Last week, I assigned my ESL “class” (four students in the volunteer library program) some homework: write out the instructions for preparing a favorite food of theirs. It was something we’d done in Spanish class years ago, and I thought it’d be good practice for the commands (imperative). It did prove to be a great exercise, but one student in particular went above and beyond. Much to my surprise, and everyone’s delight, my Colombian student brought in a box of homemade empanadas, as per his English recipe!
I can’t believe Christmas season crept up on me yet again! My favorite thing to gift anyone for the holidays is books. So, I got my oldest daughter, Bean, a ton of books for cheap this year from her school’s book fair. (Like, some were $.25. I was so geeked!) She also will rack up from her grandparents. As I attempt to solve the first-world problem of where to house the incoming literary loot, I…
El 10 de maig la Biblioteca Central de Terrassa, la Bct, per extensió la xarxa municipal de biblioteques fa 20 anys. Dins del programa de celebració he tingut la sort de poder fer aquest mural que quedarà penjat permanentment. És un mural que fa referència al jazz, ja que la Bct hi té un fons especialitzat, i també a la literatura, entre d’altres detalls. La xarxa de biblios de Terrassa pica molta pedra durant l’any per promoure, entre d’altres coses més evidents, la cohesió i la participació de la gent. Ahir gairebé no arribava al micro per explicar el tresor que té la ciutat, però crec que no calen moltes paraules per deixar-ho clar.
Per molts anys Bct i xarxa! . . . . @bctxarxa #bct20 #bctxarxa #biblioteques #bibliophile #children_illustration #creative #illustracio #illustracioinfantil #ilustracion #ilustracioninfantil #illustration #illustrationfriday #jazz #jazzillustration #kimamate #library #librarians #lij #music #terrassa #thelittlethings (en Terrassa)
The idea is that you provide a service or good to your fellow working class community members and in turn, they too can give back to you, an endless cycle of not necessarily trade or even bartering, but rather a gift economy, often found within various socialist ideologies, specifically types of anarchism.
Community bonds, even little things like community book nooks/libraries, community fridges, or community closets, will always build stronger social bonds than fear and coerced authority.
Andas the screenshot below notes from our police abolition basics guide, crime relates directly to poverty and a lack of access to resources, so in a way, mutual aid also acts a truly productive form of harm reduction as well.
So yes, let’s build a better future together. Let’s build book nooks. Let’s reinforce mutual aid. Let’s love each other.
So yes, a world built on love and community and chosen family is possible.
