The reason why I didn't write anything last week was that I had been busy preparing for my history, art history, math, and physics test. So far English is the only subject that has not had a single test yet; graded in-class essays are the tests, and I usually get A+ for them. History has been a little pain in the ass, because the multiple-choice questions are really not that much related to the reading we've done for the class, and our history teacher is currently in Africa, so we'll have to wait until he comes back to see if our grades can be curved. Of all the subjects, math is definitely my favorite. To a large extent it's because I'm very good at it, and it's funny to see how behind I was in math back in China. I still remain the very top of my class, and I'm working at the math center every Friday night, meanwhile I'm working as a math peer tutor as well. This coming Monday I will go to Western Connecticut Math League contest as part of the math team -- Asian, what can you say. Math center is pretty fun as long as there are classes on Saturday, because no-class Saturday means there's no study hall on Friday night, and nobody will come if that's the case. Yesterday was my birthday, and being on duty in the empty math center was not the best way to celebrate my 17th birthday. However, my friends came to support me and brought me peanut butter chocolates and watched Downton Abbey (my favorite TV show) with me. 

   I also started my piano lessons. It's wonderful to have finally picked up this very instrument after not playing it for a long time. It's sad that I had to give up piano when I started to fall deep into it. Currently I'll make sure I can practice 45 minutes to an hour everyday. The piano class is very different from those I had back in China. In the first lesson, my teacher, Mr. Moyer, asked me to play a piece, so I played the only piece that I remembered. He then decided to print two more pieces for me, and he had me play the beginning of both of them, and asked me if the music made sense to me and if I liked them. I had never been given the choice, because back in China my piano instructor just gave me pieces and asked me to play them, and she never asked if I liked them or felt attached to the melodies. I feel respected, even though I have much less knowledge in music than Mr. Moyer, but the fact that he didn't give me "homework" without asking me if they were reasonable made me feel touched. Right now I'm just getting used to playing piano again, and it's somehow frustrating to pass other practice rooms and hear other students playing extraordinarily beautiful music, but I believe I'll get there someday. Plus, all the piano practice rooms have a huge window facing the Hotchkiss golf course, and I love sitting there in the late afternoon, watching the sunlights shine through the window and create lights and shadows on the keyboard as if they are playing piano as well. The view is absolutely breathtaking and inspiring. 

   Another thing that keeps fascinating me is cross country. I was surprised to see that my name first appeared on the Hotchkiss website, because I was mentioned in the article about cross country. I was among the people who the coach believed were "distinguishing in practice". One thing about cross country that is extremely encouraging that I get to see my progress everyday. Three weeks of practice and I'm much much much better at long distance running than before. I always see myself as an athlete with speed and power rather than stamina, but now I can jog forty five minutes without feeling tired. In fact, long slow distance is my favorite workout, and I get to do it every Monday. I ran to different places every week, and the fact that Lakeville is very spread out makes it possible to try different routes. Uphill workout is the hardest, pool workout is hard as well, but there's not a single day when I'm not looking forward to cross country practice. This afternoon I will be having my first race. It's a home game, and I'll be running the entire 5k course. The weather is chilly, which is a good thing for long distance running; however, the grass is still wet and damp from yesterday's rain, which means that the ground cannot "bounce" me back, and it is going to be harder and takes more time to finish the entire course. The Hotchkiss course is extremely hilly, and at the end of the second mile there's a giant uphill, followed by the hilly golf course, and then another long uphill at the beginning of the third mile. Those are the hardest part of the run, and I dread them so much, but it's a "character-building" process, as our coach, Mr. Bell, always says. 

   Yesterday was my birthday, and I have never received so many birthday wishes in my entire life. The entire cross country team sang me the birthday song, and my dorm floor too. Mr. Iannuzzi, my advisor, baked Brownies for the dorm feed, and I had cheesecake for the dorm feed as well. Although I was very far away from home, my mom still mailed me a pair of Nike shoes as my birthday gift, and I got an email from my dad. My friends back in China also wrote miniblog posts, which made me very happy. I didn't get the chance to go to a real restaurant for my birthday because of the math center, but my friends decided to go to Mizza's tonight to celebrate my birthday, and hopefully after that I get to videochat my dad and grandparents. 

   So far so good. I'm having an extraordinary time here. 

   See you next week.