UTS Global Trips

The title of this post is “From Today To Tomorrow.” It is the title of a poem I wrote on Saturday which I will include at the end of my post.

This past Saturday, we met with women from 3 different weaving cooperatives. The patterns and styles of each community’s weavings are unique. The vast array of colors and patterns created a great deal of excitement in the group as we negotiated who would purchase which of these one-of-a-kind items.

The women were very shy yet they answered a few questions — mostly with “yes” or “no” responses. One of my favorite patterns included frogs. Animals that are close to the ground are considered to be more sacred as the earth is considered sacred. One of the pieces I purchased took about 1.5 months to weave, working 8 hours per day. The cost? About $30. I think we bought all but a few of the many pieces they brought.

During our second visit, we experienced a very small earthquake. I honestly didn’t even know it was happening until others pointed it out. We didn’t experience any fallout, but did feel somewhat of a rocking sensation. Several people thought they were just feeling dizzy. Once the rocking stopped, we continued visiting with the women (who ranged in age from 15 – 20 years). Some seemed pretty comfortable talking to us, while others smiled shyly and covered their mouths with their shawls.

Throughout the course of the day,we met the women of 3 cooperatives — each different from the other. We had fun learning about the cooperatives, meeting the women, and seeing their beautiful work. Afterwards, I was reflecting on our experience and how it must have been different for the women (las mujeres) we met. The reflection developed into a poem of sorts, half in English and half in Spanish.

Hoy Dia a la Manana

That which today, for us, is play
para las mujeres es trabajo.
That which today, for us, was inexpensive,
para las mujeres es muy caro.
Venemos juntos, culturales differentes, experiencias differentes, historias differentes.
Today, a world apart.
Manana, otro mundo para todos.

[That which today, for us, was play
for las mujeres was work.
That which today, for us, was inexpensive
for las mujeres was very costly
The coming together of different cultures, different experiences, different histories.
Today, a world apart
Tomorrow, a world for all.]

Hasta luego!
Amy