One of the privileges of teaching...

One of the privileges of teaching is that you get to meet very special people. People who set an example for how you should live your life. This week I picked up fabric from Rachel L. Rachel, a textile major, took my class last spring. She's a fantastic student and it came as no surprise that she won one of the fellowships that Moore offers their students. She traveled to Ghana to help set up a textile studio and teach women in a tiny village how to print fabric. Despite catching typhoid and coming home with four different parasites (two of which she is still battling), she had a fantastic experience. She showed me pictures of all of the amazing people she met and worked with. She lived in a tiny grass hut next to the beach. I gave her money for fabric and what she brought back is beautiful! I love it. These are some of the pieces she and her students made. I love them all! It seems it was a life changing experience for her. Her major culture shock is dealing with the over abundance of our consumer culture. She told me that she changed her cell phone plan to a simpler plan, saving enough money to support ten of the girls she met in Ghana so that they can continue in school.
You can read more about her experience on her blog www.loveoneanothertoday.blogspot.com. It's sparse because, let's face it - it's hard to get Internet in a village that doesn't have electricity.
Hopefully now that she's back she'll post a "summing up" blog. Her photographs are spectacular.
Like I said, a privilege.