A small piece, a great gratitude

To to my mother

My trips

That day no trace of civilization could be seen. Man and nature were fused in a perfect ecosystem while the sun tinged the horizon, an almost unreal deep orange. I still hoped to find what I was looking for. I have been traveling for several years, in fact it is more than a passion, we could say that it is a vice. Lately I've developed certain rituals during all my trips like taking pictures of a small stuffed teddy bear. It was my cousin's daughter´s bear that she gave to me as a gift for doing that. Another interesting ritual is to find the perfect gift for my mother. My mother also has her own passion and it is one that connects us in a special way. My mother collects thimbles from the places I visit. At first, it was a relatively simple request as thimbles are very popular as a souvenir, and they can be found in most airports. However, since I have been traveling to more remote places this mission has become somewhat difficult.

The deal

I was almost in the middle of nowhere visiting a Maasai village where no trace of civilization could be seen. People offered me craft pieces but I could not locate a single thimble among all those things. That's when I thought that a request could be made. It was a bit difficult to explain what a thimble was, because that is something that this tribe had not seen before. After some explanations, and a hard discussion with the Maasai cheif about the price, I left the place. I had the hope of returning to the Maasai village to meet up with that man two days later at a place we had agreed. After two days the man was at the agreed place with two beautiful thimbles that Maasai women had made following my instructions to them. That same experience had to be repeated a few days later when I visited Tanzania. I decided to request another two thimbles to be made from ebony by the Datogas tribe.  The four thimbles I brought back for my mother as a souvenir of my trip did not cost more than a few dollars, but the look on her face and the excitement she experienced when receiving them and the details of my adventure was priceless.

The chain

My mother gives half of the thimbles that I bring her to one of her best friends, that's why I always bring her at least a couple of thimbles. It all started as a game but now it has become a chain. A chain in which the thimble is just an excuse, a vehicle in which gratitude, affection and surprise is spread. They are small pieces of a personal museum that give a special meaning to my trips. From this ritual I learned that the most important thing about a gift is not the gift itself, but the gratitude you can find in it.