Juan Tiney Coche (Panajachel, Guatemala)
This is a great story and one of the highlights of my trip to Guatemala. In between our "cultural" ventures, we found plenty of time to shop for colorful textiles, vibrant paintings and beaded jewelry. On one such day, I wandered into a colorful stall, a little off the beaten track, and came across a gentleman doing some very intricate beadwork. At the same moment that I noticed his craft, he noticed the beaded Kumihimo necklace that I was wearing. A connection was made. I spoke no Spanish, he spoke no English but we knew we both wanted to learn more about what the other was doing. To make a long story short, with sign language, imperfect Spanish / English I told him I would come back and teach him Kumihimo. Later, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.
A few days later, equipped with my Kumihimo disk, a set of bobbins, a drawing pad, satin cord, C-Lon and beads, I returned to Guillermo's stall. The smile on Guillermo's face made it obvious that he was pleased that I returned. I think his buddies, in neighboring stalls, were surprised that the American actually came back! I set up my "classroom" and I had exactly 1 hour to teach this man as much as I could. I drew pictures, demonstrated and had Guillermo give it a try. He was a natural. At the end of our time, I gave him my disk, bobbins, cord and beads and said I would be back in 2 days. Again, I wondered what he would do with his new tools and I guess I wondered if he would even use them.
Two days later I returned to his stall. I was excited and apprehensive at the same time. I wondered if I would 
find the Kumi supplies still neatly tied up in the little plastic bag or if he would have given Kumihimo a try. When I turned the corner to Guillermo's stall, there he was with a huge smile. Inasmuch as I wondered if he would do anything with his new tools, I think he wondered if the American would come back. He immediately and proudly pulled out his Kumihimo creations - the first was an 8 strand, all seed bead necklace with a magnetic closure enhanced with beads and the second project was a beautiful beaded bracelet made just for me. He meticulously finished the ends with a beautiful beaded closure. I was ecstatic. He was ecstatic. We hugged. He told me that Kumihimo was "rápido" and that I was a "profesor bueno". I could feel that the thanks he gave me was straight from his heart and the delight I felt was also straight from my heart.
Later that day, I was walking with my 16 year old niece. I told her that the biggest lesson I learned was "Follow your heart and then follow through".
