Magic

Something magical happened today.

So, today I was jogging (I'm never going to stop getting surprised when I type that) at a park that's right around the corner from my homestay house (I'm really glad that's there, it reminds me of the park across the street from my house back home) and jamming to some tunes (read: bad pop music) as I meandered past groups of people.

Broken down, the park usually consists of a few joggers, some middle-schoolers, and kids with their parents. Pretty much what you'd expect, I mean, it's a park.

So I was jogging (lol.) past this group of mothers who were standing around talking as their older kids played on the grassy area. Besides the mothers, there was this itty bitty Japanese toddler waddling around.

Now, I generally don't have a soft spot for kids. And when kids, Japanese or not, are screaming/crying in public, and I see the mother's worn face as she tries to hush them, I think, "Haohaohhh, sucks to be you." No sympathy. Kids generally annoy me.

But Japanese kids are different. See, Japanese people are usually on the shorter side in general, right? (Right.) So when they have KIDS, their KIDS are even shorter/smaller than normal kids, making them overall more "Awwwww"-worthy. They're like Munchkin Cats. Except human. And babies. And Japanese. They're Japanese Munchkin Baby Humans.

A video of a munchkin cat that will literally make you sell your dog to get one it's so cute, BE WARNED.

So I'm going past this group of Japanese mothers and this teeny-tiny Japanese girl and as I start to walk past her, she's watching me and I'm watching her and I smile because I'm polite as hell.

And then something magical happened.

Now, typed out, it may not sound magical. But when you're in a foreign country where you're unlike every other person nearby and you have to work your ass off to do what they do best (speak Japanese and be cute) and where you're just DIFFERENT it's hard to feel 100% accepted.

But as I walked past that little Japanese Munchkin Baby Human, her face broke into a smile and she raised her little hand at me and waved.

Soon, my face matched hers and I was grinning and laughing and I waved back, and although I had my earplugs in I knew the mothers were all watching and laughing as well, and as I waved back the little girl smiled even more broadly, and it was LITERALLY the definition of magic.

Magic 

mag·ic

   [maj-ik]  

noun

1.	The art that, by use of spells, supposedly invokes supernatural  powers to influence events; sorcery 2.  A teeny-tiny Japanese Munchkin Baby Human waving at you and smiling to create a swelling of emotion in your heart region.

Out of all my workouts 'til now, this one was by far my best.