In A Beach Town, Finally!
Lately it’s felt like the start of summer in South England: clear blue skies, 20 degrees celsius, the sun beating down on the water. Everyone and their mother is out on days like these, and I’m grateful I get to…
belmontlumodev
Graduation and Getting Sick
It is that time of year when kids are moving on to their new grade. These last two weeks started with the five-year-olds graduating. Monday was their last day, so I did a music therapy session with them to celebrate.…
Spring is Reinvention!
We’ve officially entered our working from home era at Fighting Words! We’ll be remote for about a month before we transition into our new office space. I was worried that this interim period would be boring and lonely, but we’ve…
“I Am Joy” and 14 Years of New Hope Girls!
On March 8, 2025, we celebrated fourteen years of New Hope Girls, International Women’s Day, and the book launch of “I Am Joy!” We threw a big, bright, colorful party for our staff, girls, and friends. Every year, they celebrate…
Running to the End
I’ll pick up right where I left off: St Paddy’s weekend in Belfast. I spent the Irish holiday with my friends Eleri and Adam, and we engaged in activities such as: recapping our lore across five hours and three locations,…
Endless Amounts of Fun!
These past two weeks I was with the babies, and then back to the five-year-olds. Babies are precious. Many are walking, but a couple can only take a few steps before falling over. They have the most contagious smiles. Babies…
“It’s Right There, It’s In Your Face”
“We built, and we tried, and we learned. I think if you think about the fact that only 25 years ago this place was burnt to the ground and destroyed, and if you come to see what it is now,…
New Challenges, Interviews, and Festivals
These past two weeks, I have been with the two-year-olds and one-year-olds. Both ages were super adorable. The only real downside of transitioning to these younger ages is the reality of bathroom accidents, increased amounts of crying, and getting sick.…
Japanese Bathrooms
This post is going to be weird. I adore my host family’s bathrooms! Their toilet seat is heated! The toilet has an entire control panel on the wall with three different bidet settings, all with different strengths. You can also…
Friendship and Festivities
The main thing I have been working on in the last couple weeks is creating our submission for the Irish Times spring edition! We have the opportunity to submit some of our workshop stories from the past year, and the…