Journeying to Japan brings joy

The Olympic games in Japan was the inspiration behind a recent travel experience enjoyed by residents at Vivian Bullwinkel Lodge at RAAFA’s Cambrai Village.

The brainchild of the therapy team, the armchair expedition saw the aged care residents enjoy an afternoon of all things Japanese, including a seaweed salad and a talk on Japanese food and culture.

And as part of the activity, Level 2 was turned into a makeshift aeroplane, with residents having to show their ‘boarding pass’ and ‘passport’ as they entered the ‘plane’ - an experience that was particularly enjoyable for seniors given the fact that travel experiences of any kind are few and far between these days.

Alanna Bertoldo, Occupational Therapist at Vivian Bullwinkel Lodge, said the entire team all worked together and went to great lengths to make the afternoon thoroughly enjoyable for residents.

“We really wanted to celebrate the Olympics and Japanese culture and help our seniors to feel part of it all,” says Alanna.

“They particularly enjoyed exploring Japanese customs and culture and they all reported that they’d had a wonderful trip after they’d arrived safely back on Level 2 of the Lodge.”

Feedback from a select number of ‘passengers’ included the following:

“We had a great flight and thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“The team went to a huge amount of trouble to really create an aeroplane atmosphere, it was a fantastic afternoon.”

“It was really interesting to learn so much about Japan, and the food was fantastic.”

Congratulations to Alanna and the therapy team at Vivian Bullwinkel for organising a very inspired activity for seniors at the Lodge.