- How did you choose the city/university for your exchange semester?
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I wanted to get away. Far away. Anywhere where I didn't know anything or anyone, where I had no idea how anything worked. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. Away from the ordinary. To a place that challenges me on many levels. A place that would shake me up.
- What has been the biggest surprise in the new city/at the new university?
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The campus of Geidai University in the Ueno district is a small oasis in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. I was surprised by the peace and serenity of the place. That the campus is actually located in a lush garden, with old camphor trees and fragrant herbs growing on every corner and small flocks of parakeets cawing overhead as they fly around.
(And I hadn't expected to get so many mosquito bites either...)
- What has been the biggest challenge of your semester abroad?
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My homesickness. I missed people who are close to me, people with whom I have a long-standing and deep relationship. It was unusual to only have people around me who I had just met.
- What are your experiences and did it have an impact on your artistic practice?
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I discovered that when I’m in a new and unfamiliar place, I can work more freely. I could try several things out without being afraid of making mistakes or failing. After all, I was not where I usually work. Nobody knows me. I wasn't really trying to impress anyone either, I just wanted to do things that interested and pleased me.
- With which experiences and results did you come back?
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That I got to know myself in a new way. That I took this time out for myself to try new things, just to try and see what came of it. Despite fear and not knowing what to expect, I dared to go, to learn.
- What are your current projects?
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I am currently developing my diploma thesis: I am fascinated by mosses and lichens because of their delicacy, shape and ability to grow in seemingly impossible places. During my exchange semester, I did a research trip through Japan, where I visited, among other places, the Saihoji Temple, also known as the Moss Temple, in Kyoto.