- September 3, 2026
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As a teenager, Anita Wexler was awarded an art scholarship, but entered the U.S. Navy before she attended Parsons School of Design in New York.
But, even as she was serving in the Philippines as well as in Florida, her first experience with the state, she wanted the chance to travel more.
However, everyone else was paired up in couples. While she traveled somewhat in her 20s, by the time she hit 30, she decided she should start on her own.
“I had my 18th birthday in boot camp, and so I didn't have the nerve to travel by myself at that age, and then I was like, what am I waiting for?" she said. "You could be waiting a long, long time. And so that's what got me.”
Soon after that, she rode an overnight train from Madrid to Barcelona. As she traveled, her trips came to encompass many countries at once.
With two months off each summer, Wexler, a Sarasota High School art teacher, said she feels obligated to keep traveling and has no plan to stop anytime soon.
She has been to 52 countries—so far.
“How many people get two months off?” she said. “I mean, obviously I get winter break and spring break, but two months off. It’s a privilege, to have that time off, so I want to keep traveling as much as possible.”
Her most recent trip, which took place this summer, involved six weeks in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Borneo, Langkawi, Indonesia and Bali.
Over the six-week period, she created more than 20 drawings.
The drawings aren't the only art souvenirs she's brought home, either; in her home, she's surrounded by large carvings and art pieces she shipped back while on her journeys, and boasts a refrigerator covered from head to toe in souvenirs.
The trips don't have any strict itinerary.
For example, while checking flights for this summer, she found that one stopped in Hong Kong before going on to Malaysia, the destination she was seeking. That resulted in her deciding to go to Hong Kong first.
Her brother has joined her three different times, including on the last trip, although the rest of the trips were solo.
“When I first started the trip, all I did was book a one-way ticket to Hong Kong," she said. "I didn't have a return ticket because you’ve got to kind of go with the seat of your pants, and pulse, and if I booked a ticket, I might not have been able to go to Macau.”
One destination she said did not disappoint during the break was Langwaki.
She describes the Malaysian archipelago as being "what someone thinks of when they think of island life," like maybe Sarasota before it was developed.
She noted eagles, as well as tributes to the animals such as the iconic Dataran Lang, also known as Eagle Square, with its 12-meter tall eagle statue.
“Langkawi I thought was one of the best parts of the trip because we were walking and monkeys just started jumping all over the place,” she said. “You’re just like whoa… It was pretty funny.”
She also shares photos of her trips with students, as well as her drawings that tie into her experiences. Her drawings this time included an eagle and a pair of frogs inspired by Langkawi, a portrait of sea life inspired by the beaches of Langkawi and Bali, and a horse inspired by Indonesia.
A single drawing takes a varying amount of time. She will work on drawings when she has spare time, like on the seven-hour flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia.
“I'm not a partier in general, so in the evening, so maybe 9 o'clock, then you get to wind down, do some drawing," she said. "During the day, I'm going, going, going.”
There are also friends and experiences to gain as well. She said some places she visits she wants to move to, while others make her appreciate what she does have.
She's stayed in touch with people she's met, including a few in Japan, and one in Scotland, and she said she's working on figuring out how to visit with them.
"I guess you feel more whole because you've explored these different cultures, and it's like an education in itself, and it's a privilege to be able to go to see these things and meet these people and find new friends," she said.
Wexler is now back in the school room. She taught at Alta Vista Elementary for three years, serving kids on exceptional student education plans.
After that, she taught at Sarasota High for one year, before shifting to Brookside Middle School for four years and finally returning to Sarasota High.
She is now in her 22nd year of teaching and in her 15th at Sarasota High, teaching subjects including ceramics, painting, wire sculptures, plaster and papier-mâché.
She said art can be therapeutic when it comes to all of the challenges teenagers face.
“When you’re an adult, everything seems more simple,” she said. “Things seem more severe to a teenager's mind. We can think about things calmly and go, ‘OK, this isn't that big a deal.’ But that's not really the case necessarily for teenagers. Everything's very dramatic and traumatic, and so I hope, at least if they don't love art, that they can at least appreciate it, kind of like art therapy, like they can at least appreciate the class and enjoy the class.”
