Why Am I Going to Vietnam?

In less than two weeks I'll be in Hanoi, Vietnam. I'll be teaching English at the Technical College in Hanoi, and also looking up Vu and Tawny, two Vietnamese-Americans working in Hanoi with Maryknoll trying to develop some crafts projects that would help individuals that they're working with--the physically disabled, unwed mothers and street children among them--perhaps earn some income. I will only be in Hanoi two weeks, and am planning on going out to Halong Bay on a boating excursion for one of the two weekends I'll be in the country. 

Why am I going to Vietnam? Well, this year Stephen's going to Ireland while I'm in Vietnam. Every other year I try and let him return home without me, because he has a very different kind of trip when I'm not along--one that's more focused on visiting old friends and family, and less focused on running his wife around Ireland. Still, I think Stephen would be happy if I were joining him and, although he's very supportive of me going off to Vietnam, he's also a bit sad about it and a little bit concerned--will I be safe? Will I want to keep popping on planes and heading back to Asia every couple of years? I just don't know and neither does he, but I'm very grateful that he's willing to go along with it all...

When I was twelve my dad moved us all to Busan, South Korea, where he was an engineer for a Korean company and I attended American high school even though we lived "on the economy", which meant out with the Koreans and not on a military base, although we did live in our own little expatriate enclave. Living in Korea did something to me. First of all, when I returned to the States at fourteen, I never quite fit in. Lots of my friends in high school wound up being other kids from other countries and cultures rather than the dominant culture. In college I went on to study Japanese and got an Asia studies degree, and later spent some time in Japan trying, unsuccessfully, to be a nanny to a wealthy family in Sapporo (another story for another time). 

Ultimately, I put my Asian studies degree aside and wound up running an arts and crafts supplies store, later heading into more of a life of service, becoming a campus minister taking the students to Guatemala, Haiti, Israel, Native American reservations, Appalachia--all kinds of immersion experiences. I lived in Detroit for a while, where I worked at an historically Black college, and then in Chicago,where I lived in the very diverse--and also very Korean at that time--neighborhood of Ravenswood. I loved the differences I encountered in the people I lived and worked with.

In some ways I just can't get the whole Korean thing out of my system--I drag poor Stephen to any assortment of Korean restaurants (he has come to love hot stone bowl bi bim bap)  and have tried to hook him on Korean films and soap operas (unsuccessfully). And I guess, as I am approaching "the big 5-0" I feel myself wanting to get back to Asia at least one more time; this time, I hope, to do some good in a manner in which I was not able to as a teenager, or a recent college graduate. I want to contribute, however minutely, to some healing between Vietnam and my own country. I want to help their young people gain the skills necessary to live lives that are enjoyable, productive and fairly compensated. I want to learn about a new Asia culture while revisiting values and world views that aren't so unfamiliar, after years of study and interest. And, finally, I want to use my artistic skills to perhaps effect some good. 

I leave for Vietnam April 30th. I will keep you all posted on what I find there, and in the interim, ask for your support and prayers as I embark upon this adventure...

You Can't Save the World Every Day...Sometimes, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

Annie O Boutique

Consider adding a lovely embroidered belt or a handmade clutch to your wardrobe this spring. "Annie O." Waterman was traveling in the highlands of Peru when she happened upon three sisters who had developed an artisan's cooperative that supports women who are victims of domestic violence. Annie works with the women to provide a "win win" situation involving fair trade marketing of their products.  

Visit the web site www.annieoboutique.com, and take a look at Annie's blog at annieoupdate.blogspot.com.

Soporopo

I have received my very own "soporopo", compliments of Marcela Andrades Alfaro of the craft group "Minerva's Circle" up in Gainesville, Florida. Prior to receiving my "soporopo" all I knew was that Marcela was giving away five of these precious little stuffed critters to friends who responded to her Facebook query for five crafters offering a home to one of these little guys. What I didn't realize is what a significant little treasure was heading my way...

Marcela's handwritten note to me says " 'Specially made for Karen, "the man of time" to remind us that life is short, enjoy your time with friends and family." Yet "the man of time"comes with another message--his "history" of sorts. (I will now quote the little card that arrived with him directly.)

"Soporopo History: Santiago Chile, 1974 During the Dictatorship of Pinochet (1973-1989). This soporopo is made by hand with love and is a replica of the dolls that my mother used to make in prison as a political prisoner in 1974. I am replicating this doll in her honor and many others and in all sizes, but the originals were 4 inches tall, they were very tiny and cute were made by hand using the personal clothing of the detainees in the prison. They made these funny looking dolls, always smiling with short arms to give them to family members in the weekly visits.  This doll was used for years to get information from the political prisoner in the concentration camps in Chile. Inside the doll were names of missing people that were detained and killed, maps, officers in charge, tactics, houses, etc. The names were written on scrap fabric used to stuff the dolls and were taken to (Catholic churches who then took them) to the Commission of Human Rights in OAS (Organization of American States) Oh beautiful soporopo army marching to the church to tell their secrets to the priest...they are a symbol of love, and how women working together can help with ingenious ways to save the lives of others. Soporopos were salvation and brought hope that justice would come one day. Made with love by Marci remembering my mom Eva Alfaro Holbrook."

Needless to say, by the end of reading this card, I was in tears. Thank you, Marcela, for honoring me with this treasure and legacy of the brave women of Chile. This little soporopo will be placed in a special corner of my home and my heart.

Check out Minerva's Circle at  http://minervascircle.blogspot.com to be truly inspired by their fabulous projects.

Got Any Good Ideas to Share?

I was very pleased with the turn out last Monday evening for my "pysanky making" workshop at the Franciscan Center of Tampa. In terms of it being a fundraiser, it's almost not worth it--I only made a hundred dollars, all of which will be going to Vida Nueva Cooperative. Still, $100 is nothing to sneeze at when you send it off to Mexico and let the amazing women of Vida Nueva stretch and utilize every cent of it. 

What does, however, make doing the pysanky making workshop VERY worthwhile is the fact that, for the second year in a row now, we got over two dozen people who came to learn a traditional craft that is as much contemplative practice as it is folk art. It is also a folk art that links European-Americans to the richness of our spiritual and cultural heritage, much of which has been forgotten in our rush to assimilate into mainstream culture in decades past, and which can continue to get lost in our hectic, daily lives. 

I was from that fortunate generation whose grandparents, aunts and uncles and neighbors all came from "the old country"--whatever old country that happened to be, of course, depended, but I grew up surrounded by Polish, Italian, French from the French-Canadians and any other assortment of recent, immigrant languages and cultures, which made life very, very rich. It is a legacy to be treasured, and this year as well as last, when people get up to leave the workshop clutching their first "pysanky", they are literally glowing with pride and effusive in the thanks for being given the opportunity to sit down and learn this traditional craft. That in and of itself is reward--and treasure--enough!

But this year, I got an added bonus. Attending my workshop was a religious sister visiting Tampa from St. Lucia in the West Indies, Sr. DeLourdes Lopez. Sr. DeLourdes gives young women on the island instruction in how to sew, knit and crochet and most especially, how to do fine needlework. The women's crafts are sold throughout St. Lucia, usually in the resort gift shops, but she has also had several "graduates" of her program whose work was good enough that they established their own tailoring and craft businesses. As well as teaching the women a craft with which to earn a living, Sr. DeLourdes gives them support and love, and a venue through which to meet and grow in self-esteem and maturity, as much as in marketable skills. 

I told Sr. DeLourdes about this modest little venture called "Global Women's Artisan Alliance" and asked her how I might help her and her women out. Sr. DeLourdes would like to receive ideas, pictures and patterns of any sort of craft items that might be a "good seller" among the tourist who frequent St. Lucia's gift shops. She would prefer color hard copies or xeroxes of these images, rather than emails or email attachments. So, if you think you might have some nice ideas for Sr. DeLourdes, please don't hesitate to send them along to her. You can reach her at:

Sr. DeLourdes Lopez

Franciscan Institute Palmiste

PO Box 453

Vieux Fort

St. Lucia, West Indies