A Walk Around Artlando 2015 in Orlando

While on Facebook the other day I noticed an event for something called "Artlando" down at Loch Haven Park here in Orlando. I am a sucker for an art festival, or really any outdoor festival, so I had to go. I sent a message to my friend, who I actually met while living in Japan. She's the reason I moved to Hokkaido, convincing me to take her spot in Atsuma when my company wanted to move me there. I guess you could call her my "senpai".

Anyway, she agreed to go and I was very excited as it has been maybe three and a half years since I last saw her! We had a great time and it was fun to walk around and look at a bunch of local artists. There seemed to be a lot going on and I think in the years to come it will grow to be a wonderful art festival.

I ended up buying myself two piece of art. The above and below images are of the two pieces. The top is a fairy house that Fairy Found had made! It was apparently their first time out at an art festival and their booth was packed of people! Their pieces were also really well priced, the largest being about $45. I'll add a few more pieces of her work further on. 

The second piece I bought is this sketch of a badger. I thought the colors were great and well, I am a Hufflepuff so my nerdy Harry Potter lover has to have this $5 print. It was made by Chelsea Smith!

My favorite art that was there was by NIX Abstract. The pieces were just so vibrant and the texture was great. Definitely going to look into buying one of his pieces when I have my own place.

Probably the most adorable art was by RobotsAreAwesome! The handmade and hand painted sculptures are just too adorable. That cake topper is fantastic and I think that the paint it yourself robot is super reasonably priced!

Another one of my favorites were these chickens by Tropical Zombies! I just love their colors and all of his work was vey "Florida" to me. Island inspired and witty. The artist himself was also really friendly and happy to talk to you.

There was quite a bit of jewelry on display, but the pieces by Jortra Boutique were easily my favorites. All made from organic pieces. The bracelets there have pieces of orange peel that were dyed! For $25 they are some of the more affordable handmade jewelry pieces you can find. They also have necklaces made of cantaloupe seeds and coffee beans!

Here's some other pieces by Fairy Found. They are all hand made using stones and various items. The seasonal pumpkin pieces were adorable and perfect for halloween and the larger pieces would be great for a patio stuck between potted plants! I have my little fairy house sitting on my nightstand.

There were also artists that you could see painting actual pieces, like this one by Peterson J Guerrier! Completely love his style and brushwork. Also in the corner you can see an "Artlando" board with stickers on it. You could vote for your favorite artists and at the end, they awarded a winner!

It was a great day out and I think that if I am around next year I will join up as well! They also had a huge grouping of food trucks and it was right by the Science Center so you could pop into some air conditioning to escape the hot heat of Florida in September!

Seventh All-Media Biennial Art Exhibit in Hollywood, Florida

This year my uncle was chosen to take part in the Seventh All-Media Juried Biennial down in Hollywood, Florida. So my mother, Nana and I loaded up into the car and drove down for the weekend. My aunt was also moving back from the Bahamas so all my cousins on that side of the family were in one place for the first time in, I want to say, years, thanks to my being in Japan.

Timing was also on my side and it turned out to be my Nana's birthday weekend. I also ate so much Mexican and Cuban food I was in bed with a stomachache before midnight. Welcome to American cuisine after eating the delicate Japanese diet.

Anyway, the Biennial was held at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, which is nestled in a great section of town surrounded by bars and tiny restaurants. On the way home my aunt stuck her head out and attempted to sing along with a mariachi singer...

Here are some photos I took of the show. If you'd like to check them out yourself in person, it'll be going on until November 1st!

That's my uncle's piece. ;)

This one was my favorite.

Picture Post: Last Days in Sapporo, Japan

My last couple weeks I tried to carry my camera around with me as much as I could and take pictures of the last days I had in the city. Here are the things I did before I left. And ate. Mainly what I ate.

I ate buta-don (pork over rice) at this tiny little shop across from the Central Ward office. This one is actually my friend's, mine was covered in cheese. I recommend no cheese.

I walked around at nice a bit to enjoy all the lights. My neighborhood, I miss you Susukino! Though I don't miss dodging all the vomit piles at 6am.

Had a final trip to the beer garden by Sapporo station on a random Wednesday with a friend.

On the way to get food we ended up walking past this big display in Odori park, probably for Obon.

And we ended up at Rad Brothers, a bar near my place that has one of the more entertaining bathrooms. Surprise long nights out are always the best ones.

That following Friday I went to Mugi Shu Tei with some friends. Mugi Shu means "beer" in Japanese, kinda like how "Nihon Shu" means sake to us.

The walls are completely covered in all of these old beer cans.

I started off my last week in Japan with my favorite Sapporo food, soup curry. This one has coconut milk curry. And pork. And all the veggies. You can find it at Soup Curry Samurai.

For my last dinner with my close friends I ended up getting yakiniku.

Then I made a final trip to Nakajima Park on my last day in Japan.

Where I met a friend for a final Sapporo Classic.

And that night I had more soup curry at a tiny restaurant with my best friend who was letting me crash on her couch.

And at the airport the next day I had my final meal in Japan, kitsune udon with some tempura veggies.

5 First Impressions About Being Back in America

Well, after traveling for an entire day I have made it back to the States. It's currently nearly 6am Thursday and I am laying in a very tall, very huge bed compared to the five or so futons I had laying on the floor of my Japanese apartment. I've been back for over 24 hours now, and it doesn't feel quite real yet. Got approved for my first credit card last night (travel rewards so I'll earn airline miles for purchases) and I have completely unpacked my suitcases.

I've noticed a few things since I have been back, and I thought I would share them. It's really interesting how my view of how things function in public has changed since I was in Japan.

1. Americans really do randomly talk to you.

In Japan I would get the occasional Japanese person who would come over to me and ask where I am from, I was given a tissue cover by an older lady while sitting in Starbucks once and told "thank you for coming to Japan", for example.

I had barely stepped outside the airport (and nearly fell over in shock at the humid heat of 11pm Florida) that a guy laughed and said, "Well this is Florida!" to me and my parents, my parents replied back that I had just gotten back from living overseas and he welcomed me home. I stood there silently not really used to a random person talking to me like that.

2. The random differences in public manners.

When I first moved to Japan a number of things surprised me, and once of them was how when checking out people don't talk outside of the few phrases needed to get the transaction done. In America the cashiers ask how you are and just seem really nice and polite and less like robots than they did in Japan. It makes me feel closer to people.

Also people really do always hold doors open. In Japan you'll just be in a line of commuters and when you all get to a door everyone just walks through it without touching it, the door closes and the people before you just skirt through it, turning to the side and slipping through just before it ends up closed in your face. It's such an infuriating thing because I was raised in a place where you make sure the door is open for the persons behind you. It's also nice to hold a door open for someone and just have them smile and say thank you rather than the frantic rush to get through and over the top, "Oh thank you I'm sorry" that Japanese people do when the door is held for them.

3. Servers talk a lot.

We went out to dinner last night and the server just talked a lot. It was weird. In Japan you don't really even have a specific server waiting on your group, but just people who work there. They are just background figures who take your order and disappear until you call them again or they bring you something.

Our waitress talked to us and shared things with us and I found myself thinking, "okay that's nice but I don't care just go away." It will definitely take some getting used to. I can see why foreigners think Americans overshare all of the time.

4. You can be who you want to be in America.

When I got off my plane in Chicago and made my way through the airport to my departing gate for Orlando I noticed just how many different types of people. Ethnicity aside, people just looks very different. There was a girl with a full upper chest tattoo standing ahead of a me a few people in line and I found myself constantly staring at her because I was so shocked to see it so plainly revealed, there was a family of two mothers and a young daughter waiting at my gate that just made me really happy to see.

In Japan you don't see these things. There is an acceptable range of social "different" that you'll see of course, younger people with colored hair, strange fashion choices, etc. But there is still a very strict line that they don't cross. You don't see gay couples at all, I don't think I ever saw a gay family with children whilst out in Japan. There's huge social stigmas around many lifestyle choices that just don't exist in America.

5. Everyone can understand me.

Living in a country where your native language isn't the main one leads to a feeling of isolation in positive and negative ways. I can have private conversations in public and it's likely that no one will understand what we're talking about. But it's also frustrating when I try and do simple things like cancel my cell phone and am met with a guy who just says, "I don't understand..." over and over again.

Yesterday I opened a bank account and talked to a cell phone company about my options until the new iPhone comes out and I had never felt so anxiety and stress free in my entire life. It's great to just be understood.



So those are my five first impressions about America. It's definitely going to be a huge adjustment going back, and I am already sort of over the reaction I get from people when they find out I have lived in Japan. I had a bank teller talk to me about how I ended up over there, and she said she is now going to Japan when she graduates.

Every other person I've met I have said, "So I have just gotten back in the States after living overseas and I am wondering how I can do..." to try and hide the fact that I lived in Japan for so long, because I am already tired of answering the same questions over and over. Sort of like how I got tired of answering the, "Where are you from?" "What are you doing in Japan?" questions while in Japan.

5 Ways Living in Japan Has Changed Me

This Saturday marked my four year Japanniversary. And today marks the official beginning of my "Last Week In Japan". I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my time here, and I have come to realize just how much I have changed in the four years I have lived in this country.

I'm not the same person I was when I came here. For starters very few people are the same person they were at 22. Your mid-20s change you a lot and going from the sheltered life of a full-time student to an adult with a real job and real bills and a real apartment to manage really shifts the focus in your life. But, deep down, I still feel that I am the same Kaley I have always been, just cleaned up around the edges and more sure of myself.

College was a rough time for me in general, because of my anxiety I didn't really go out and meet people, I stayed inside my apartment watching anime and sleeping too much. I gained a lot of weight and was overall just a really unhappy person. Also didn't help that I was in a pretty emotionally draining relationship. Japan was my chance to start over and remove all off the bad things in my life. So often people have told me that I am so brave for coming to Japan, but I really view it as running away from a life I felt that I had failed at.

I wanted to try really hard in Japan to become that person I was before college, before the anxiety and the depression and losing myself in another person. And I think I did just that.

1. I am more forgiving.

While this is still a part of my life that I feel like I need to work on, overall I think I am a more understanding and forgiving person. When living in a foreign country you're constantly surrounded by people who don't think like you, don't act like you, don't believe in what you do, and don't speak like you do. Because of this you really have to learn to work with people, and not against them. Any sort of conversation I have with a Japanese person is a lot of compromise between the two of us trying to mix our languages and cultures together in order to understand one another. And it's beautiful.

2. Equal Rights matter more to me.

I've always been pro-equal rights. I mean, what good person isn't? But living in Japan has made me understand just how frustrating it can be to be judged for things I have no control over. While I did choose to come to a country that is almost entirely one race, I didn't expect just how often I would be treated separately because I am not "one of them". As a straight, white, female from a nice American suburb these issues have often gone over my head because I just can't understand them, but now that I have (in a very minor way) experienced this frustration I can see why people are as passionate as they are towards receiving equal treatment for things they can't control.

3. I care way less about "things".

When you move across the world you have to be picky with what matters. When you then move across a country you have to be picky about what matters, And when you again move to a different city you have to be picky about what matters. Not to mention my shoebox Japanese apartment doesn't really allow for a lot of "stuff". Looking around my apartment now on the brink of another global move, I realize just how much of the crap that fills me apartment doesn't mean to me and I just want it all gone. Bye!

4. I appreciate simple foods.

I've posted before about my food issues prior to living in Japan, but aside from widening the variety of foods that I was able to stomach Japan has taught me that loads of salt and artificial flavorings don't really make things more delicious. When I first moved here the food tasted bland, but in just a few short months I found that I can no longer handle bags of American Cheetos or bags of Skittles without feeling sick. And my trips back to America have often left me praying to the porcelain god when I gorge myself too much on these heavily processed foods!

5. I realized I can do anything.

Honestly, moving to Japan wasn't that difficult. Compared to everything else I have been through since getting on that plane four years back, finding the job and packing to leave was really easy. It was interacting with people in a language I barely understood, surviving an assault, moving between three different cities (once across country!), and building a strong foundation of friends in a country where I knew zero people that were hard. Thinking about moving to America and all the things I have to do there like getting a cell phone and finding an apartment and even getting a job seem so easy now because, well, everyone speaks my native language! Nothing can stop me because I've done it all before, but in Japanese!

City in Pictures: Hanoi, Vietnam

I've decided to start a new series, "Cities in Pictures". My goal in life is to travel to as many places around the world. During those travels I will take pictures to not only remember the places I've been, but capture their spirit. All pictures are taken by me, and I ask that none are used without permission. Please enjoy a look at the first City in Pictures, Hanoi, Vietnam!

From the top of my hostel I am able to see just how crowded the city is. City planning does not exist, and the same cheap materials make up most of the buildings. Even from this height the never ending cacophony of the streets surrounds us. 

There is a railroad which runs through town, is it in use? I don't think so. There's so safety barriers and the shops are all very close to the tracks. 

A visit to the Temple of Literature shows the dirt and grime with seems to coat the city. Opaque reflection pools of green, weathered monuments. 

Along the streets you see traditional sights, mainly that of women selling local foods. They can be pushy, yelling at you as you wait to cross the street and shoving bananas and pineapples into your hand and demanding money.

Traffic laws are something unknown in the city. Most streetlights don't work, and the streets are so busy that traffic moves at a slow pace. There aren't many sidewalks, and the ones that are there usually have tiny plastic chairs where locals sit crowding the walkway.

The streets are crammed with buildings and the power lines are a cross-crossing mess. It's very easy to get turned around and completely lose your way, but that also leads to great possibility for adventure and exploration.

The pho is fantastic. A light, crisp meal in a bowl that fills you up so you can continue going about your day. Walking along the road you'll see a small shop with people outside, just go in and grab a bowl. Hanoi doesn't really have restaurants, and I think that's fantastic.

Banh mi is a must. Vietnam is great at marrying flavorful meats with fresh vegetables in ways you can't get anywhere else. Not to mention the bread. The bread is just so, so good. It's a light lunch to pick up as you walk towards your night sight.

The center of town boasts a lake. Foreigners line the red bridge to see the Temple of the Jade Mountain. The lake is also home to endangered soft-shell turtles that lucky visitors may get a chance to see. 

The water puppet theater to the north of Hoan Kiem lake is an enjoyable way to spend an hour of your day, even if you can't understand Vietnamese. It's a unique production you'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

Most of the streets themselves are covered in a canopy of bright green trees. It's amazing to see the branches appearing to emerge from the buildings themselves. The abundance of trees leads to nice, shady strolls through the tropical city.

Souvenir shops line most main streets, all housing the same goods packed into their stores, waiting to sell to unsuspecting tourists looking for something unique to bring home.

Remnants of the French occupation are still prevalent around the city, best shown by the dreary looking Notre Dame near the center of town. The gates which surround it give it a feel of an era long past.

At night the streets come alive with stalls selling anything you could think of. It's refreshing to not worry about traffic for once while walking along the roads, and the sound of car horns is replaced by the sound of music.

A food tour is a must in the city. Not only are you guided along by a local you get to try foods you never would have dreamed of. There are so many little set ups of all these different dishes lining the roads, it's hard to tell which are good and which are not-so-good. Hint: It's almost always good if there are people around!

Hope you enjoyed this first city in pictures! Please click on the images for better quality shots!