Vera Sytch's Posts
My Kodak Moment in Oaxaca
Every trip has its Kodak Moment - that instant in time that embodies the essence of the trip. Kodak Moments can exist as fond memories, but if you're lucky, you may capture some of your Kodak Moments in pictures. I had the good fortune to capture my Kodak Moment with my camera last spring.
It happened in a village whose name I can't pronounce in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. During that trip, my family and several members of our church youth group visited the indigenous Chinanteco people to distribute school supplies and clothing in their villages.
The high point of the trip was staying in one of those villages. Accessible only by steep, switchbacked dirt roads, Chinanteco villages don't get many foreign guests. Thus our group was a curiosity to the children from the moment we arrived.
The villagers were extremely hospitable and immediately began emptying one of their homes to make room for our group and cooking meals to share with us.
Even though we didn't know the Chinanteco language, and not all the villagers knew Spanish, we communicated with smiles and gestures. We ate with the villagers, played with the children, and worshipped in their church.
But my sweetest memory is a walk that we took around the village.
It started with this young boy. He began to follow me as I took pictures. When I photographed him then showed him his image on the camera's LCD, he was hooked.
Soon his friends joined him.
They all wanted to see their pictures on the back of the camera.
As we passed other children in their yards, they came to see what all the excitement was about.
I'd point to a spot where I wanted the group to stand, then back away and yell, "Uno! Dos! Tres!!" At the count of three, I'd take the picture, and the kids would race towards me, vying to see the image on the LCD.
I felt like the Pied Piper. More and more children joined our walk.
Apparently I mispronounced the numbers, so as we strolled through the village, the group belted out numbers in Spanish, teaching me the correct pronunciation. I repeated after them.
"UNO!!!" they shouted.
"Uno!" I said.
"DOS!!!"
"Dos!"
"TRES!!!!!!!!"
"Tres!" (which sounds like treys).
I had so much fun marching through the village with these children that I asked my daughter to take my picture with them.
This picture always triggers the warm glow of sweet memories, and I can't help but smile inside.
It was my Kodak Moment.
It happened in a village whose name I can't pronounce in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. During that trip, my family and several members of our church youth group visited the indigenous Chinanteco people to distribute school supplies and clothing in their villages.
The high point of the trip was staying in one of those villages. Accessible only by steep, switchbacked dirt roads, Chinanteco villages don't get many foreign guests. Thus our group was a curiosity to the children from the moment we arrived.
The villagers were extremely hospitable and immediately began emptying one of their homes to make room for our group and cooking meals to share with us.
Even though we didn't know the Chinanteco language, and not all the villagers knew Spanish, we communicated with smiles and gestures. We ate with the villagers, played with the children, and worshipped in their church.
But my sweetest memory is a walk that we took around the village.
It started with this young boy. He began to follow me as I took pictures. When I photographed him then showed him his image on the camera's LCD, he was hooked.
Soon his friends joined him.
They all wanted to see their pictures on the back of the camera.
As we passed other children in their yards, they came to see what all the excitement was about.
I'd point to a spot where I wanted the group to stand, then back away and yell, "Uno! Dos! Tres!!" At the count of three, I'd take the picture, and the kids would race towards me, vying to see the image on the LCD.
I felt like the Pied Piper. More and more children joined our walk.
Apparently I mispronounced the numbers, so as we strolled through the village, the group belted out numbers in Spanish, teaching me the correct pronunciation. I repeated after them.
"UNO!!!" they shouted.
"Uno!" I said.
"DOS!!!"
"Dos!"
"TRES!!!!!!!!"
"Tres!" (which sounds like treys).
I had so much fun marching through the village with these children that I asked my daughter to take my picture with them.
This picture always triggers the warm glow of sweet memories, and I can't help but smile inside.
It was my Kodak Moment.
