Between April 29th and May 29th, I traveled, tasted, celebrated, cried, laughed, explored, sniffled, healed, admired, worked, walked, frowned, smiled, and discovered new things about myself and those around me. I found several four-leaf clovers. I met up with a new friend from Finland. I ate hamburger. I led my kindergarteners around the Yagiyama zoo (and didn’t lose a single one). I found a cafe/shop with connections to Portland, OR. I went to the Aoba Matsuri festival. I didn’t scald my mouth on takoyaki. I watched “The Sound of Music” and ate Indian food with my friends after a really hard day. I bought a new duvet cover at IKEA. I learned how to say the days of the week in Japanese. I ordered the wrong cappuccino. I wore my red pants on Red Day. I ate a lot of golden kiwis. I played volleyball. I cooked with eggplant for the first time. I gave myself a haircut. I cleaned my bathroom. I bought cold medicine (and won’t be buying the same one again). I tried to make Mother’s Day special from 4000 miles away. I found a five-leaf clover in Matsushima Bay. I ate Thai food for the first time in a long time. I backed into a really difficult parking spot. I went to a cafe by myself. I brought a plant back to life. I drank a lot of tea. May has been the most challenging month of all my months in Japan emotionally, but I grown even closer to my friends here and grown a bit individually as well, I think.