Pausing Here and There

Hello All! I’ve begun taking weaving classes at Trama, a womens weaving cooperative. I am in the process of making a “chalina” a scarf with spaces in it. Working on this project has made me realize how much time and effort goes into each piece of weaving that I have seen here. Guatemala is certainly known for its textiles, and while I have seen these gorgeous pieces of cloth, huiples (embroidered shirts), traje (the traditional cloth different for every region, and sometimes even for every aldea or village), rugs, bags, and so much more, I have felt too overwhelmed to want to buy any of it. I think that becoming a student (for a little breath of a time, at any rate) at this cooperative is such a healthier way for me in this instant to encounter, or get a better understanding of the process involved in making a piece of fabric.

First, I chose my colors and spent an hour or so making double stranded thread, by making balls out of thread I wrapped from these two circular spinny things. Then I spent another hour or two designing my scarf: wrapping the threads in a particular way around a wooden frame to create my design. Then I began to create the loom. The tension of the loom is formed by hanging the string between two wooden poles. One pole is hung from the ceiling and the other is attached to my back by a nylon belt, more or less. I then separated the strings in to bundles of twenty, turned the whole project around, and created the separation of strings that will allow me to weave it by separating every strand from each other with a nylon thread that I was wrapping around my hand. This took another 2 or so hours.

I begin to actually weave on Tuesday, wow! I suppose this does not sound exactly clear, but hopefully I will have some pictures soon to show all of you. In other news, I am learning the subjunctive tense…that other world of Spanish.

Here are some of my pictures from my travels during the holidays. Enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=19ltfkzb.bplbtr7&x=1&y=-657ifu

Howdy All. So I have just completed my third day of Spanish school, ever, and can successfully create sentences in the present using all kinds of verbs. Yippee. I also know some random vocabulary. My teacher is very kind and patient, explaining grammar and indulging me in my rambling, poorly constructed Spanish tirades about current events or teaching. Somehow I manage to get my point across, and she is very good at speaking in a way that allows me to completely understand all that she is saying.

My homestay is fine. The mom runs a small lunchroom from her kitchen, so I meet all different people every day and eat yummy food. Still, I miss hanging out with people in the evenings as I can´t really go out after dinner. This makes things a little boring as I have so far spent my evenings reading, studying, and going to bed by 9 or 10.

Yesterday, I put a down payment toward my room at yoga house starting next weekend. I´m stoked. The girl who manages the house was sure to tell me that ¨We´re not really a party house. Mostly we just hang out and cook a lot.¨ I was sold. My room comes with a private bathroom–no shower though–and a brand new matress. Score! I think I´ll definitely stay in Xela until Jacob, my bro, gets here in December. I´ll study Spanish until then, who knows.

I´ve posted some pictures, so take a look 🙂 Actually, I am not as cool as Sarah and Megan and haven´t figured out how to post flickr directly into the blog…so here´s the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67808065@N00/