Bridging Cultures Through Design: Guatemala

Up until about 3 years ago, I never liked the idea of traveling. I mean, I had traveled a lot ... but the concept didn't always sound that fun to me. I felt like I would miss something by leaving whichever city I was living in. So ridiculous, I know. But that's the truth.

Fast forward a couple of years ... and without a blink of an eye ... I found that everything was lining up to be a part of a design class in Guatemala. I mean, the the trip was practically planned for me. I didn't have to do much work. It just happened.

This trip is a dream for me. The vastness to the truth of that statement can not even be described in words ... dramatic interpretation ... or even a short skit.

The name of the course is "Bridging Cultures Through Design." The name of the course just makes me want to cry. There are 7 students, including me, an accomplished professor who works with 3rd world countries, and an assistant to her. We're all going to work with artisans in Antigua .... they'll teach us, and we'll teach them. Among the things I'm going to learn while there ... weaving, spinning, natural dyeing, felting, embroidery ... oh my.

There have been a lot of natural disasters recently in Guatemala - and it's ever-important that our class still go on our trip. The artisans get paid for teaching us these things - and this $$ is especially important to them right now.

This week, our class is in San Francisco together, designing rugs that we will be executing in Guatemala ... learning to felt and spin ... and doing research.

On Sunday July 4th, I leave for a total of 3 weeks - 2 weeks doing work with the artisans, and a week on my own doing God-knows-what.

I'll be blogging about my experience the whole time. I hope you enjoy! <3