There were many huge specialty stationery shops such as Tokyu Hands, Loft, and Itoya where I would have liked to to be an intern, but my Japanese was not fluent enough. I even had fun chatting with shop staff at Brooklyn Charm, a do-it-yourself jewelry shop, for a potential internship, but with no luck. However, in October 2019, I saw a free Facebook public networking event by RealCRO, a marketing agency, for bringing artists and creative enthusiasts together. I went with a friend from my dorm to check out the event. There I befriended a stranger and fellow art-lover Joyce, who was working and living in Tokyo. When she heard I was looking for an internship, she was kind enough to give me her business card and offered to help me setup an interview with the company she worked at for a potential internship. Even though I did not intern at her company, she taught me how to buy event tickets from konbini and hung out with me at one of the largest art conventions in Tokyo. This was by far one of my fondest memories and when I felt proud of myself for having made a connection in the local community by going out of my comfort zone.
