Tuesday, June 22, 2010

We are finally starting to sample all the stamps we created, so this morning I got to go on a site visit and work with a women named Jennifer. She has been batiking for 12 years, and has been working with Global Mama’s for 4 years. She sampled a kid’s print I made of a chick and a popsicle stamp Sarah made for the Home collection. We had her make each print in yellow and orange, so it made it a little easier when it came to dying the fabric. It was so fun going to work with her, this is the kind of stuff I thought I would be doing everyday. I love working with the women and hearing about how Global Mama’s has helped improve their quality of life. Jennifer paid for mine and Sarah’s taxi ride from the office to her home and gave us popcorn to eat while we were visiting. Although all of this didn’t cost her more then five U.S. dollars it is a huge deal because that is probably more money then she usually spends in a week.

The way people live here is so amazing, and for the most part people her are so nice. In terms of U.S. standards their homes are shacks that should be condemned. In normal circumstances most of us wouldn’t go near them. The people here are so proud of the home they’ve built for their family and their community, and are more then happy to have you there. If they don’t have a chair for you to sit in they will give you the one they are using. If you come over and they have no food except for what they were going to eat for dinner, they will gladly give it to you. Being here has really taught me so much about community and caring for one another.

Here there are no homeless people because if you don’t have a place to stay someone will invite you to their home and give you the bed that they sleep in. It is really a beautiful thing, and even though they don’t have much in terms of material things they are the happiest people I have ever met.

I’m currently reading a book called “Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical” by Shane Claiborne, its pretty much about Christians in today’s society and how they’re not really living the bible in the way it was originally attended. It talks a lot about the separation between wealth and poverty and how 20% of people hold 80% of the world’s wealth and 80% of people share only 20% of the world’s wealth. If people were to love their neighbors as themselves the hole concept of poverty wouldn’t exist. This idea is so similar to the way people here live and I think it is the perfect book to read while I’m here. It gives me a better understanding of the culture here and helps me to look at everything in a new light.

After work we decided to get some sausages and beer from across the street. The obrunis that are currently living across the street from us were there and we hung out with them for a while. They seem like ok people and we’re trying to organize a hang out for Friday at the other house their NGO has that is on the beach.