Art on the Streets

A short slideshow of some places that I've seen here in Santiago.

These are the coolest park benches. I'm pretty sure I'm an artist at heart. Perhaps I should just find my medium.

And some other "graffiti" and murals from downtown.

Statue:

Golden Week Holiday

I spent one of Japan's beloved holidays, Golden Week, in my house sick with a cold.  I was able to get out for one of the days however, and we drove down to Kawaguchiko, one of the five lakes on the north side near the base of the grand volcano and Japan's symbol, Mount Fuji.  Here are a few shots from the day.

We visited Itchiku Kubota Art Museum and Saiko Iyashino-Sato Nenba, a traditional craft village.  We had also planned to visit a common starting point for Fuji's climb, Sengen Shrine.  The Golden Week traffic caught up with us however, and instead of sitting on a 4-mile stretch for several hours, we decided to cut our day short and go home.

I can't believe that my time in Japan is coming to an end.  I want to focus on having fun, creating lasting memories, and packing to go home, but my mind is also preoccupied by the Japanese Language Proficiency Test that I will be taking on July 1st.  I have very little chance of actually passing this test, but I will take it none-the-less.  If nothing else, it will be good practice for the next one I plan to take in NY next year.

Spring is here! Eco-challenge for this week - try drying all of your clothes on hangers or on a line instead of using a drying machine.  They dry faster than you think, and you'll save some money too!

Passions

With permission from the artist, I am posting Zom's "green woman."  I found this blog entry and thought that it was fitting not only because it was about "Poison Ivy," an environmental fanatic turned villian, but also because I liked the content of the blog entry.  It's true that being an artist allows one to explore many different interests and find ways to incorporate the new knowledge into his or her work!  So here is the woman with grass hair, and the entry about following passions.

Obsessions and Weird Interests - Blog Entry "Pinch Me To See If You're Dreaming"

Poison Ivy

Woman with grass hair by Zom.

Christmas has arrived in Japan!

Art tests

A teacher gave me some muffins, so this was supposed to be the thank you card.
She thought they were mushrooms. :)