I took this photo as I was freezing my butt off on the Brooklyn Bridge a day before New Year’s Eve. I’m grateful for the time I was able to spend with my boyfriend, family and friends in Maine, New York and DC this winter. I’m a week and a half late, but Happy...
I did it! I successfully completed my 52 book challenge–the first reading goal I’ve set since I was a child, when my mother would make my sisters and I set summer reading goals each year. According to Goodreads, I read 14,984 pages this year. (And yes, graphic novels count.) I did not read a Spanish book and...
[markers, pen and colored pencil on 11″ x 14″ paper] The mangroves are an integral part of La Boquilla; fishermen stand in the knee-deep water and cast their nets, native guides row tourists through the winding tunnels, crabs, pelicans, termites and stray dogs make their homes within the vegetation, and residents live on slivers of...
[marker and pen on paper, 11″x 14″] Within La Ciudad Amurallada–Cartagena’s historic walled city–vendors sell an array of colorful, handmade goods. Long beaded necklaces, bracelets, headbands, and prints of Botero’s pudgy nudes are neatly arranged on the brick sidewalks. The wall of mochilas–over-the-shoulder bags handmade by the indigenous Wayuu tribe–catch my eye. The colors have...
*If you’re not familiar with Mr. Fox, the one-hit-wonder reggaetonero from Cartagena (I think), check out the video for “USHHH.” You’re going to have to listen to the audio here, because it’s been removed from the video due to copyright laws. You won’t be disappointed. -Text and illustrations by Sarah Shaw @ www.mappingwords.com. All rights...
A map of Manzanillo del Mar, located north of Cartagena Manzanillo del Mar is a small pueblo located on the beach just beyond La Boquilla, the community where I live and work. In La Boquilla, 10,000 residents live on a narrow strip of land, but in Manzanillo, there are only 500. (To draw my map, I...
This past month, my Peace Corps neighbor Francis and I led two photography camps at our sites, encouraging groups of 15 motivated students to reflect on two important themes: family roots and the meaning of hope. Francis and I both live north of Cartagena; she lives in Manzanillo del Mar, a tranquil pueblo of 500 people, and I...
[This post is the first in a series called, “Maps and Markers,” illustrating a specific place on the coast of Colombia with a hand drawn map, marker and pen sketch, photos, and a short story about my experience or relation to that place.] Exactly a year ago, when I received my Peace Corps site placement in...
I photographed this man fishing at sunset from Cartagena’s walled city. The first year of my Peace Corps service in Colombia has come and gone without ever having to put on a sweatshirt. (That’s kind of a lie since I did visit Bogotá and Maine in July.) Nevertheless, I’ve (seemingly) attended hundreds of Peace Corps trainings,...
For awhile, I’ve been wanting to photograph some of the homes scattered along the narrow streets in Cartagena’s downtown neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are usually quiet–just beyond the bustling tourist attractions and restaurants. Filled with bright colors, peeling paint, intricate architectural details, overgrown plants and people with somewhere to go… -Text and photography by Sarah Shaw @ www.mappingwords.com....
When I was a child, my family had an old fashioned rotary phone connected to the wall by a curly cord. The numbers were arranged in a circle, and in order to call someone, you had to spin each one to a fixed stop position. I can still picture my mother, with her post-eighties perm, hurriedly twisting...
I’ve reached the middle of my 52 book challenge, and at 33 books, I’m well ahead of schedule. (I’ll attribute that to my newfound love of graphic novels.) I’ve exposed myself to a plethora of new authors and subjects, including the assortment of novels below. This collection is somewhat obscure; the only commonality among them is the fact that...
