Thursday, October 21, 2010

To Sew...or not

When I returned from Ethiopia, I immediately marched myself in to our local African refugee center to sign up to volunteer.  My intentions were to either teach English or help tutor....not to teach sewing.  I mentioned to them that I taught sewing in Ethiopia and their ears immediately perked up.  "Sewing!  You sew!?".  I said yes.

Let me clarify my sewing skills for a quick second.  I can hand sew and can make a cute little hand bag.  I can also occasionally sew a seam with a machine or maybe, just MAYBE sew a pillow.

So I said "yes, I love sewing!".  I am now signed up to teach a sewing class every Monday night to help these refugees learn a job skills. Ohhh the pressure!

I had my first sewing class this past Monday.  We did hand sewing and it was quite successful!  I had two students, a man and woman from Somalia.  My first night included 'a call to prayer' by the woman and me twiddling my thumbs from not knowing what to do.  It also included the man cheering in his native language because he has been looking for a class for 5 years.

I plan to document this hilarious journey...this 6 month class to be exact.  How do I always get myself into these situations!?




















love,
Beth

*design found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubbo-tubbo/385691331/

3 comments:

  1. Bus! I'm so excited to hear about your sewing adventures!

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  2. this is a lot better than the time you told the guy in your job interview that you know how to code html.
    i'm proud of you!

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  3. you are adorable. I'm so excited for you! this sounds like fun :)

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