The final two weeks in Europe flew by that I often wonder if it was even real. My last week in Heidelberg passed by so quickly, saying goodbye to the faculty of the University of Heidelberg and the students who were so welcoming to us. I met a few of them during a potluck we held at the apartments and was fascinated on their reasons for studying music therapy and traveling to Germany to study.
On Thursday, May 26th, a large group travelled to Salzburg for the long weekend which was a dream come true. There I was exposed to the Alps, a city that was so involved with music, where one of my favorite composers lived hundreds of years ago. I also experienced culture shock in Salzburg when I saw snow for the first time on top of the Alps and felt like a child again with amazement that it was there and yes, it actually exists.
After the long weekend, we returned to Heidelberg and began packing up our things from the apartment for our placements in Dusseldorf.
After experiencing some harsh weather, we arrived in Dusseldorf and were welcomed by professional music therapists with a presentation on the LVR clinics in the area. After the presentation, we saw demonstrations of the creative arts therapies, first with music, dance, and finally art therapy.
Once the demonstrations were over, we all went our separate ways to our placements and I was curious on seeing how similar the sessions would look compared to the mock session from the seminar in the University I saw a week prior.
My first day was rough due to the language barrier between my music therapist and I. She spoke little to no English and I spoke little no German, so it was difficult to communicate with one another or go over what happened in the session. I had to pay attention to everything that happened in the session from the client's inflection and their body movements. Some clients spoke English and translated what was happening or what the music therapist asked them and their response.
Yet, even with this barrier, I still interacted with the clients and my music therapist by participating in the music experiences through singing or playing instruments. I felt a connection to the clients, even though I didn't speak the language, and to my music therapist. It was sad to leave on Thursday but I was happy to have met all the clients and the therapists I had the opportunity to observe.
On my last day, I decided to do something spontaneous and went to four different cities before returning to Dusseldorf at 2 for class. We were late due to some delays with the weather and travels but we made it eventually to class an hour late.
After class, we had our last dinner before we began to go our separate ways.
My time in Germany came to an end on June 4th as I sat in the Frankfurt airport waiting for my flight. It was a bittersweet moment to leave this wonderful country that took me in, taught me so much, and accepted me with open arms. This program was a wonderful experience thanks to the faculty of the University of Heidelberg, the German music therapy students, my peers, and the wonderful Dr. Keith for organizing everything.
Germany has helped me grow as a person, has taught me to laugh more, to be more independent, and that it's ok to be open minded. Learning about music therapy, in the states, the different approaches, and Germany music therapy has helped me realized that there is not one right approach. There are many ideas, many ways to use music therapy for your style and population.
All I could say is Danke Germany for all the memories, for the growth, and hoping to see you soon.
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