Part 36 "Mah Jongg Set, Guatemalan Style"

Michelle writes:
The reason for my return to Santiago was to pick up my special request from a local fair trade craftsman: a Mah Jongg set with a Guatemalan theme. If you are not familiar with Mah Jongg, it is a Chinese game, made popular in America by New York Jewish women in the 1920s.

In Pocatello, we were introduced to this fun game by a 95-year-old woman, the mother of a friend of mine. Since then, a couple of Chinese women have taught us the Asian version, which is much more complex and challenging. They say the elders in China don´t suffer from Alzheimer's due to Mah Jongg's keeping one's mind sharp and alert. Mah Jongg is a perfect pastime for the over 50 crowd and for younger people, as well.

To learn more about Mah Jongg and see a tutorial for American Mah Jongg, go to the March 2010 section of Cheryl's blog:
http://myturntodayyourstomorrow-cheryl.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-mah-jongg-madness.html   

I have a beautiful bamboo and bone set, from the 1920s, that I bought in North Dakota last fall.  This new Guatemalan set is made of wood with local characters: the quetzal, tortuga, Mayan calendar symbols, and dragons. It's a new twist on an old game and perhaps a new fair trade product!