This is a straight pin:
To me, pins are essential to be able to sew, something that I very much enjoy doing. When I got to Ecuador and found that there are tailors and seamstresses all over the place, I was very happy to find myself among friends. Here was something I understood! At least, that's what I though at the time...
After a few months of being here, I had my first chance to bring something to a lady to sew: a black fabric that Isaac needed for his solar dehydrator project. It needed to be very specific, and I wasn't positive I could explain it in Spanish, so I pinned it up before I gave it to her. This all seemed reasonable to me at the time.
When I handed her the fabric, she looked at it curiously, wondering why I had filled it with metal. I tried to explain, but I'm fairly certain she didn't understand. Then I handed her my pin box and said, "You can stick the pins in here when you're done with them." She didn't understand that, either. When I went to pick up the fabric, she'd sewn over all of the pins.
The next time I needed something sewn, I went to another woman in town. She definitely understood the point of the pins. To the extent that she tried to steal them from me.
Another lesson that even something so seemingly simple, universal, and normal can change drastically from culture to culture.
..kirstie..
This post is part of the Language and Culture series.
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| Straight pin. (C) Public Domain |
After a few months of being here, I had my first chance to bring something to a lady to sew: a black fabric that Isaac needed for his solar dehydrator project. It needed to be very specific, and I wasn't positive I could explain it in Spanish, so I pinned it up before I gave it to her. This all seemed reasonable to me at the time.
.JPG) |
| The black cloth and some dehydrated banana. Photo by Isaac Bickford. |
When I handed her the fabric, she looked at it curiously, wondering why I had filled it with metal. I tried to explain, but I'm fairly certain she didn't understand. Then I handed her my pin box and said, "You can stick the pins in here when you're done with them." She didn't understand that, either. When I went to pick up the fabric, she'd sewn over all of the pins.
The next time I needed something sewn, I went to another woman in town. She definitely understood the point of the pins. To the extent that she tried to steal them from me.
Another lesson that even something so seemingly simple, universal, and normal can change drastically from culture to culture.
..kirstie..
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