I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week. Early one morning, I received a call from the doctor’s office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30 a.m. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school, and it was already around 8:45 a.m. The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn’t have any time to spare.
As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn’t going to be able to make the full effort. So, I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in that area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment.
I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I’m sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctor said, “My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven’t we?” I didn’t respond.
After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal. Some shopping, cleaning, and cooking. After school when my 6-year-old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, “Mommy, where’s my washcloth?”
I told her to get another one from the cupboard.
She replied, “No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it.”
Never going back to that doctor…Ever.
Imagine all that glitter and sparkles inside for the doctor to see. Good Day.
If you are interested in ethnic culture, Panama is a wonderful place to visit. There are several indigenous ethnic groups living in the country with very deep traditions going back thousands of years. One of them are the Kuna natives of the Kuna Yala Islands.
Kuna is the name of an indigenous community of Panama and Colombia. In the Kuna language, the name is Dule or Tule, meaning “people”, and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, meaning “people-talk”.
The Kunas live in three politically autonomous comarcas or reservations in Panama, and in a few small villages in Colombia. There are also communities of Kuna people in Panama City, Colon and other cities. The greatest number of Kuna people live on small islands in the comarca of Kuna Yala. The other two Kuna comarcas in Panama are Madugandi and Wargandí.
In Kuna Yala, each community has its own political organization, led by a Sahila (pronounced “sai-lah”). The Sahila is traditionally both the political and spiritual leader of the community; he memorizes songs which relate the sacred history of the people, and in turn transmits them to the people.
The Kunas are famous for their molas, a colorful textile art form made with the techniques of applique and reverse appliqué. Mola panels are used to make the blouses of the Kuna women’s national dress, which is worn daily by many Kuna women. Mola means “clothing” in the Kuna language. The Kuna word for a mola blouse is Tulemola or Dulemola—Kuna people clothing.
During my visit to the Casco Viejo last week, I found several Kuna indians selling molas and other hand made crafts. An old Kuna lady was wearing her traditional clothing, but was reluctant of having her picture taken. She told me through her daughter in Kuna language, that her Sahila had warned them that foreigners were taking advantage of Kuna photographs. These photographs were marketed in other countries at very high prices and nothing was given to the Kuna people. She also said, some evil photographers took pictures of Kuna girls without clothes and exhibited them on the Internet.
After barganing for a while and with the help of her cooperating daughter, she finally accepted, after charging $1.00 for each picture taken. I took two, but only one was acceptable. I noticed, that even as I was shooting the photographs, the Kuna lady still had an expression of anger.
It is evident that the Kuna people are very unhappy at the explotation of their photographs on the Internet. I assured her several times, I took photos as a hobby and wrote stories on the Internet about them without charging anything. I had no intentions of making of a profit with her picture. I don’t think I convinced her; however her daughter was more understanding.
Below are two photographs of Kuna indians displaying their traditional clothes and molas. Enjoy.
When the Panama Canal Zone was still under the jurisdiction of the United States, many Kuna indians worked at the military bases. They were considered by the Americans extremely polite, learned English quickly and cooked very well. Good Day.