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.