One evening, when I went out with my second ambassador, (a former corporate student who now lives in Tokyo), I accidentally left my umbrella in a washroom. When I realized I had lost it, I felt devastated. I loved it so much. I hardly ever lose things, yet I managed to lose it so soon.

After dinner, my second ambassador and I decided to go back to the places I had visited earlier to look for my little umbrella. I had completely lost hope, but luckily I found it in the exact spot where I had left it. I felt so relieved to finally get it back.

After that, I told him that I had accidentally bought such a small umbrella, but he teased me and said, “It’s clearly small. How could you not notice?” Maybe he realized how weird I am. Still, I was just happy to have found it again. In the end, he told me, “Don’t lose it once you’re back in India.”

On the last day of the trip, an open-invitation gathering was organized at the hotel lounge, where students, instructors, and staff could drop by and meet us in person.

That evening, we had a small gathering in the hotel lounge. I met some students and CALN team members in person. Yano-sensei also introduced me to an elderly couple who were her guests. I spoke to them in Japanese, starting with basic topics, but soon the uncle suddenly began talking about Indian politics, which made me think, ‘’I guess uncles are also probably the same everywhere in the world’’. I was impressed by how informed he was, though it is challenging for me to express political opinions in Japanese. I wasn’t very interested in the political discussion, and as more people joined, we started talking about other things, mostly about my trip experiences.

I talked a lot about my travels in Japan, completely in Japanese. Everyone kept nodding, so I assumed I was making sense. There was also a Chinese guest, and his command of both Japanese and English was very impressive. He mentioned that although political situations can be complicated, people from different countries usually don’t have negative feelings toward each other. It’s always nice to talk to people who are knowledgeable and aware of many different topics. You can learn a lot from them.

That’s why I feel I’m only sometimes a teacher, but always a student. I get to learn something new from our students every day. We share knowledge and try to understand each other better.

Meeting people I usually interact with only online felt special. It made the trip feel more complete, and I hope I get the chance to meet more of our students in person next time. This trip was full of first times and moments where I was completely on my own. I came back home with many experiences and learnings, and also with a lot more confidence.

Honestly, I rarely travel alone, and I’m always afraid of getting lost. But during this trip, I navigated on my own and didn’t get lost even once. That felt like a big achievement for me. There were moments when I felt scared while being alone in unfamiliar areas, but everything worked out.

I also became more aware of how I approach unfamiliar situations. I tend to be a little reserved at first, but Yano-sensei often encouraged me to make the most of opportunities to use Japanese outside the classroom. These experiences helped me become more confident in using Japanese. Looking back, I realized that a bit of pressure can sometimes bring out the best in us.

After this trip, I also felt that my connection with students grew a little stronger. Visiting Japan and meeting some of them in person gave me many new experiences to share during our lessons. It feels like we now have more common stories and perspectives to talk about.

As the trip came to an end, I also remembered a funny moment from a video call with my mother. She told me, “Don’t go anywhere far alone, okay?” It was such a silly and funny thing she said, and it made me laugh. I replied, “But I’ve already come so far on my own.”

Thank you for reading and being part of this journey.