Personal Narrative: A Woman, Rebecca

1) I met a woman, Rebecca, an American living in La Cruz, Mexico. I met her at a Sunday market in La Cruz selling unique,

artisan quality cloth dolls. We became friends and she told me her story. For 10 years she ran a boutique business in

Puerto Vallarta. One day, the federales showed up, stole her money and her car and threw her in prison for a crime she

didn 't commit. Napoleonic law kept her in prison for 5 years. She crawled out of a suicidal depression with the help of a

therapist and the Mexican inmates who connected with her. She began thinking of how she could spend her time productively

and built the "Prison Dolls" project. Collecting donated textiles, buttons, costume jewelry and beads, she taught the

female inmates how

The island has no electicity, no restaurants, no internet.

But, its raw natural beauty is worth mentioning. I walked along tremendous stretches of white sand beach, found equisite

cowrie shells, and explored in the tide pools on the extended reef. My footprint was the first in the sand (and probably

last) that day. A small motu lies to the north of the island and is great fun to snorkel. There is a ridge you can hike.

Since the tsunmai, roads have been built - perfect for cycling. I went to church and the singing was so sweet and well

harmonized by the village people that I cried. After church, someone ran over a dog and they dragged it home to put in the

umu to bake. We were invited to a pig roast. The ladies get together and weave large "kie" with pandanus, a grassy plant

that takes weeks to process in the ocean water. I would like to construct a piece for a cruising magazine - I don 't have a particular organizing flow for this.

3) My husband, teenage daughter and I learned to scuba dive in American Samoa. My husband and daughter had no problem

passing the physical tests. I struggled, made a fool of myself, but finally passed. I wrote about the experience and would

like some