Category: cultural immersion

My Mayan Culture Fixation–part 2 (2 trips to Sian Ka’an that didn’t turn out quite as planned)

July 31, 2020

In late winter of 1992 an old friend invited me to join her and two other women on a week-long trip down the Quintana Roo coast to the Biosphere called Sian Ka’an, or “origin of the sky”, by the Mayans. In 1986 it was designated a Biosphere and in 1987 a World Heritage Site.  I … More My Mayan Culture Fixation–part 2 (2 trips to Sian Ka’an that didn’t turn out quite as planned)

Persian Heroes of the Past: Hafez and the Rise of Mystical Islam

December 20, 2019

Two of my closest friends in college became Sufis after graduating.  This was during a period in the late sixties when religious exploration was at its height, especially religions from the East and Middle East.  Famously, Cat Stevens converted to Islam, after several near-death experiences, in 1977. Although I have never been a religious seeker … More Persian Heroes of the Past: Hafez and the Rise of Mystical Islam

Gender in Iran

November 30, 2019

Note:  This second post about my two week trip to Iran is about my impressions of special rules for women under Islamic law in Iran.  I make no claims to be expert in these matters, but since I am female and subject to most of these rules as a tourist, I paid special attention. At … More Gender in Iran

Ten Things Helena, Montana has that my Hometown Doesn’t

July 28, 2019

Helena is the Capital of the state, but only has 35,000 residents (There are only 1 million in the whole giant state!) As a result it has many of the features of a small western town in the U.S., but also features you would expect in a larger cosmopolitan area. I visit frequently from Minneapolis, … More Ten Things Helena, Montana has that my Hometown Doesn’t

Public Health Work Requires Cultural Immersion

June 8, 2019

The past few weeks I have been reading historian John M. Barry’s book about the worldwide influenza pandemic of 1918, where an estimated 50-100 million people died over a two year period.  This story of massive public health failure is told from the American context. That context was the entry of the U.S. into the … More Public Health Work Requires Cultural Immersion

Visiting Theo World

May 24, 2019

My first career was in early childhood education. It was an exciting time when preschool childcare centers meant that women could continue careers, enter graduate programs, and work without worrying about how their children were getting along during the day.  After moving to Minneapolis in 1974, I found myself working in a parent coop with … More Visiting Theo World

Maybe a bike-oriented Airbnb in Colombia?: Part 2

March 22, 2019

My Colombian daughter-in-law has been building a lovely traditional two storey house above Medellin in a town called San Pedro de los Milagros.  She has been project manager from Minnesota via cell phone while at home with a new baby and a preschooler. Now that she is here for a few months, she is managing a … More Maybe a bike-oriented Airbnb in Colombia?: Part 2

Wading into dirty waters: Becoming a political activist

November 2, 2018

Until I was about twenty-six I was a political naif. Before that I had gone to plenty of protests against the Vietnam War, for fair housing, and in support of women’s liberation[1].  But I hadn’t tried to make any concrete changes, working through the local political process.  This is another kind of cultural immersion story: … More Wading into dirty waters: Becoming a political activist