JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN

Hello again. I am back in India. Japan was amazing. It has been my favorite place amongst all the countries I have visited. It was a dream come true to be able to go there for 10 days. The old Japanese shrines and temples are so detailed and the architecture is so unique. The culture there is so different than anything I have witnessed before and to be able to live that is beyond my comprehension. 

Whilst in Japan, the amount of art I emcountered was ridiculous. Anime and Manga are HUGE

there and since I love both, seeing all the posters and billboards for new shows was so cool. I even went to the International Manga Museum in Kyoto. I learned so much about the history of Manga and even saw some books on how to draw in the Anime style. In the museum the walls were filled with drawings of a woman in a kinomo, but they were all drawn by different artists so this one subject looked so different with each person's style. This really motivated me to draw more and develop a style for myself.

I spent the majority of my time in Tokyo and it would take a bunch of blog posts to cover it all. Basically, it's a 24 hour city and the fun never stops. The city is really different since Old Japan and Modern Japan live together in the same place. The Imperial Palace is in the middle of skyscrapers, and the juxtaposition of these two worlds was really cool to see. It was all just SO AMAZING! I can't even begin to say how cool it is. I'm moving there. To make sure I never forget Japan, I bought so many things. But then since I bought so much, we had to buy a new suitcase for it all. 

I am very excited to come back home though. Living out of a suitcase for nearly two months is exhausting. I've been travelling so much and right now I just need my bed. Also reliable wifi. I finally have more time to concentrate on art and drawing, so yay for that! Hopefully after I get back I can download all my pictures from my phone and camera to Flickr so you guys can see them all! 

Anyways, I kind of need to eat breakfast so I'll see you soon. Bye! 

I'm in Hong Kong and I'm edutained

Hello Internet, long time no see. I almost died without you. What am I saying, I am dead! Anways, I'm currently in a private Lounge in HONG KONG! I just had lunch which was hong kongian food. It was amazing to say the least. I have literally been to four cities and two countries in the past 10 days and it's been SO busy. I did have a day or two to sketch, but the constant travel has me very delirious... I've taken a couple pictures here and there but don't worry I will take loads in my next destination: JAPAN! We board our flight to Tokyo in a few hours! UGH IM SO EXCITED!

Like I said in my last post, I went to wedding in this part of India where my family origantes from, its a small town but there are many groups of villages in this area and the area is called Chettinad. It's towards the tip in India, so it's very dry and very hot. Basically, my great grandparents lived there and now we go back for occasions and to visit family that still live there. Anyway, this place, Chettinad is known for its GIANT MANSIONS (and also food but that's for another time). That's right basically everyone lives in a mansion, no big deal.. So, when we were there I bought this amazing book on the history behind these houses and their architecture. The book weighs like 20 pounds but it's definately worth it! From family stories this is what I've gathered:

Back in the day, my great grandfathers would work in foreign countries like Malaysia, Burma, etc... They had businesses there, which turned out to be a huge profit and everyone became wealthy as heck. They would send back money and goods to the family. Soon, they even started to loan money to the kings (crazy I know). When they would come back to the motherland to visit or when on holiday, they brought back valuable items and natural goods which then were used to make these giant mansions. For example, Tikh wood (is that how you spell it?), Italian marble, and Gold. Except after WWII, a lot of the countries kicked out the businessmen and took all their assets and wealth. Soon after everyone moved back to India they had to start over. And soon, people started to move abroad to the US, Britain, Canada, Australia, etc (like me!) and these houses are not occupied very much. Some have even been torn down for money and the valuable infrastructure.

The story is kinda sad but many houses still stand. Lots of people are repairing and renovating them to keep their rich history which is amazing. I do have a couple pictures, but the internet here in Hong Kong isnt the best, so I will try to post them in another post on the blog asap. Basically, I learned a lot about old architecture and these valuable houses and even my family's history. So the lack of Internet may be okay, oh who am I kidding, I cried everyday longing to know what Dan Howell and Phil Lester may have tweeted or uploaded to YouTube.

Also, I'm really mad! I'm travelling so much but I can't catch ANY pokemon since I have no internet in outside places or any data since im out of the US. So, I'm nowhere near becoming a Pokemon Master and im screaming my head off.

Okay, goodbye from excited yet angry Kavitha.

(For people who don't know what "edutained" is it's a mix of educated and entertained its internet lingo most prominently used by Dan Howell and his audience (aka danisnotfire) it's okay if you don't know cos you shouldn't spend all your time online like me). Okay bye now, see you in Tokyo (maybe, I don't promise anything. I'm a Snorlax).

Pokemon, Weddings, and Other Random Things

Guess who found some unreliable wifi? Okay, it's not terrible but the connection isn't amazing either. I'm currently at my aunt's house! I've been busy occupying my baby cousin here. She loves to play, and she's just beginning to sit up so it's been cool. Being surrounded by children lately has made me more interested in drawing them, but in a cartoonist style since that has been my main focus lately.

Since I don't have too much time to just sit and sketch, I've been thinking of what I can do when I get the time. There hasn't been a day where I just stayed at home, we've been running around all over the place! (Well, not really running because who would want to put themselves through that physical pain amirite?) I hope that I will be able to practice drawing faces and full bodies. I also struggle with hair and since anime style hair is very elaborate it's been challenging. Soon after I get back I think I can really get back into the swing of things.

On a sidenote, I got Pokemon Go today! I've caught 6 Pokemon and am basically a Pokemon Gym Leader and am best buds with Arceus (the God Pokemon of all Pokemon). The Pokemon anime style is one of my favorites, so I also hope to mix that style with what I'm comfortable with too. Since I'm going to Japan in two weeks I will be surrounded by Manga and Anime culture and I'm so excited!! I CAN'T WAIT! (I'm a nerd I know..)

Anyways, I'm off to a small village where my family is originally from for a wedding! And by family I mean my ancestors and generations before and such. Unfortunately there is no internet there so I will try to update you after I come back to the city in a week or so! I love Indian weddings. The food and atmosphere is so cool, and I like dressing up real fancy too. I'll take as much pictures as I can!

Also, when I get back to the States, I hope to earn money and buy myself a MacBook! This will hopefully help me edit my videos and boost my love for filmmaking. I might even get Photoshop too! But this is a while away since I have NO money at the moment or a job! HAHA.

Well, I'm off to a dinner! See you soon Internet (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧