I was a research student. Unfortunately I was unable to pursue a doctor's degree because I became a mother. In Japan I did not encounter any great difficulties in my student life or studies. I stayed in both a dormitory and an apartment. I got a long well with my professors and fellow students. In addition, the scholarship allowance was sufficient, thus allowing me to go on excursions and trips to other cities and regions in Japan in order to see and study works of art in temples, museums and places of cultural or artistic interest. My knowledge of the Japanese language helped me meet people and read books on my field of study.


However, my greatest experience was meeting the Takaoki family. Mr. Mitsuo Takaoki was a Japanese history teacher, a high school principle and a calligrapher.
He was my respected teacher, who first taught me calligraphy (shodou) and then taught me the traditional art of sumi-e painting. I used to call him “father” and his wife “mother”. I lived with them for about five years and loved them dearly. They became my parents, my family in Japan, because it was they who helped me understand, not only the Japanese culture, but also the Japanese “heart”. Together with Mr. Mitsuo Takaoki I visited many museums and saw many exhibitions, and every time he would tell me about one of Japan's historical periods and also explain why each work of art was created in a specific way. I spent hours of disciplined practice with him and his wife, who is a painter, in order to understand the techniques of Japanese calligraphy and sumi painting. My paintings and sculptures are based on Japanese art.
I consider myself a “child” of the Japanese culture and love Japan as my second homeland.