These past two weeks, I was with the three-year-olds and the four-year-olds. The three-year-olds were so sweet to me! They started telling me that they loved me. It made me feel so happy! All the kids have had water activities to do now that it is so hot. One day, the three-year-olds got to play in the sandpit while the teachers sprayed them with hoses and had a sprinkler on. They were all so messy, but they had so much fun! Nap time starts when I go on my lunch break. Every time I came back, there was always one specific three-year-old who wouldn’t be sleeping. When he saw me, though, he would shut his eyes tight, and I would help him fall asleep. I think the teachers appreciated it. 

The next week with the four-year-olds was full of energy and activities. I got to see them use the pool! They played fun pool games, and the kids who did not have swimsuits got a bucket of water and water shooters to shoot water at the kids in the pool. It was cute and fun. After day one, the kids seemed like they had begun to mellow out. They were not as energetic and did not use me as a jungle gym like I am used to. However, after day two with them, I realized they were still as energetic as before! I had nice conversations with their teachers using Google Translate during the kids’ naptime. We talked about how sad it is that I have to go back to the States. Now that it’s July, it is officially my last month in Japan (insert crying). 

Music therapy with the four-year-olds was extremely fun! Since my time here is ending, I planned a session with lots of games and activities that the children enjoy. We did a freeze dance to APT again. They were singing APT all week leading up to music therapy, so I thought it would be nice to let them dance to it one more time. We also played some games, and the kids did great with following directions, taking turns, teamwork, and using listening skills! I am so proud of the growth they’ve achieved in music therapy. I can see how far they’ve come.

One Tuesday, I got off from the nursery school because my program director, Naoko, wanted to take me to a traditional tea ceremony.  I got to wear a traditional summer kimono, and it was so beautiful and comfortable. Naoko also knew someone who did my hair as well. I felt so beautiful! We were served matcha and desserts, and were taught how to eat and drink it properly and why those traditions are in place. The reason you have to turn the bowl when you drink matcha is because of the design on it. It shows respect to the painters who made the bowl that you don’t place your mouth on the side with the design. The teacher who taught us the tea ceremony traditions also had an adorable small business that I did some shopping at. 

One of the things I have been focusing on outside of the nursery school has been doing these job applications for when I get home. They can be stressful, but after getting into the groove of them, it has gotten less scary. I have been continuing to make time to call my friends and family on the phone during free time. I had a really fun conversation with my friends back home. It is nice that we are all in the same boat in terms of trying to find jobs. Having someone who can relate is reassuring. 

My weekends were awesome and eventful! I went to Nagoya to stay over at my friend Megan’s apartment. It was her birthday that week, and she had a birthday party in a karaoke room with friends. It was a blast, and there were many familiar faces I had seen before. Everyone sang their hearts out, and nobody was too embarrassed to sing. It was a great environment and a wonderful time full of laughter. The next day, after I said goodbye to Megan, I went to the Osu Shopping District. It was super cool and fun. I bought lots of great souvenirs! The following weekend, I went to the zoo with Hiro. Afterwards, I got to meet his nephew! He’s only two months old and so cute! Then I went to Nagoya to see Megan for a little girls’ night! We watched Episode Three of Star Wars, and then I caught the last train home.

These past two weeks, I was with the one-year-olds, the babies, and the five-year-olds. It is very nice to be back volunteering at the nursery school. The babies are so cute! This is my first time being with the new group of babies. One little girl was particularly attached to me. She liked how I comforted her when she cried. The teachers in the baby class tried to converse with me, and they were very kind. It was difficult to talk, but it was much better than when I first came to Japan. It’s the small victories. 

The TV in the one-year-olds’ classroom was used for the first time since I arrived. The teachers put on an adorable show that had many music videos. They had it on to keep the children occupied while taking turns measuring and weighing them. Some children were excited about the show and danced to the songs; others couldn’t care less that the TV was on. 

One day, I went to the five-year-olds’ classroom during the babies’ naptime. It was great to see them again, and they were excited that I visited them. We played lots of card games and arm wrestled. I will miss the kids at the nursery school so much when I leave. 

The next day, the five-year-olds did a tea ceremony in the gym. After I finished music therapy with the babies, I went to the gym to join them. They sat in two columns facing each other and took turns being servers and being served. They would first bring over a tray with a bean paste dessert on it and bow, then, when the dessert was finished, they’d bring a bowl of hot matcha and bow again. The gym was decorated, and classical Japanese music was playing. It was very fun and sweet! It is cool to see the kids learn about the ancient traditions of Japan. The following week, the five-year-olds got another exciting opportunity. They got to play with the children who attend the school for disabled children next door. They all played together, included them very well, and were kind! Many of the parents of the disabled kids remembered me from when I did music therapy with them. I am happy I made a lasting impression. The kids also had the opportunity to learn how to make umeboshi. They pressed and juiced a plant I cannot remember the name of, and learned about how umeboshi is made. Afterwards, they all took turns practicing traffic light rules. One child would hold the sign for the traffic light, one would hold the walk signs, and the other would pretend to be drivers and pedestrians. It tested their knowledge of how the lights correspond with each other, and who has the right of way. 

The nursery school also held a large birthday celebration for the children who have June birthdays (they do an event like this every month). All the kids gathered in the gym to celebrate their friends’ birthdays, and multiple kids’ parents showed up. They sang songs for each other, and the birthday kids went up in state to be recognized and get asked a question like “what is your favorite dessert?” 

These five-year-olds are exceptionally smart. They got very excited over a bee that was outside the window. Each kid ran to look at it, and they were all debating whether or not it was a bee, wasp, yellowjacket, or hornet. Then they ran to grab a big book about bugs, and they analyzed the different kinds of bees and bee-like insects to determine what bug it was. I was impressed.

I got to have fun phone calls with my cousin Isabel and my best friend Emma while I walked to the nursery school and took my lunch break. It is always refreshing to catch up with my favorite people! I also called my mom during lunch one day to help me get started on job applications. Sadly, it’s getting to the time where I need to look for a job back home. 

The rainy season has officially started; it rained every day for a week! As much as I love the sunshine, the way the rain is on the windows in my room makes for a very cozy atmosphere. 

Music therapy with the babies went great! They loved all the instruments, but they did put all of them in their mouths, so everything has to be thoroughly disinfected. Their favorite was the egg shakers. They responded very well to the rattling of the egg shakers and had a blast shaking them around. We worked on following directions, fine motor skills, concepts such as high, low, fast, slow, and counting, as well as vocalizations. I tried to find a Japanese equivalent to the song “Tap Your Sticks” by Hap Palmer, but came up short. It is alright, though, the babies still loved using the rhythm sticks. 

I have been getting sad that I have to go back to America soon. Everything I was missing so much about America, I do not miss anymore. Being with my family reminded me of everything different about America, and I realized how many things I will leave behind in Japan. I’m going to miss how quiet and peaceful Toyohashi is. I’ll miss being a two-minute walk from the nearest grocery store. United Planet prepped me that I would experience culture shock going back home, but I was not sure if that would happen to me. Now I realize it’s real, and it will take me a while to readjust to America. 

On the weekend, I got to call my best friends Emma and Allie, and we all caught up! I also learned that my friend Megan and I were invited to our mutual friend’s wedding back in America. She is going to stay with me the weekend of the wedding! It is so nice to have a friend that I get to continue my friendship with back in America. Hiro took me to Cococurry since I had not tried it yet. I got a level 8, which was a bit too spicy. Afterwards, we went to the batting cages and did karaoke! The following weekend, I did not do much. I relaxed and had a nice, long phone call with my family and friends, and worked on job applications.

My family came to see me and we took a vacation! The day they flew in, I had the day off, so I spent it at Tokyo DisneySea. I was able to do all but one ride I was hoping to do, took tons of photos, and bought a lot of souvenirs. I remember Disney being magical as a kid, but it is still just as magical as an adult! At the end of the day, I reunited with my family at the hotel, and it was wonderful to see them, even with their jet lag. 

On the second day of vacation, we went to a temple and got fortunes. Mine was very good! Annalyse’s was not so great, so she tied it in a knot on the fence to make sure it wouldn’t come true. My family went to an otter cafe and then to the most beautiful local cafe run by the sweetest man. We ended the day with beautiful city views of Tokyo from the top of Sunshine City Mall and took a stop at the largest gacha store in the world. 

On the third day, we started at Hamarikyu Gardens. There, we had an informal tea ceremony with matcha and bean paste desserts. For lunch, we went to the Tsukiji fish market, where I got yakisoba. Afterwards, my dad and I went to Teamlab Planets, while my mom and sister went to Teamlab Borderless. We met back up at the 3D cat billboard and then saw Godzilla Head after we had a delicious gyoza dinner. We ended the day at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building to see their light show. 

The fourth day started at Takeshita Street, which was very fun. We got rainbow cheese corndogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. My corn dog was so delicious! Afterwards, we went to Cafe Reissue for 3D latte art. I got Totoro, my sister got our dog Snowball, my dad got Captain America’s shield, and my mom got Hello Kitty. We then went to Shibuya crossing and saw the Hachi dog statue, and walked through Shibuya crossing. We even got to watch it from the Starbucks located at the crossings. Then we hopped on the Shinkansen to go to our next city… Kyoto!

We started the fifth day in a bamboo forest! We stopped for ice cream, did local shopping, and then went on a hike up to a monkey park. The hike was longer than expected, but as we got close to the top, we started seeing so many monkeys. Tourists could feed the monkeys, and my sister chose to feed them apples. That was a good choice, too because the other option of peanuts was not well received by the monkeys. They threw down every peanut handed to them; it was hilarious! We ended the day making custom music boxes. 

On the sixth day, we went to Fushimi Inari Shrine. That’s the one with all the Tori gates. We thought we wanted to hike to the top, but by the time we got to the start of the official hike, we did not have time to do the whole thing. The local area around the shrine was adorable, and we had fun exploring. We went to an excellent burger place and I had a really good conversation with the staff in Japanese! Everyone (including me) was impressed. Then, we went to Nijo Castle and a fabulous tonkatsu restaurant for dinner. We ended the day with some thrifting. I got a cute purple skirt!

My dad had a surprise for me and my sister on the seventh day. He got a shirt that had Annalyse’s, our dog Snowball’s, and my face all over it. He saved it for the day he was going to meet my host family. We took the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Toyohashi and met my host family for lunch. We got udon! They loved my dad’s shirt and told him about basketball. After lunch, we went to Don Quijote for fun shopping! Then we ended the day with my host family by getting crepes! 

On the eighth day, we went to the nursery school I volunteer at! My family got to meet the staff and the children. They were all very excited to meet my family! My parents were amazed by the independence of the children and how much they accomplished. Afterwards, I showed them my favorite park and got us lunch. Then, we took the bullet train to Osaka!

We started our time in Osaka at Universal Studios Japan. My mom had gotten many fast passes for our family, but we did not need most of them because it rained the entire day we were there. Initially the rain had us bummed out, but after a while we realized it was a blessing. My dad and sister got to ride every single roller coaster(some more than once). Annalyse and I had a blast at Nintendo World since we got the Power Bands. It elevated the experience! USJ was a 10/10!

On day ten, we slept in. We were exhausted from our long day at USJ. After slowly waking up and getting ready, we transferred to a hotel closer to Dotonbori. After checking in, we explored Dotonbori and then got conveyor belt sushi for dinner. Coincidentally, we went to dinner at the perfect time because shortly after we sat down, the restaurant became swamped with tourists waiting for a table. The sushi was a very fun experience, and considering most of it was $1, it was very tasty. Then we did the Osaka Don Quijote Ferris wheel. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. It may sound dramatic, but I was very scared. It is not your typical Ferris wheel. My family ended the night with some karaoke. After my dad said he wasn’t going to sing, he sang six songs. 

The eleventh day had the family splitting up. My dad and sister went to Round 1 while my mom and I went to a cooking class. It was run by locals and was very cute and informative. We learned how to make two types of ramen and two types of gyoza from scratch! Afterwards, we reconvened at the large Lion’s Head shrine and walked to the cinnamoroll cafe. Then we went to Shinsekai for arcades and fun architecture. Afterwards, we got dinner at a local restaurant that got great reviews. The place was run by an older couple. The woman was our hostess, and her husband was the chef. They had all kinds of currency taped to the wall from tourists, and the couple was ecstatic that I was able to talk to them in Japanese! The woman even gave us all free sake! The food was delicious, and we wished we could’ve stayed and gotten to know them better, but we had to head to Teamlab Gardens. On our way out, the couple gave us snacks for the road (also on the house), and we made it to our last stop of vacation. TeamLab Gardens was short and sweet, and the interactive art was very fun!

The next day my family had a slow morning as we made our way to the shinkansen station. That’s where we parted ways and I returned to Toyohashi while they went back to America. It was really great to see my family and experience many cultural activities outside of my little town of Toyohashi!

These past two weeks, I was with the five-year-olds and three-year-olds. The five-year-olds were way more relaxed than the four-year-olds, which was refreshing. It was crazy to think that just a few weeks prior, they were the four-year-olds who would tire me out. I had a lot of fun with them. I have a strong connection with a student with Down Syndrome. It was great to see her again. There was a moment this week when I was communicating with the vice principal, and Google Translate did not work, but I could understand her well enough to respond in Japanese. The staff was so excited, and honestly, I was too. My communication is improving! 

There is a new student in the five-year-old class. She recently transitioned from their academy for disabled children, so she is having some difficulty adjusting to the school’s routines and expectations. She does not get overstimulated easily, but she has difficulty processing verbal instructions. She is very tactile, sensory seeking, so patting her arm repeatedly or swaying while she sits on my lap helps keep her calm. She has the sweetest laugh when something excites her. I could tell she was most likely autistic, and that was confirmed by the teachers. The attitudes about autism here are different from what I am used to. The teachers treat it as a very sad burden, which it can be, but Americans usually have a more nuanced and well-rounded view of autism, from my personal experience. For example, many teachers were shocked that my sister has a job and a driver’s license despite being autistic, whereas in the United States, that is not usually as surprising. Since the teachers have seen how well I work with the kids with disabilities, they have put me with them more frequently. I don’t mind, I have been working with people with disabilities almost my whole life, so I am comfortable with that responsibility. I have also been given the responsibility of helping the kids who have trouble falling asleep at naptime fall asleep. I am usually able to get them sleeping, and it makes me feel very accomplished.

The school hired a magician to come and entertain the children one day. It was a very cute performance that the kids were extremely excited to see. All morning, the kids kept reminding me about the magic show. The show was great, I could tell how he did many of the tricks, but there were a few at the end that I have no clue how he did them. 

I did music therapy with the two-year-olds. They are so adorable! Many of them were curious about my guitar, so I gave them all turns to strum at the end of my session. I was impressed with how well they followed my instructions. Typically, children of this age group need extra assistance, so I was prepared for that, but they understood everything very well. They followed all my movements during the instrument play without needing verbal instruction to do so. They loved using the egg shakers. They loved my modified freeze dance and thought it was so funny when we were all frozen. They even did great listening to my lyrical cues in a movement song to catch what movement they needed to do. When I did music therapy with the three-year-olds they sang very loudly and were great at identifying their colors!

After I finished music therapy with the three-year-olds the five-year-olds came into the gym and the teachers told me not to go anywhere. One of the teachers went to the piano and began to play “Happy Birthday!” All the children and staff sang to me and gave me a little crown. It was so incredibly sweet that I started tearing up! Over the weekend I had a great birthday! My host family took me to a wonderful local Italian restaurant. My friend Emma told me that when I get back she is going to pay for us to go skydiving as my birthday present! That was the most exciting gift I could ever ask for! It gives me a really big bucket list task to look forward to when I am back in America!

I got a day off from volunteering because Naoko (my program director) wanted to take me out to do a cultural experience in Japan. She took me to an old onsen in an old castle that is owned by her friend. It had the most stunning mountain views! It was relaxing and full of history. It is hard to describe how it felt, but being immersed in another culture like this is an incredible feeling. Naoko told me all the nice things the nursery school staff had told her. According to Naoko, they told her that they love having me and appreciate the initiative I take in the classrooms to help the teachers. They also told her that they are incredibly impressed with my music therapy sessions and how professional I am. They were even worried I was overworking myself on the music therapy plans because of how well they have been going! It was incredibly flattering to hear that and reassured me of the difference and impact I am making. The staff even told Naoko they are considering hiring a music therapist to come to the school after I am gone! Which is exactly the goal of my work here! After the onsen, Naoko took me to meet a music therapist her husband met at a conference. She did not know much about him or his work, so she was a bit nervous. I got to observe two of his sessions, and they were incredible!! He is amazingly talented and everything I was taught in college. I got to ask him questions in between the sessions and learned that he is one of the pioneers of music therapy in Japan! He is one of the founders of Japan’s music therapy association! I was stunned and amazed. Naoko had no idea either! What an incredible opportunity that came about as the result of many coincidences lining up in perfect timing. It shows God’s faithfulness and was, yet again, more reassurance that this is where God wants me to be. The next day after volunteering I went to my friend Megan’s apartment since she was hosting an event. We all ate taco rice and played a new board game. I had a great time!

My friend Hiro took me to a Toyohashi baseball game. It was super fun! The crowd was very excited throughout the entire game. I liked watching them play. They were not MLB-level players, but it turned out to be an exciting game. Toyohashi won as well!! Hiro and I got to know each other a lot better, and despite being so different, we relate on a lot as well. It is nice to have a friend. Over the weekend, my sister and I played video games like we used to when I was at my internship. I also hopped on a call with Emma and Allie for crochet club, but I forgot to buy yarn. It was still fun, though! It was nice and relaxing. I have been taking my weekends slowly and trying to be present.

These past two weeks, I was with the four-year-olds. The kids have gotten to know me since I have been here for three months. It is exciting to see my impact on the children. They recognize me at school and in public, get excited when they see me, run up to me for hugs and high fives, and get sad when I leave the school or can’t play with them. It can get hard with all the kids wanting time with me, I wish I could duplicate myself so every kid can have fun without debating who gets to play with me. One day, when we took the kids on a walk to a park, I taught a few kids how to swing. Some of them were trying to pump their legs, but the swing wasn’t moving or pumping opposite to how they should be. I got on a free swing, taught the kids how to do it, and then helped them. Two more kids now know how to swing independently! I was so proud of them!

I have been getting mistaken for a Brazilian more frequently. Many Brazilian immigrant parents at the nursery school see me and ask if I am also Brazilian. I get mixed reactions when I tell them I am American, but it is interesting how often people assume I am from Brazil. 

Despite only being with the four-year-olds, I did music therapy with both the three and four-year-old classes. The three-year-olds were so cute! I brought musical activities to promote socialization and listening. Listening skills are where they need the most growth. They can follow directions and nonverbal cues beautifully. However, listening carefully for specific cues is more difficult. 

I have started making myself chicken onigiri for lunch. The recipe is inspired by my favorite recipe back home, making my lunches so much tastier. On Wednesday, after volunteering, I was picked up by a friend I met at the park on Easter weekend. He took me to his friend’s grandmother’s house for a barbecue. There was another American there, so I had someone to talk to and understand the conversation. The food was incredible! After eating, I brought out my guitar and sang “Country Roads.” It was an enjoyable time. I have been talking much more on the phone with my best friend Emma. She has been great to help me get through the heartbreak of being broken up with. She has even started sending me a daily Pinterest post with an inspirational message to go with it. In my free time, I have been doing everything possible to care for myself. Prayer, feeling my feelings, calling loved ones, exercising, as well as letting myself veg out with snacks and video games. 

I finished my itinerary for my trip to South Korea and packed as much fun stuff as I could into my schedule. Even though I had to go alone, all the activities I planned got me very excited for my trip. The day I flew to Korea was nice, except customs confused me, and I got stressed. Thankfully, some employees helped me kindly. My hotel was awesome, and it had an amazing view of the street it was on. The location was incredible, right in the middle of street markets, cafes, and arcades. My first night there I was waiting in line for a restaurant, and the family in frot of me kindly offered to let me eat with them. It was a husband and wife with the wife’s mother. The couple was in Seoul from California and told me how they immigrated to the United States when they were both young. They have four kids, two of whom are incredibly talented creatives. I was able to tell them all about music therapy and what I do in Japan. They ended up paying for my meal and wishing me God’s blessings and prayers. It was incredibly sweet and an experience that is so unique. It was an experience I wouldn’t expect to have in the United States. Normally, I would be wary of strangers, but Seoul is one of the safest cities in the world! I felt very comfortable. I will miss that when I come home, both Japan and South Korea are incredibly safe countries. The next day I got up early because I had a reservation to rent a hanbok: a traditional Korean dress often worn by royalty. I felt sooo pretty, and the best part was that if you where a hanbok to Gyeonbukgung palace, you get in for free! I spent the entire morning at the palace before going to Bukchon village. I met many Japanese tourists there and was able to hold entire conversations in Japanese! I got many compliments from the Japanese people I met. After returning my hanbok, I had a very delicious lunch! South Korean fried chicken with sweet potatoes. Oh my goodness… おいし！After a food coma nap, I ended the day at N tower. The views were beautiful! Even though I went to bed late, I still managed to wake up before my alarm the next morning. I had a delicious bagel from a cafe near my hotel called Onjisim. It was one of the few cafes open since most do not open until 10 am! The culture in Seoul is so nightlife-based that even coffee shops don’t open early. I went outside of Seoul to go to a spa called “Cimer”. It was amazing, they had multiple floors of pools, experiences, snack bars, and saunas. They even had two waterslides! I started my day at the spa with a massage, then I hit all the pools and slides, and ended my time with the saunas. After I got back to my hotel, I walked down to the night market. I ate a bunch of Korean street food and explored the shops and booths for last-minute souvenirs. Flying home went incredibly smoothly. I had such a blast in South Korea! I am so grateful I got that opportunity, and now my visa is all good for the rest of my trip in Japan! It was also nice to go shortly after my breakup. It was a great time and helped me feel better. I have moved into a new phase of the healing process, and I am proud of myself for how well I have been taking this and how healthily I have been processing it. The following weekend, after coming back from South Korea, I gave myself some music therapy in the park by doing some songwriting.

I have been with the new five- and four-year-olds for two weeks. All the kids are in new classes now. Everyone moved up a grade; that was a surprise! There are new babies in the baby class as well! They are so precious! Since this was my first week back since being sick, I was still in recovery. I had headaches almost every day, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. The five-year-olds found some handbells while I was with them. We sang Do-Re-Me from The Sound of Music and taught the kids the different hand signals for each note. They loved it! Another fun activity I participated in was a relay race with the five-year-olds. They needed me to even out the teams. The girl I passed my baton to was the fastest kid there. I was so impressed! One of the five-year-olds is fluent in English! I am not sure why; she told me her parents speak it at home, but she doesn’t know how they know English. Even though I was able to use more English, my Japanese is still something I am working on and improving. I had a broken, but understandable, conversation with one of the five-year-olds during lunch one day. It was cool to have a kid that I could communicate with easily. I have learned that my Apple Watch can be a translator, so I have started using it to understand simple words that I hear repeated by the children. We took the kids on a field trip to the park. This is not unusual, but it’s always a surprise what work we go to because it’s different each time. The one we went to this time was a far walk. It had me reflecting on how American schools don’t have this same luxury. Not only due to the lack of pedestrian streets, but also because many big elementary schools are on a large plot of land, and it would take 10 minutes just to walk from the entrance to the school to the sidewalk to go anywhere. The four-year-old class I was with had many students I had not interacted with before. In early childhood fashion, many of the new kids were testing their limits with me and how they could play with me. I had a little difficulty with some children climbing on me and similar behaviors because I did not have a good and consistent way to communicate boundaries with them. Thankfully, after a slight learning curve, I have figured out how to set boundaries with them. Now that everyone is familiar with who I am, the classes get sad when I have to leave and swarm me for high-fives and hugs. It is bittersweet because I am happy I have made a good impression, but it is sad to see them sad to see me leave. 

Music therapy was extra fun this time! I introduced a new game with the five-year-olds. It targets their divided attention and listening skills. I lined them up into two lines and placed an egg shaker between all of them. Then we all started singing the Japanese version of head-shoulders-knees-toes with the motions. The catch was that if I replaced a lyric with the word “shaker,” they had to reach for the shaker in front of them. The first person ot catch it won that round. It also helped the kids work on teamwork, because the kids who got out got to cheer on their competitor. After the first two rounds, the teachers wanted to join in too! The four-year-olds had an absolute blast with freeze dance! They have even started requesting it, they had so much fun. We worked on their colors in English and Japanese, which was needed. They have made progress, though, and that is exactly what music therapy is for!

I have started eating my lunch in the park near the nursery school since the weather has been so nice. Now that I’ve started, I can’t stop! It’s such a beautiful park, and it’s so peaceful eating there every day. It gives me a nice chance to clear my head and relax. Since the park is a public setting, I can call my friends on my lunch break! I talked to my besties Emma and Allie to catch up, and it was great. 

One day, on my way home, it was raining very hard. On my walk, I passed a mother with her young daughter. The daughter’s umbrella popped inside out, and it made the young girl laugh so hard. Her laughter was so contagious! It was nice that something so simple made a nice moment with some strangers, especially something that would normally be a bother. Children help show me the whimsy in life. 

My host brother Souta bought a goldfish. I am not sure where the fish is in the house. I have not seen it since he bought it. It seemed like the whole family was excited when we went to pick it out, so I am sure it is well taken care of! Hinata got a new game for the DS. It’s a game I recommended she play, and now she plays it all the time!! It makes me wish I had brought my DS, but I did not want to overpack, so I only brought my Nintendo Switch. Since it was Easter season over the weekend, I decided to fast for half of the day on Friday and then study the scriptures in the park on Saturday. While I was at the park, I met two guys who requested to take a video of me giving some kind words to their friends who are getting married. They showed me their project, and they had all kinds of people wishing their friends happiness, mostly foreigners. They asked me because they figured I was a Brazilian, but when I walked by them, I smiled, and that let them know I was an American. Smiling at strangers is an American giveaway. I ended up hanging out with them. It was nice to feel like I had some friends in Toyohashi, especially since one of them was fluent in English. On Easter Sunday, my (now-ex) boyfriend and I went on a break. It made it incredibly difficult for me to concentrate the following week. However, I pushed through it, and the kids at the nursery helped keep my mind off it. Then, the following Saturday, I was broken up with. It is gut-wrenching going through this in another country. However, it is showing me how strong I am. Although it makes it more challenging, it has not hindered my ability to show up and do volunteer work for the kids. The day after getting dumped, I went to Ghibli Park. I had bought my ticket months ago, and I was not going to let a man ruin my plans. I ended up having a great time! I made a new friend that I met through an English speakers group chat I am a part of. I had an extra ticket, so she used it. We both had a wonderful time and have a lot in common. We both love The Secret World of Arrietty. I bought so many souvenirs as well, and I cannot wait to decorate my place in America with my souvenirs.

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. We did multiple rounds of freeze dance to songs that are popular amongst their group, egg shaker games, and singing. They had lots of fun, and each got to stand up and make music for their peers. Sadly, it was the last time I would see this group of kiddos, but I know they will be successful kindergarteners! I was with the four-year-olds on Tuesday, Wednesday, and on Thursday I was with the three-year-olds. It was a typical week with them. I got Friday off due to the graduation ceremony for the five-year-olds. 

The school was in transition because the five-year-olds graduated and only came on Monday. The commotion of the teachers preparing for the new school year made my role a little less structured than it typically is. 

Since I will need to renew my visa in May, I am going to South Korea during Golden Week. I booked my flights to and from Seoul and filled out my customs declaration form to get back into Japan more smoothly. It was difficult to find the links to fill out my customs declaration, and I still need to see if there is anything I need to do to make Korea’s customs smoother. Hopefully, I will be fully prepared and have an easy transition through customs. 

I went on a picnic in Nagoya with my American friend Megan. She invited me, as well as other English speakers, to join her on a picnic in a beautiful park in Nagoya! There were food trucks, TONS of people, and the sakura was blooming. I had a blast and met some wonderful people I would love to see again. I connected with an American girl that I have a lot in common with, and one of the guys was into art and made a beautiful painting of the grand gazebo we were sitting by. My food was delicious, I got a taco and loaded fries! 

The next day, Kyoko took me to her salon to give me highlights and a haircut. She did wonderfully, and I loved how it turned out. Unfortunately, I threw up in the middle of the appointment! I did not think much of it, I assumed I had eaten something bad. As the day went on, I felt worse and worse. This led to a trip to the ER. We were worried I had appendicitis. Thankfully, I was clear of appendicitis, but I was very sick with my fever spiking at 102. Kyoko was a wonderful host mom through my sickness, though. She took great care of me and helped me not be afraid. It is a scary experience being so sick in a foreign country. If I had an illness that required more serious action, I would have been terrified of medical malpractice since I did not have the language to speak up for myself. All the glory to God that I was not that sick, but on the downside, I was bedridden for an entire week. In hindsight, I was extra tired and in a slump the week leading up to being sick. Maybe it was a warning sign, or maybe it was just the chaos of the school being in transition. Either way, being sick was miserable, but I recovered and am back in action as I am writing this. I experienced my first bout of homesickness while being sick. I missed my American comfort foods, my family, and my cushy bed and parents’ couch that reclines all the way back. I think it was just because I was sick that I felt this homesickness, since I was bedridden, bored, and lonely with very few foods I was able to keep down. Thankfully, by Saturday, I felt well enough to try to get back to my normal routine. It wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t want to be sick anymore.

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 are one of my therapeutic strengths, and it is always fun to observe their developmental state. I can see how they are processing the nursery they are in, cause and effect, and the different stages each child is in. The five-year-olds seem so big after being with the infants! They are fun, though! I got to play a lot of games with them. They taught me new card games like speed and old maid. I taught them how to shuffle. Well, I taught some of them how to shuffle, and some of them had difficulty figuring it out, but that’s okay. They also liked playing dodgeball with me. They play dodgeball differently here than I am used to. They only used one ball, and if you got hit, you got sent to the out-of-bounds zone behind the other team. You need to get everybody on the opposite team into your out-of-bounds zone to win. However, being out of bounds does not mean you are out of the game. If a ball goes out of bounds, a player on the out-of-bounds team has to get the ball, and they can try to get someone who is still in, out (why they have to be on the side of the opposite team). If they successfully get someone from the opposite team out, they can go back into their team’s square. I hope I explained that well; it’s hard without a visual aid. I also got to play jump rope with the kids, which was super fun! One little girl got over 100 jumps in! I played with them so much that the children began to pick up on English phrases like “Nice catch!” One five-year-old asked me to put my signature on one of her drawings after I came back from a lunch break. Although I found it a little odd, I signed her picture. After I did that, everybody suddenly wanted my autograph. I told the teacher I felt famous. Now, there are a large number of five-year-olds in Toyohashi that have my autograph. I got to practice my hiragana with the kids, and I helped them practice their English characters. I even got to show them the difference between cursive and print. During some downtime, I taught the five-year-olds how to play ninja. It was the best worst decision I made because the kids loved it. They loved it so much that it was the only thing we played for the rest of the day… we had two hours left. They all ganged up on me as well. It was funny seeing how excited they got when they got me out, but they did not even care about playing until there was a winner. Once I got out, they all took it as a collective win. I am glad they enjoyed the game. 

Music therapy with the babies was a huge success. The week was cut short due to the closed nursery, so I did my session earlier in the week. I did a lot of fine motor activities, encouraging the babies to follow instructions and manipulate their fingers. I did a counting song with visuals on my iPad for them to count. I let each baby try strumming on my guitar for sensory integration. I also did the adapted freeze dance. There was one baby girl in particular that hit a specific pose every time I froze. I was impressed because it appeared the infants understood the cues better than the one-year-old class. The teachers enjoyed the session and were so impressed that they specifically requested I do a session for them again the following week! The week I was with the five-year-olds, I went to a different facility for music therapy. The facility I went to was for children with various disabilities. The property the nursery school is located on has other facilities dedicated to other groups. I was not sure what to expect in terms of age and abilities, so I prepared a lot of activities. Fortunately, I was able to use many of the interventions I used with the babies’ group for the disability group. The group consisted mostly of infants and toddlers and were accompanied by their parents. It went great! I felt very professional being able to adapt so quickly and still have a successful session. I hope I get to do more sessions at this facility. After my session, I was unexpectedly asked to do another session that week with the babies at the nursery school. Even though it was short notice, I am a professional and said yes. It was another successful session. I added some new activities I had not done with them before, like egg shaker songs. 

After my session at the alternate facility, at the end of my day, I was preparing to walk home when Nobu and Souta showed up! They yelled at me from their car and asked if I wanted to get crepes with them on the way home. It was a delightful surprise that I graciously accepted! There is a local crepe place owned by my host family’s friends, so we go there relatively regularly. I can’t complain because the crepes are delicious! Later that day, I showed my host brother the game Nintendo Switch Sports. He has a Nintendo Switch, but he doesn’t have that game. I knew he would love it, and he did. He said, “One more round,” about eight times. I let him borrow my Switch to keep playing while I got ready for bed. He was very grateful. 

I traveled to Nagoya the week that the nursery was closed on Thursday and Friday. Stepping into Nagoya felt like a 2000s movie scene where the main character gets out of the taxi in the big city for the first time. I walked out of the subway station and was greeted by tall city buildings and huge streets. It was a stark contrast from my little town of Toyohashi. I went to Nagoya to see a friend from Belmont who was working as a missionary. She was holding an event at her apartment for young adults who speak English. It was so refreshing being around people who speak my native language! I had a blast and made some friends I hope to keep for a long time! We played Jackbox, ate taco rice and brownies, and got to know each other. Fortunately for me, Megan (my Belmont friend) let me spend the night at her apartment since my journey back would take so long. The following morning, she took me to brunch, and it was the most delicious breakfast I have had since arriving here. My host mom is wonderful at cooking, but this food was exquisite. I will put a picture in so you can see what I ate. On my way back to Toyohashi, I met a kind man who asked me about my motion sickness goggles (In English!). I was able to tell him that I was living in Toyohashi and why in Japanese! He was only visiting the town to go to a museum, but he was curious about my funny goggles. The following weekend, I went to Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo with my host sister. Since the Shinkansen is so expensive, we took a bus company. It took us about 6 hours to get there and then 7 hours to get back. On the way back, we went on an overnight sleeper bus, which was a rougher sleep than on the plane ride here. Sanrio Puroland was very cute, though. I got to take cute pictures and get cute merchandise I am going to cherish for a long time. 

I ended up going to the doctor because my fingers had gotten itchy, dry, and flakey, amongst other things. I have never had eczema before, but that is what the doctor thinks I might have. It does run in my family. The appointment and medications were shockingly cheap, and I applied for an insurance claim as well. It was just hard to believe how affordable it was before insurance. However, I learned that the Japanese people have extremely high taxes to lower the cost of healthcare.

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. I did not let it scare me, though; this is nothing I have not seen before. One two-year-old particularly liked me, and one of the teachers taught him how to say “I love you” in English. After he learned that, he would run over to me, say “I love you!” and then run away again. It was precious. Because these age groups take a nap after lunch, the teachers allowed me to visit other classes during the nap. The first class I revisited was the three-year-olds. They were VERY excited that I briefly came to play with them and made me into a human tower. The teachers are incredibly friendly. I have felt appreciated here, and many of them practice their English with me and help with my Japanese.

There was an earthquake drill when I was with the two-year-old class. It was similar to the U.S. in that the children got under their tables to shield their heads. What made it different was that every teacher was supplied with a helmet (including me), and their job was to make sure no kids exposed their head or neck from under the tables. The one-year-olds were precious. During my time with them, there was an assembly, and a lady did a puppet show. The show was cute, and I was able to understand the gist of it. However, during the puppet show, our jobs were more chaos control, ensuring the one-year-olds didn’t run off or become too fussy. 

Music therapy with both age groups went great! The two-year-olds did have challenges with attention skills. However, the room they had me do the session in was the gym, so the children associate that room with being able to run around like crazy. Other than that, they loved playing with the scarves and shakers. I translated finger play songs into Japanese to target fine motor skills and adjusted the hello song to fit their developmental stage. With the one-year-olds, I tried an age-appropriate freeze dance song. They decently grasped it and thought it was hilarious when I froze. 

I got interviewed for the newspaper this week. My host grandma from my previous post was interviewed for her work hosting foreigners, and learned about what I am doing in Japan and wanted to interview me too! He came by the nursery, observed my session with the two-year-olds, and asked questions. I do not know when the article will be published, but I am excited to see it. It made me feel important! 

These past two weeks were the first time I started getting complimented on my Japanese. That was very exciting because it means I am improving, AND it’s noticeable!

Over the weekend, my host family took me to the arcade. It was so cheap! Every game and claw machine, no matter what, was only 100 yen. That is only 66 cents in USD. I had a blast for less than $10. I also called my friends and family a lot to talk. That was nice. I usually call my loved ones regularly, but the time spent talking was higher than normal over this weekend, and it was rejuvenating. The following weekend, I went to experience a Japanese festival! This festival was to worship and pray to a god of fertility. Many people were there despite it raining the entire time. There were many themes of wishing people luck in having children and hopes for their children’s futures. I went with an English student of Naoko’s. It was nice of her to find someone to go with me. The festival ended up being so much fun! I ate great food; there were so many food stalls! It ended with a huge parade in honor of the god. I also got souvenirs for me and my friends! I love being able to experience local Japanese culture.

Since my last post, Japan has started to feel like another home. I have never lived anywhere for an extremely long time, so I am used to adjusting to new places as my temporary home. I thought it would be much harder to do that in a different country, living with a host family I didn’t know before coming here, but after the initial culture shock and nerves, I settled right in. My volunteering schedule has gotten into a nice groove. I work with a different age group every week, get to know them, plan for a music therapy session with them, and then at the end of the week we do a large group music therapy session. It has been a comforting routine because it allows me to take a few days to prepare for my sessions. Extra session planning time is needed here because I have to translate my entire session which turns into me outlining a script and then practicing how to communicate and sing in the Japanese language so that it is seamless during the actual session. 

I was with the four and three-year-olds for the past two weeks. The four-year-olds enjoyed playing with me. They seemed interested in just observing me as a person. I almost felt like a foreign creature. They were rowdy at one point so I decided that encouraging them to color with me would help give me time to catch my breath. What ended up happening was that I colored while the kids watched and handed me colored pencils they thought I might want. It was hilarious. Some did end up coloring and giving me their artwork as a very sweet gift. The three-year-olds were very rambunctious. I was constantly on my toes. They were fascinated with my hair and played with it every day, which I did not mind! One three-year-old even spoke English! The week I was with the four-year-olds the school was playing “shop”. Each classroom was a different store and sold various goods that were crafted by all the classes. Each class took turns being a shop and being a shopper. They had little paper money and would exchange it for the fun crafts made by the other children. It was adorable. The store goods included pretend lollipops and candy, spinning top toys made out of paper plates and bottle caps, superhero capes made out of old fabric, and paper headbands with popular Japanese characters like Hello Kitty and Pikachu. The school did an intruder drill that same week. It scared the crap out of me! Instead of just announcing that there was an intruder, they had a teacher dress up as an intruder and run into the classrooms while screaming. The teachers had to quickly push her out of the room and lock the doors while all of the children instinctively hid under their desks. I was standing there after that jumpscare and like a character in a sitcom I slowly made my way to the floor to match the actions of everybody else. It was quite hilarious.

My first music therapy sessions were a huge hit! I was honestly quite impressed with how well the children were able to follow instructions despite my broken Japanese and their age group. From my observation, Japan does a great job of introducing structure and behavioral expectations to children starting at just one year old. Not that the school is strict or harsh with the children, but it’s small actions that add up that make a difference, such as switching their shoes as soon as they come into the building and helping to serve lunch. Getting back to music therapy though, the children had a great time singing, playing with rhythm sticks, egg shakers and scarves, and dancing. I translated my songs into Japanese and had a script to follow to maximize the outcome for the children. I used a song to ask them questions about the day, month, and season which they understood and responded with enthusiasm. I worked on nonverbal communication through the rhythm sticks, encouraging them to follow my movements despite not speaking or singing, and encouraged them to interact with their peers (safely of course). The scarves allowed them to have some free dance time, but it was also used to work on receptive communication because they had to listen to the guitar for their dance cues. I also translated and memorized the hokey pokey in Japanese to work on coordination and learning left vs right. That was a fun challenge! It was beautiful watching how the power of the music transcended language in places where I needed it to. The joy of the children was contagious and the staff was truly grateful and impressed with my work. I missed working with groups of children. The four-year-old class was so grateful for me spending the week with them and doing music therapy that they made me the cutest thank you sign. It meant the world to me. 

I went to Okazaki for the weekend and stayed with a different host family. It almost felt like going to grandma’s house. I left the home with siblings and busy schedules and went to a house where the kids are grown and have moved out. I got spoiled and fed more food than I could eat, and then I went home at the end of the weekend. My temporary host mom (or host grandma) was very very sweet and an excellent cook. I taught her husband how to play gin rummy with their Ohio State playing cards they got from a previous host child. The reason I stayed out of town for the weekend was that Naoko had invited me to see a pottery exhibition for a previous United Planet volunteer who ended up moving to Japan to pursue pottery. He was very kind, it was nice to talk to an American. The exhibition was in Tokoname so I got to explore the area. It was very cute, definitely a hidden gem. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold that day. Before I left Tokoname, my host grandma took me to the mall. I didn’t do much shopping and spent under $10, but I had a great time. They had an entire store of only gacha machines. I walked through the entire store before deciding which machine I was going to try my luck with. I ended up getting a little cat dressed in a pineapple! The following weekend I went to see my host brother, Souta, play basketball. He was the smallest one on the team, but he did great. Life here moves slowly. It is causing me to be more present and relaxed. I do not know what is making life feel like this, but I appreciate the slowness.