I always carry a coin purse in my hiking bag. Inside the small zippered pouch, I store some cash, my lip balm, tissues, band-aids, and bubblegum. I find it easier and more pleasant locating the coin purse, than rummaging for a single band-aid, for example, among the flotsam that inevitably fills up the space inside a pack.
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 sidew...
Diego was a baby when his dad was kidnapped during Guatemala’s thirty-year-long civil war.
Little Diego had to do his part to help the family survive without the income and protection of a father. His work was to collect firewood from the forested slopes of the Atitlan volcano bordering their village.
What kind of a future can a young boy imagine for himself in ...
As a little girl, Carmelita could only dream of learning to read and write. One of fourteen children, she had responsibilities in the household from an early age. She took care of younger siblings and sold handicrafts to tourists on the streets. There were no resources, time, or hope for sending her to school. Watching her dream for education slowly fade as she grew up, she hoped that her own chil...
"Batik." How do you pronounce this word? Most English speakers say buh-TEEK with emphasis on the second syllable. The word, of Javanese origin, is pronounced BAH-tik in Indonesian, with emphasis on the first syllable. According to some sources, the term evolved from Javanese amba (to write) and the Malay word titik (dot). Writing with dots…
Mystique
When I start digging for origins, ...
Plastic. The woven kind, standing tall among the reusable choices of our day. Not mass-manufactured, but individually plaited by the delicate fingers of a family I’ve known for two decades.
First, you need to endure several hours of winding mountain road travel in a crowded minibus from Guatemala City (the subject of another story, another day).
Next, you ascend a precariously st...
As we noted in our two previous posts, beads carry great significance in Ghanaian culture — marking key moments in your journey through life. What’s more, they can signify your status within society.
A priest, for instance, would wear beads made of organic materials like bone, cowrie shell, or elephant teeth. A queen mother would wear white beads, symbolizing purity, as well as silver and blue...
In our last post, we noted the significance that people in Ghana attribute to beads. As we saw, beads can celebrate and commemorate your birth. Here’s how they reflect the later stages of your journey through life:
Waist beads represent an intimate adornment once you reach adulthood. To quote our friends at SUN TRADE BEADS in Accra, “they should be worn discreetly and not be seen by just anyone...
In Ghana, beads are more than beautiful objects; they are symbols with specific meanings for each person. To quote our friends at Sun Trade Beads in Accra, they help “narrate your life from birth to death.” At the start of your journey, for instance, beads tell your story in the following ways:
One week after your birth, you’ll have a naming ceremony, and you’ll receive a small string of beads....
Earlier this year, when the COVID-19 pandemic reached America, thousands of people had trouble getting face masks. There simply weren’t enough to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Beginning in March, we’re pleased to say, Unique Batik took action to address this problem. Working in tandem with skilled artisans and longtime retail customers, we were able to produce thousands of masks — and to make t...
