Blog posts tagged with 'backpacks'

Can you remember your first day in kindergarten? Your first class in college?

I was six years old on my first day in a formal school setting.

Those days first grade was called Sub A in South Africa. Three front teeth missing, two braids, a brand-new uniform a few sizes too big, an empty bookcase (the boxy kind), and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped in wax paper. Me being the firstborn, this was a well-photographed threshold in my development, and everyone in the family was equally excited. Our house was across the street from the primary school. My mom walked with me to the classroom on the hill, where many of the little faces were tear-stained as the new students clung to their mothers' legs in trepidation of the looming separation.

Not me.

“You can leave now, Mommy. I’m not a crybaby.” (My mom was quite offended by my declaration of independence that day.)

SKILLS

Twelve years later, an immature 18-year-old emerged, again without tears because I was happy to be “free”.  For a long time, I was ignorant of the benefits I gained by my enrollment year after year. Only after I met young people from different backgrounds for whom formal education was an impossible dream did I realize the extraordinary bonus of having parents and teachers investing in me. The necessary skills for learning that attending school equipped me with, like reading, concentration, and endurance, continue to bear fruit today. 

However imperfectly a traditional school system performs, the mere access to a world of knowledge and opportunities for growth that they provide justifies its vital existence in our communities. We often remember and talk about the positive influence of dedicated teachers in our formative years. 

So, who is going BACK to school these days?

Most to be admired and cheered are the individuals who return to college as adults in their second half of life. A friend of mine went to nursing school as a single mom in her late 30s, graduated, and celebrated with a backpacking trip in Europe! 

Distance learning became necessary during the lockdowns of the last few years and continues gaining momentum. The number of learners enrolling in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) increased from 300,000 to 220 million in the decade between 2011 and 2021. Even so, most students will get on the bus or a bicycle, walk, drive, or be driven to a schoolhouse this month.

We have heard,  “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”  Yet we know that filling bags with textbooks and computers is the reality all students deal with daily. At Unique Batik we offer a range of bags for this very purpose. Buying your bags here will enable a Guatemalan student to plan on going back to school too!

DROP OUT

Approximately 5% of high school students in the US do not graduate, and the drop-out rate for college students is around 40%.  In striking contrast, the financial limitations and a general lack of motivation in Guatemala mean that 41% of teenagers (aged 13-18) do not attend school. Only 10% of youth enroll in college education.  Fortunately, several non-profits in Guatemala are focusing on changing this trend.  I have interacted with some of these organizations and have seen firsthand the impact of mentorship and practical friendship. Forging My Tomorrow is the brainchild of a dynamic Mayan couple in Panajachel. This leadership and mentoring program has been the instrument of breaking cycles of poverty and ignorance for many families in rural Guatemala. Read about their work here.

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” (Sydney, J Harris, American journalist for the Chicago Daily News)

And that is what any worthwhile education will do: develop the skills to see. To peer through to the expansive beyond, instead of fixating on the smallness of self.

These days you can explore virtually any place on Earth or under the oceans without getting up from your couch. Travel vlogs and blogs abound. Google Earth can zoom you to even the remotest locations for a 3D view, a street view, or a bird’s eye view.  Very little is left for the imagination.  Minimal risk and expense. Zero suffering.

ADVENTURE

Yet, as many who wander agree, virtual experiences pale against the thrill of live encounters in foreign contexts. To have your own adventure, to overcome the fear of the unknown, to live to tell the story – this is why we get up and go.  For us, new friendships and firsthand knowledge far outweigh any awkward discomforts or hair-raising challenges. Adventure, fortune, chance, risk, and wonder - these words all share the same root. The same sense of momentum lurks in the word Advent as well.  Advent on the Christian calendar celebrates the arrival of Christ.

An anonymous 16th-century Danish educator wrote, "Go, my sons. Burn your books. Get away to the mountains, the valleys, the shores of the seas, the deserts, and the deepest recesses of the earth.  In this way and no other, will you find true knowledge of things and their properties."

LUGGAGE CLAIM

When you do head out for the open road, you very well need to consider luggage to transport your essentials. (Evidently, the word originates from a Middle English word which meant to pull by the hair or ear!)

Long before suitcases on wheels enabled us to conveniently drag or pull our stuff around airports, carpet bags were the common carryalls of travelers. Does anyone remember Mary Poppins’ ever-present wondrous bag?  “The carpet bag was invented as a type of inexpensive personal baggage, light enough for a passenger to carry, like a duffel bag, as opposed to a large rigid wooden or metal trunk, which required the assistance of porters.”  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_bag) Often these decorative bags were made from cut-off pieces of oriental rugs, and depending on the design, could also open flat and serve as a blanket.

CARPETBAGGERS

After the Civil War, many opportunistic Northerners traveled to the South seeking private financial or political gain. People in the South feared exploitation and referred to them as carpetbaggers because they typically arrived with their belongings in carpetbags. Today the term stands for political candidates who seek elections where they have no local connections.

The exploitation of artisans in developing countries is still a matter of deep concern. This is why, as a registered fair trade company, Unique Batik is committed to operating in a manner that guarantees a sustained welcome on both sides. Our relationships with the artisans in Guatemala, Ghana, and Thailand have morphed into the dearest friendships over decades of trade.

The various travel bags we sell resemble the carpetbag tradition. Woven and embroidered cloth pieces are made into fashionable luggage, with styles and sizes for every kind of passenger.

LUCKY DRAW

Which bag do you grab when packing for a trip?

Our bag contest is on!  

Of the four styles depicted below, do you have a go-to?  Click on each picture to see the bags we offer in that style. Then, in the space for comments at the end of this blog, write the word sling, tote, backpack, or messenger. 

On August 31, we'll draw three lucky responders, each of whom will win a bag in the style of their vote.

SLING BAGS

TOTE BAGS

BACKPACKS

MESSENGER BAGS

It’s the longest muscle in your body, running obliquely across the front of your thigh. It engages when you fold your legs to sit cross-legged, helping the leg rotate into position.

Before I share the etymology of the name, I want to take you with me on another virtual visit to Guatemala. Walk with me through the backstreets of Panajachel as motorcycles and three-wheel taxis whiz by us. The sidewalk is narrow if present. The walls of businesses and houses come right to the street, and the open doors allow us to peep inside as we stroll by. A frequent scenario we observe is a male tailor bent over his sewing machine, the floor covered in bright scraps of woven cloth, and the radio tuned to a gospel station.

Let’s stop for a chat with one of them, shall we?

Francisco has been sewing bags and packs for Unique Batik for many years. His workshop is at his house, where he lives with his wife, children, and in-laws. Here is a man who finds great delight in his work! If a piece takes 3 hours or more to finish, he still smiles, because, he says, “It takes time to make something you love.” He enjoys seeing the “puzzle” come together, each bag a unique combination of patterns and colors, and finds sweet satisfaction in his finished creations.

“It takes time to make something you love.” 

Order Francisco's pocket pack

Order Francisco's adventure pack

Order Francisco's Zunil Backpack

The friendships he formed through his trade are something he deeply treasures. Over the hum of the sewing machine, he shares with us his gratitude for the help of friends in making his childhood dream a reality, i.e., owning his own business. This has provided a way for him to maintain a roof over the heads of his family, and he hopes it will continue to ensure a steady income for him and his wife even in their old age. When sales are down, his main concern is that he can keep up with the school fees for his sons, because their education is a high priority. He would love to see his son’s goal of becoming a medical doctor through to completion.

How does he feel about our rapidly changing world? On the negative side, he experiences increasingly elevated costs for his raw material, which the buyers do not always consider when negotiating prices for his products. The new online platforms on which he can promote and sell his work he sees as a positive aspect of modern times, albeit challenging to learn and navigate.

We have poked enough. Let the man get on with his business. Three hoorays to Francisco, “Sastre de Excelencia” of Panajachel!

This is where we arrive at the story behind naming our longest muscle “sartorius”. “Sastre” is Spanish for “tailor”. It comes from a Catalan word (“sartre”) that grew on the Latin root “sarcire”, which means to sew, patch, or mend. The muscle in focus, also known as the “tailor’s muscle”, is so called because of the typical cross-legged positions in which tailors once sat to do their work. We find pictures or drawings dating back to the 15th century demonstrating them sitting on tables in front of big windows. (You can read about this tradition and see some illustrations here)