part was so hard. The recordings speak SO slowly that it's in one ear and out the other. People do speak a bit more slowly for me because I'm foreign, but the pace on the recordings is snail-like.
I met a guy at the exam named Peter. He used to work in New York City for a program like Teach for America. So we talked about all our favorite New York spots, and that was nice. He's going to introduce me to some exchange students from Washington state who live near Hamamatsu. Haha you have no idea how much I love meeting new people now... His friend also organizes English camps, so I might volunteer as a counselor for one of the camps.
After the exam, Otousan and Okaasan (my new ones, of course... the Kuritas) picked me up and we went to the Tohayashi Art Museum. (The exam was in Aichi Prefecture, the drive was really pretty, right next to the Pacific). We saw absolutely gorgeous kimonos... it's really too bad that the kimono is being worn less and less. If I were the CEO of a company, I would institute a "Wear A Kimono/Yukata/Hakuma (All traditional clothes) to Work Day" to encourage wider use of the clothes. They really are so elegant.
Then we had udon (noodles) and katsudon (pork cutlet) for dinner at a restaurant with a lady with gold teeth (thought that was important...)
This week, the Sri Lankan kids are coming for two weeks. That will be fun. Wednesday, I might be going to Shiori's school for a day. Thursday, I'm going to the Suzuki car factory. Saturday-- MOUNT FUJI! I absolutely adore Mount Fuji and jump at every chance to get close to it.