October 26, 2002

I had the express privilege of participating in some very interesting things this week.

Tuesday is the day that I go volunteer at a place called Bordados Chuy, a workshop and store where poor and abused women are taught embroidery that is sold to provide them a means of economic independence. They embroider everything from T-shirts, shoes, hats, wallets, purses, and, of course, hipil, the typical dress of Maya women.

First of all, I actually made it on time. Somehow I managed to catch a bus without having to wait; last time I tried to go to Bordados, I arrived half an hour late because all the buses were full. So, after successfully arriving, I was assigned to be Liliana’s helper. Liliana arrived in Merida from Mexico City at the beginning of September, about the same time we did. She had been living by herself, but after she had to sit out the hurricane alone, decided that it would be better to live with someone. She came to Merida expressly to work with Sylvia and the women del campo, and eventually she’d like to be designing the bordados (embroidery).

However, our job today was to sort the thread that we had at the workshop and find which ones we needed to buy to be

able to complete our chosen designs. Since I am an avid organizer, I was given the responsibility of organizing the threads so we could quickly find the ones we needed. It was quite a daunting task, but upon finishing it, I felt like I had actually accomplished something. AND all the ladies were quite excited with my system.