Balancing work, childcare, and applying to open calls whenever I found the time, I somehow ended up with an exhibition in Armenia!
Fortunately, my monthly request for extended day care was accepted. By early July, I was constantly busy preparing for two things at once: the Tama Art Meets All open-call exhibition coming up in September, and my travel to Armenia.
For insurance, I took out an overseas travel policy through Sompo Japan and printed out all the documents.
My number one “must-bring” item turned out to be Pocari Sweat powder! Since I was terrified of getting heatstroke, I also packed plenty of salt tablets.
As for my mobile connection, I set up a physical SIM card locally with VIVA, alongside 8 days of e-SIM usage through Trifa. I ended up buying the physical SIM at the airport right after arriving. VIVA was surprisingly good—around 1,500 yen for 15GB.
However… to be completely honest, the staff at the airport VIVA counter was a real pain. They had the cheapest plan on display, but tried to sneakily switch me to a more expensive one. We got into an argument until I made them switch it back to the budget plan. To top it off, when I asked for my passport back, they literally tossed it at me! I was so furious.
On a lighter note, using the Wise debit card made transactions incredibly smooth.
Here are the souvenirs I brought from Japan:
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Soy sauce rice crackers (senbei)
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Sweet plum-and-sugar rice snacks
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Green tea bags with matcha
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Thinly sliced mochi
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Nori (dried seaweed)
I couldn’t find the fabric scraps I was hoping for at the flea market.
In the end, though, I managed to get the pieces I wanted directly from a local sewing artist. In return, I gifted them some of my own kimono fabric scraps.
It turns out that for getting what I truly wanted, my kimono scraps were far more powerful than any credit card or cash. That was my biggest takeaway this time.
To be continued!