==JAPAN: KM== [Hobbies]

My name is Porgy. I want to introduce my best friend. The first time I met her was when she was 15 years old. I was introduced to her by our music teacher at our high school. My first impression of her was that she was a serious student, but I often laughed at her because she often knocked against the benches in the school hallways and bruised her legs. In spite of her being so clumsy, we soon became good friends and spent every day together.
At first, she treated me very tenderly and paid attention to my needs, but now, she doesn't take care of me like she did then, and sometimes she doesn't even care about me. I'm very sad. She used to help me stay beautiful but now the fact that I have become dull and unattractive makes me more sad. But I know well how busy she is, and our friendship will go on, so I grin and bear it, hoping she will not ignore me forever.
We have many memories. Not only pleasant ones, but also sad ones I remember clearly. We went on the stage together many times, and practiced for the performances every day -- our high school's music concert, the anniversary of the school's founding, the All-Japan wind instrument music contest, and our club's regular concert were our big events. The first time she played in a concert with me, she was under extreme tension, couldn't play well, and soaked with sweat. Day by day, her tension disappeared, but to tell the truth, her skill didn't improve as she wished.
In the first winter after we met, she took part in a Saxophone Quartet with me, and we played in an Ensemble contest for the first time. I remember how she always fretted about making a mistake and pulling the group down, especially because the other members were older and experienced. Then our team became the delegation for the Kobe area and we advanced to the Hyogo Prefecture tournament. A few days before the next meeting, there was a big earthquake -- the "Hanshin Awaji Daishinsai". It destroyed our everyday lives, and killed many people. One of her friends fell victim to it, too. At that time I lived in our high school with many friends, so she and I couldn't meet for a while. She was anxious about me, wondering if our high school buildings had fallen down, and if I might be buried under roof tiles and concrete. But thanks to its strong structures, we stayed safe. Needless to say, the Hyogo prefecture music contest was called off. People had to live without water supply, electricity, and gas. A few days after the terrible disaster and the whole city had calmed down a little, some volunteers of our brass band club decided to play music and cheer people up at two temporary shelter areas. After the concerts, I realized what a big power music had. I knew my friend had felt it, too. Music could heal people's hearts and encourage them. Little by little, our city was reconstructed, but the lost things couldn't be wholly recovered, and deep scars remained in people's hearts. Our brass band's members practiced to separate themselves from the sadness and someone even played the part of a member who was killed by the earthquake.
My best friend had never shown her weakness to other people on any occasion, but she often grumbled to me about many things, and even shed tears of vexation. Only I knew these things, and I always patiently listened to her.
The All-Japan wind instrument music contest was the biggest event of our club, and to advance to the national meet, we practiced hard every day, all day long, during the summer vacation. I liked the summer break because I could spend the whole day with her. But since the practice was very hard, all members were dead tired, and there was sometimes something wrong with my body. I fell down two times in the midst of playing a concert, and then my mouthpiece was broken. She felt deep sorrow over my injury, took me to a musical instrument store and chose the best new part for me. My new mouth didn't seem to fit me at first, but thanks to her efforts, the "surgery" was successful and my singing voice recovered gradually.
Last spring, we came to Fukui in defiance of her parents' opposition. Her mother said not to bring me to Fukui, because she thought her daughter would not study as before. But her worry was exaggerated. We live well and enjoy our university life. Now we take part in our high school's graduate brass band, another university's brass band club, and jazz society. We will make more and more memories, live together forever. She wants to have my sister "Bess" come and live with us some day. She will surely make Bess sing in her fantastic soprano voice. I want to hear it, too. In fact, I talked it over with Bess, and we "Saxophone Kids" made up our minds to devote our whole life to our mistress.

"Getting It Together"

My senior high school life cannot be told without including my alto saxophone. I was not a good student, and I played it before school, lunch break, and after school, then slept in classes. So almost all of my senior high school's memories are wrapped up in it. Saxophone is one of the musical instruments comparatively easy to play. And we can make many kinds of sounds. I hope you will try to play the saxophone if you have a chance. The title of my essay is the name of an opera I like very much. My senior played it in a contest. Needless to say, it has a very beautiful solo part of alto saxophone. I want to play the part well, and some day have a soprano saxophone. This is how I decided the name of this essay.