VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 181
AIR DATE: 07 02 2021
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Urban Foraging
((SOT))
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
You learn things much better if you're having fun and all the
indigenous cultures would include stories, folklore, music
and other entertainment along with the info.
((NATS))
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Cross-Cultural Textile Artist
((SOT))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
It’s extremely a therapeutic process for me. Just throwing
colors, seeing what kind of results I'm going to get is
something I look forward to.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Pandemic Baby
((SOT))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
I wanted my husband to be able to experience it.
So, he was there, you know, gowned up like any normal
delivery husband. He was able to be right near me the whole
time. He was able to hold Rumi.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) CITY FORAGERS
((TRT: 08:05))
((Topic Banner: City Foragers))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so we're going to be looking for wild foods, common
renewable species that the mowers cut down, that keep
coming back, that we've been harvesting here for 39 years.
I'm Wildman Steve Brill. I'm an environmental educator,
naturalist and author, and we are doing foraging edible and
medicinal plants plus poisonous ones for the murderers in
the group. And we're learning how to use them for food,
home remedies and mayhem. And here is more pokeweed.
Okay, whoever wants pokeweed, if you can get over the
fence, there's quite a bit of it in here at the right size.
I guess, I could climb over the fence if, worse comes
to worse, I've already had a kid.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Pull the outer leaves apart. Go to the very bottom and pull.
And notice this is round. There is a poisonous plant over
here called, the Iris, and some of them are already flowering.
And look how they're flattened. Can everyone see that?
By the way, when you picked this, you're not killing a plant
because it's a network of underground stems
called rhizomes that give rise to the leaves. So, it's like
picking a leaf off of a tree. You're not killing the tree.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
I started getting books on edible, wild plants. Sadly, most of
them were full of mistakes and omissions, but very carefully
over a period of years, I learned what the plants were and
how to use them. And I've been doing my own experiments
in the kitchen ever since.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
You have to be very careful though when picking the plants.
You have to make sure you know all the characteristics of
the plant before you pluck them, because if you get a plant
wrong,
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah, that's not funny. That's a very sad piece of music
composed by Chopin [Frédéric François Chopin, Polish
composer and pianist].
((Priscilla Frank, Forager))
I have actually been on a tour with Steve once before in like
2018. And I mean, I love him. He's incredibly knowledgeable,
talented, like has so many talents. He's hilarious. He's good
at doing the wind singing. He cooks. He paints. He really
does it all. And yeah, Violet as well. This is my first time
meeting Violet and she's like my true hero. She's amazing.
The last time I went, I made pestos. I made like a scramble. I
made a tea. It's really amazing. I made a delicious brunch
right after.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, I've been coming on the tours since I was two months
old. And when I was like five or six, I started hopping out of
the stroller and helping people and kids, like finding the
plants on the side, like on during our tours. And it was
actually when I was nine that I started co-leading the tours
with my dad. And in the beginning of 2019, I started leading
my own tours. Everyone says, how we’re such a great duo,
we're such a great team on the tours. Everything's always
more fun when he's around. Sometimes my dad is a very
humorous person. He tells a lot of jokes. Sometimes he goes
too far with the jokes and I can die of annoyance.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, it's terrible. She bosses me around, finds all the
mushrooms and plants faster than me and steals all my
jokes.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
No. This is, it’s like dust. Do the goutweed.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
It’s dusty. No, I want to do the lambsquarters first.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Do the lambsquarters first.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so this is called lambsquarters. Chenopodium
album is the scientific name. Plants have lots of common
names that can be quite confusing. It's also called Good
King Henry and White Goose. But the latest science shows
that you learn things much better if you're having fun and all
the indigenous cultures would include stories, folklore, music
and other entertainment along with the info.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Don't be afraid to try them. Actually, do be afraid to try it
because if you are afraid to try it, you'll be chicken. And it's
called chickweed. If you're chicken, you'll love it.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah. Chickens love chickweed. So does Violet’s parakeet.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Bradley Pitts, Forager))
I've been interested in learning more about foraging, I guess,
just feeling a deep craving to like get more intimate with the
natural world.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, here's one we can pick. All right. One, two, three. Okay,
your turn.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, this is called sassafras. So, sassafras has three kinds of
leaves. It has a leaf that’s shaped kind of like a T-Rex foot. It
has a leaf that has a shape like an oval. And it has a leaf
that's shaped like a mitten.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
I knew the names of most of the plants, but I did not know
how to identify a lot of them, like to find, like I didn't know
about the hairs on the chickweed. And like, I definitely would
have eaten a bitter dock if I didn't know that it was, and they
look exactly the same.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
Sassafras.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah,
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
They use it to make root beer.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
That's what they used originally.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah. Yeah, we're going to make root beer later.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Because there’s burdock at the bottom of this hill.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Hey, if you're going to start foraging, learn a few plants that
are common and renewable really, really well. Be a hundred
percent sure you have the right plant and then slowly add to
your repertoire.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, it's my turn. Okay, so this is called goutweed.
There are large ones and small ones. The ones you want to
collect to eat are the small ones. So, everyone gets some
of this. They grow under the larger ones.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Where?
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Oyster mushroom. Oyster, Oyster mushroom.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
That’s worth climbing over.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Get it. Get it. Get the mushroom. It’s really good. It's like
a choice mushroom. There's three levels of mushroom:
Good, and there's like edible, and there's
like choice, and choice is the best one.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yes, yes.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Yeah. It's really, really good.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
This is called the Brilla Phone. You shape your hands into
cups, one higher than the other. Air from this hole goes into
your mouth and you hold your breath like you're going to
swallow or yawn. I learned it from my dad and I taught it to
my daughter, Violet. So, you could say, it's been handed
down through the generations. This is The Preacher by [hard
bop jazz pioneer] Horace Silver.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Cloth Connects Cultures
((SOT))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
Once it's dried, I treat it and then I iron it out and I, you know,
take the wax out, basically do the process of removing the
wax. That’s called dewaxing.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) TEXTILE ARTIST CONNECTS CULTURES
((TRT: 05:10))
((Topic Banner: Textile Without Borders))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera/Editor: Mike Burke))
((Map:??Ashburn, Virginia))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 1 female))
((NATS: Khadija Painting))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
My name is Khadija Sareshwala. I live in Ashburn. I've been
married for four years now and I have a two-year-old
daughter. I'm a textile artist. I call myself an artist that takes
all the traditional techniques into a very modernistic
perspective.
((NATS))
I think my style is very unique. I don't have a very set way of
working.
((NATS))
I lived in the U.K. for almost seven to eight years. And then I
moved back to India. I lived in Mumbai which is a very
cosmopolitan city.
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I think my style is more free-flowing, I would say. I, when I'm
painting, I'm usually using lots of brush strokes which are
direct.
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
So, this is a very interesting batik piece. This is used, made
using naphthol dyes. And it’s, that's more of an Indian batik.
This is like an abstract sun with flowers. And that’s how
Malaysian batik was very inspiring to me. And I've been
doing Malaysian batik for a very long time. But this is one of
the pieces. This is a peacock inspired with feathers, you
know. The colors are very neutral, yet it's popping in like this,
the greens.
This is another one. It's very geometric, like blues and
shades of blues. So, it is my batik, a lot of textures and
florals and even the geometry is not very straight. And
imperfection sometimes is the best form of beauty, I guess.
((NATS))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
Batik is basically a resist method. Now, I use wax as a resist
method. So, when I’m applying, I'm painting with wax first so
that the wax does not allow the dye to permeate into the
area where I've painted.
((NATS: Khadija is applying wax on the fabric))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I use mostly silks. I take the inspiration from various,
different arts and, you know, prints. The African prints, it’s
something that really strikes me. So, the color combinations
are something that I look at. Then, there is Malaysian batik,
Indonesian batik, that's the style I'm using for my work right
now.
((NATS: Khadija finishing the waxing process and
starting ironing her work))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
Once it's dried, I treat it and then I iron it out and I, you know,
take the wax out, basically do the process of removing the
wax. That’s called dewaxing. And that's how you get these
certain, you know, textures.
((NATS: Khadija showing her fish design))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
There are some Indian forms where, you know, you see a lot
of like the square, which is a form of art called Madhubani.
So, that's an inspiration from there. It's these motifs that they
use specifically, it's like into triangles. I really like using
geometry in my work.
This is the inspiration, I would say, from the American
culture, right? The Christmas and the snowman, the lights
that you see.
((NATS))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
American culture is definitely very open to different cultures.
So, that's one thing I got, like it is accepting of all cultures.
That's one plus, that's the biggest advantage over here, that
you see different people.
((NATS: More of Khadija’s production))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
My brand’s name is Khadija. It's just my personality out
there. So, when somebody is having, like wearing
something, you know, it's just something that I've created.
((NATS))
Hi. How are you?
Good. How is it going?
Oh, it's pretty good.
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I want my brand to be a diversified brand that has everybody
in it.
((NATS))
I like how you're able to choose a style and stick to it but be
able to make it almost feel personal to the buyer.
Wow.
Because you can create it, you know, like you can
manipulate the design because it's your own,
Yeah.
Which is really, really impressive.
((NATS))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I definitely have an exhibit that I want to do. That's my
dream. But I want to also conduct some workshops just to
share or give the experience of, you know, the batik or block
print, even tie-dye. Even if it's traditional method, right? you
can really make it your own, like I have done it.
((NATS))
Tie-dye and batik are my favorite mediums. It’s extremely
therapeutic process for me. Just throwing colors, seeing
what kind of results I'm going to get, is something I look
forward to.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up…..
((Banner))
Giving Birth During COVID
((SOT))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
Birth is already a pretty intense period for any new parent.
You’re constantly questioning whether you’re doing enough
and layering COVID on top of that. You know, still so many
unknowns about how it affects children.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) GHOST RESTAURANTS
((TRT: 03:28))
((Topic Banner: Ghost Restaurants))
((Reporter: Karina Bafradzhian))
((Camera: Andrey Degtyarev, Artyom Kokhan))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((Main characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Taryn Pellicone, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
Valerie and I are cousins, and we had this idea of getting
really delicious, hot chicken soup to people as quickly as
possible. And starting a small business, finding spaces, you
know, getting all the things that you need to start up, is never
easy.
((NATS))
((Valerie Zweig, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
We had shared a space with a local bar and due to the
pandemic, they had to make their space smaller. So, we
were going to lose our operating home. We found this
location. It was a third-generation restaurant that had been,
you know, in existence. And we said, “You know, this is a
perfect space for us.” So, we said, “Look, we love this
space.” It's too big for us. So, we said, “Well, hey, what if we
invited some of our friends to join us?”
((NATS))
((Taryn Pellicone, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
The cost, it's really expensive to operate. And especially, we
are in the heart of the city. You know, spaces are hard to
come by, spaces that work for your business. And so, being
able to offset some of those costs is really helpful. You
know, coming from a team standpoint as well, it's amazing to
have other collaborators in here with us.
((NATS))
((Valerie Zweig, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
There's three of us. And we tried really hard to make it
complementary offerings. So, we have chicken soup and all
different types of chicken soup. We have Astro Doughnuts
and Fried Chicken, which is a doughnut and fried chicken
concept, and cookies. And then we have Saya Saltena,
which is a Bolivian empanada.
((NATS))
((Maria Iturralde, Owner, Saya Saltena))
I met Val and Taryn back at Mess Hall, five years ago. And I
used to have my catering company, everything great. But
then COVID happened. So, I had to change. I had to change
my business model. And I'm from Bolivia, so I decided to
start offering Bolivian food for takeout.
((NATS))
((Maria Iturralde, Owner, Saya Saltena))
I'm very thankful for this place. It helped me tremendously
because I wouldn't be able to open up my delivery platform
to other places if I wasn't able to share the space here.
((NATS))
((BANNER: Stingray Kitchen is another virtual delivery-only
restaurant just a few blocks away.))
((NATS: Theodore Sampel
Thank you for calling Stingray Kitchen. This is Theodore.
How may I assist you?))
((NATS))
((Theodore Sampel, Manager, Stingray Kitchen))
During these tough times, we're trying to create ideas to
keep our business surviving through the epidemic, of course,
or the pandemic. We have the space, so we decided to
utilize the space. And then, other than that, I guess a ghost
kitchen is basically high-quality, food-to-go orders, is what
really is the definition I believe. So, we created a menu and
we tasted it. And here we are today with a beautiful, little
restaurant, you know.
((NATS))
((Takeshi Nishikawa, Chef, Stingray Kitchen))
I think there is a part of me that misses the human
interaction. I think, I do like to see the faces of the customers
who I’m serving. But I just have to kind of pretend like, you
know, like what do they look like when they see the dishes?
What would they react when they open the containers? And I
think, I kind of have to use my imaginative side of my brain.
So, I mean, yes, I think, I do miss the part of the human
interaction for sure.
((NATS))
((Theodore Sampel, Manager, Stingray Kitchen))
I hope it doesn't just go to this. We do need to have human
communication. We need to sit, relax, escape. But I think,
the world has changed and we have to, you know, this is a
part of the business that is going to be with us for a while.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((PKG)) GIVING BIRTH DURING COVID
((TRT: 3:11))
((Banner: A Pandemic Birth))
((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)
((Locater: Reston, Virginia)
((Main Character: 1 female))
((MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
When you’re pregnant, you’re, kind of, bombarded with
information about, you know, things like Zika or other, you
know, diseases that can really affect the fetus, and with
COVID, just no information at all.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
All of our dreams of doing babymoons or having any sort of
like, you know, travel while we were pregnant, just obviously
couldn’t happen. All of the scans that I was getting just to,
you know, make sure it was a healthy pregnancy, normally
you would have your partner or spouse there. You know,
these are really like big milestones. So, like the 20-week
scan, which is the really big one, almost always a husband
would be there. So, my husband kind of missed out on all of
those. I mean, obviously he got to see the images, but just,
you know, interacting in real time with the tech, he kind of,
you know, didn’t get to have that experience. So, that was a
little bit, you know, disappointing.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
But luckily, they did allow one person to be with you in the
delivery, so it could have been a doula. Obviously in my
case, I wanted my husband to be able to experience it.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
So, he was there, you know, gowned up like any normal
delivery husband. He was able to be right near me the whole
time. He was able to hold Rumi. He had to wear a mask, but
I didn’t. So, I was a little nervous going into the delivery,
whether or not I’d have to go through a pretty intense
physical experience in a mask. But because I was negative,
they didn’t make me mask up.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
Post-birth is already a pretty intense period for any new
parent. You’re constantly questioning whether you’re doing
enough and layering COVID on top of that. You know, still so
many unknowns about how it affects children. You know,
sometimes you hear it doesn’t affect them at all. Other times
you hear that, you know, they can have serious issues.
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
We missed out on all of those early visits, the way that we
missed out on a baby shower. So, it wasn’t easy. I have to
say there was a lot of texting, a lot of phone calls. The silver
lining, I would have to say though is, no fear of missing out.
You know, normally, I think, when you’re a new mom, you’re
really like feeling the left behind, like you can’t go see the
hottest movies. You can’t eat out, you know. You’re really
stuck at home all the time. Well, during COVID, everyone
was stuck at home. So, I wasn’t being reminded of what I
was missing necessarily because there was nothing being
shared. I think, if I had been having that kind of
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
resumption of normal life hanging over me, I may have felt a
little bit more anxious about it. You know, I just remember so
many of my friends, like the last month of their maternity
leave, there's like this kind of almost dread because you’ve
gotten so used to one-on-one time with your baby and now
you have to think about somebody else stepping into that
role. It’s, you know, such an abrupt shift and for me,
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
I was able to kind of transition that a lot more gradually
which, I think, has been really wonderful and allowed me to
really feel comfortable in my role as her mom.
((MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
NEXT WEEK / GOOD BYE ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
In coming weeks
COVID Hair Salon
((SOT))
((Justine Carlisle, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
We would go to work from 11:00 to 8:00, do hair behind the
chair, serve our clients, and then we would go home and
from like 8:00 until midnight, we would be doing paperwork
online. We would be like looking for a location.
((NATS))
((Justine Carlisle, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
One of the most rewarding things every day is to be able to
have a team full of women at this point who come here and
feel empowered and inspired by other hardworking women.
((NATS))
((Devin Cook, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
There wasn't a lot of women that we worked alongside other
than each other. We always had each other. But when we
think about like our contractors or our lawyer or landlords,
people that we would talk to advise, it was always men. And
I think that the conversation of like women supporting
women, people are like, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.” Maybe,
industries that we think are more feminine are actually still
being run by men.
((NATS))
((Devin Cook, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
Our standards or expectations, I should say, were set really
low. We were kind of like, “Okay, let's just survive the first
year.” Right? And then once we get out of COVID, we can
talk a little bit about growth or like even just the conversation
of success.
((NATS/MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
EPISODE # 181
AIR DATE: 07 02 2021
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Urban Foraging
((SOT))
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
You learn things much better if you're having fun and all the
indigenous cultures would include stories, folklore, music
and other entertainment along with the info.
((NATS))
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Cross-Cultural Textile Artist
((SOT))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
It’s extremely a therapeutic process for me. Just throwing
colors, seeing what kind of results I'm going to get is
something I look forward to.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Pandemic Baby
((SOT))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
I wanted my husband to be able to experience it.
So, he was there, you know, gowned up like any normal
delivery husband. He was able to be right near me the whole
time. He was able to hold Rumi.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) CITY FORAGERS
((TRT: 08:05))
((Topic Banner: City Foragers))
((Reporter/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Main characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so we're going to be looking for wild foods, common
renewable species that the mowers cut down, that keep
coming back, that we've been harvesting here for 39 years.
I'm Wildman Steve Brill. I'm an environmental educator,
naturalist and author, and we are doing foraging edible and
medicinal plants plus poisonous ones for the murderers in
the group. And we're learning how to use them for food,
home remedies and mayhem. And here is more pokeweed.
Okay, whoever wants pokeweed, if you can get over the
fence, there's quite a bit of it in here at the right size.
I guess, I could climb over the fence if, worse comes
to worse, I've already had a kid.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Pull the outer leaves apart. Go to the very bottom and pull.
And notice this is round. There is a poisonous plant over
here called, the Iris, and some of them are already flowering.
And look how they're flattened. Can everyone see that?
By the way, when you picked this, you're not killing a plant
because it's a network of underground stems
called rhizomes that give rise to the leaves. So, it's like
picking a leaf off of a tree. You're not killing the tree.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
I started getting books on edible, wild plants. Sadly, most of
them were full of mistakes and omissions, but very carefully
over a period of years, I learned what the plants were and
how to use them. And I've been doing my own experiments
in the kitchen ever since.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
You have to be very careful though when picking the plants.
You have to make sure you know all the characteristics of
the plant before you pluck them, because if you get a plant
wrong,
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah, that's not funny. That's a very sad piece of music
composed by Chopin [Frédéric François Chopin, Polish
composer and pianist].
((Priscilla Frank, Forager))
I have actually been on a tour with Steve once before in like
2018. And I mean, I love him. He's incredibly knowledgeable,
talented, like has so many talents. He's hilarious. He's good
at doing the wind singing. He cooks. He paints. He really
does it all. And yeah, Violet as well. This is my first time
meeting Violet and she's like my true hero. She's amazing.
The last time I went, I made pestos. I made like a scramble. I
made a tea. It's really amazing. I made a delicious brunch
right after.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, I've been coming on the tours since I was two months
old. And when I was like five or six, I started hopping out of
the stroller and helping people and kids, like finding the
plants on the side, like on during our tours. And it was
actually when I was nine that I started co-leading the tours
with my dad. And in the beginning of 2019, I started leading
my own tours. Everyone says, how we’re such a great duo,
we're such a great team on the tours. Everything's always
more fun when he's around. Sometimes my dad is a very
humorous person. He tells a lot of jokes. Sometimes he goes
too far with the jokes and I can die of annoyance.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, it's terrible. She bosses me around, finds all the
mushrooms and plants faster than me and steals all my
jokes.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
No. This is, it’s like dust. Do the goutweed.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
It’s dusty. No, I want to do the lambsquarters first.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Do the lambsquarters first.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, so this is called lambsquarters. Chenopodium
album is the scientific name. Plants have lots of common
names that can be quite confusing. It's also called Good
King Henry and White Goose. But the latest science shows
that you learn things much better if you're having fun and all
the indigenous cultures would include stories, folklore, music
and other entertainment along with the info.
((NATS))
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Don't be afraid to try them. Actually, do be afraid to try it
because if you are afraid to try it, you'll be chicken. And it's
called chickweed. If you're chicken, you'll love it.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yeah. Chickens love chickweed. So does Violet’s parakeet.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Bradley Pitts, Forager))
I've been interested in learning more about foraging, I guess,
just feeling a deep craving to like get more intimate with the
natural world.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Oh, here's one we can pick. All right. One, two, three. Okay,
your turn.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
So, this is called sassafras. So, sassafras has three kinds of
leaves. It has a leaf that’s shaped kind of like a T-Rex foot. It
has a leaf that has a shape like an oval. And it has a leaf
that's shaped like a mitten.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
I knew the names of most of the plants, but I did not know
how to identify a lot of them, like to find, like I didn't know
about the hairs on the chickweed. And like, I definitely would
have eaten a bitter dock if I didn't know that it was, and they
look exactly the same.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
Sassafras.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah,
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
They use it to make root beer.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah.
((Krista-rae Anderson’s Nephew))
That's what they used originally.
((Krista-rae Anderson, Forager))
Yeah. Yeah, we're going to make root beer later.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Because there’s burdock at the bottom of this hill.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Hey, if you're going to start foraging, learn a few plants that
are common and renewable really, really well. Be a hundred
percent sure you have the right plant and then slowly add to
your repertoire.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Okay, it's my turn. Okay, so this is called goutweed.
There are large ones and small ones. The ones you want to
collect to eat are the small ones. So, everyone gets some
of this. They grow under the larger ones.
((NATS))
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Where?
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Oyster mushroom. Oyster, Oyster mushroom.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
That’s worth climbing over.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Get it. Get it. Get the mushroom. It’s really good. It's like
a choice mushroom. There's three levels of mushroom:
Good, and there's like edible, and there's
like choice, and choice is the best one.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
Yes, yes.
((Violet Brill, Foraging Guide, Steve’s Daughter))
Yeah. It's really, really good.
((Steve Brill, Foraging Expert))
This is called the Brilla Phone. You shape your hands into
cups, one higher than the other. Air from this hole goes into
your mouth and you hold your breath like you're going to
swallow or yawn. I learned it from my dad and I taught it to
my daughter, Violet. So, you could say, it's been handed
down through the generations. This is The Preacher by [hard
bop jazz pioneer] Horace Silver.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Cloth Connects Cultures
((SOT))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
Once it's dried, I treat it and then I iron it out and I, you know,
take the wax out, basically do the process of removing the
wax. That’s called dewaxing.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) TEXTILE ARTIST CONNECTS CULTURES
((TRT: 05:10))
((Topic Banner: Textile Without Borders))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera/Editor: Mike Burke))
((Map:??Ashburn, Virginia))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 1 female))
((NATS: Khadija Painting))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
My name is Khadija Sareshwala. I live in Ashburn. I've been
married for four years now and I have a two-year-old
daughter. I'm a textile artist. I call myself an artist that takes
all the traditional techniques into a very modernistic
perspective.
((NATS))
I think my style is very unique. I don't have a very set way of
working.
((NATS))
I lived in the U.K. for almost seven to eight years. And then I
moved back to India. I lived in Mumbai which is a very
cosmopolitan city.
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I think my style is more free-flowing, I would say. I, when I'm
painting, I'm usually using lots of brush strokes which are
direct.
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
So, this is a very interesting batik piece. This is used, made
using naphthol dyes. And it’s, that's more of an Indian batik.
This is like an abstract sun with flowers. And that’s how
Malaysian batik was very inspiring to me. And I've been
doing Malaysian batik for a very long time. But this is one of
the pieces. This is a peacock inspired with feathers, you
know. The colors are very neutral, yet it's popping in like this,
the greens.
This is another one. It's very geometric, like blues and
shades of blues. So, it is my batik, a lot of textures and
florals and even the geometry is not very straight. And
imperfection sometimes is the best form of beauty, I guess.
((NATS))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
Batik is basically a resist method. Now, I use wax as a resist
method. So, when I’m applying, I'm painting with wax first so
that the wax does not allow the dye to permeate into the
area where I've painted.
((NATS: Khadija is applying wax on the fabric))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I use mostly silks. I take the inspiration from various,
different arts and, you know, prints. The African prints, it’s
something that really strikes me. So, the color combinations
are something that I look at. Then, there is Malaysian batik,
Indonesian batik, that's the style I'm using for my work right
now.
((NATS: Khadija finishing the waxing process and
starting ironing her work))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
Once it's dried, I treat it and then I iron it out and I, you know,
take the wax out, basically do the process of removing the
wax. That’s called dewaxing. And that's how you get these
certain, you know, textures.
((NATS: Khadija showing her fish design))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
There are some Indian forms where, you know, you see a lot
of like the square, which is a form of art called Madhubani.
So, that's an inspiration from there. It's these motifs that they
use specifically, it's like into triangles. I really like using
geometry in my work.
This is the inspiration, I would say, from the American
culture, right? The Christmas and the snowman, the lights
that you see.
((NATS))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
American culture is definitely very open to different cultures.
So, that's one thing I got, like it is accepting of all cultures.
That's one plus, that's the biggest advantage over here, that
you see different people.
((NATS: More of Khadija’s production))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
My brand’s name is Khadija. It's just my personality out
there. So, when somebody is having, like wearing
something, you know, it's just something that I've created.
((NATS))
Hi. How are you?
Good. How is it going?
Oh, it's pretty good.
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I want my brand to be a diversified brand that has everybody
in it.
((NATS))
I like how you're able to choose a style and stick to it but be
able to make it almost feel personal to the buyer.
Wow.
Because you can create it, you know, like you can
manipulate the design because it's your own,
Yeah.
Which is really, really impressive.
((NATS))
((Khadija Sareshwala, Textile Artist))
I definitely have an exhibit that I want to do. That's my
dream. But I want to also conduct some workshops just to
share or give the experience of, you know, the batik or block
print, even tie-dye. Even if it's traditional method, right? you
can really make it your own, like I have done it.
((NATS))
Tie-dye and batik are my favorite mediums. It’s extremely
therapeutic process for me. Just throwing colors, seeing
what kind of results I'm going to get, is something I look
forward to.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up…..
((Banner))
Giving Birth During COVID
((SOT))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
Birth is already a pretty intense period for any new parent.
You’re constantly questioning whether you’re doing enough
and layering COVID on top of that. You know, still so many
unknowns about how it affects children.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) GHOST RESTAURANTS
((TRT: 03:28))
((Topic Banner: Ghost Restaurants))
((Reporter: Karina Bafradzhian))
((Camera: Andrey Degtyarev, Artyom Kokhan))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((Main characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((NATS))
((Taryn Pellicone, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
Valerie and I are cousins, and we had this idea of getting
really delicious, hot chicken soup to people as quickly as
possible. And starting a small business, finding spaces, you
know, getting all the things that you need to start up, is never
easy.
((NATS))
((Valerie Zweig, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
We had shared a space with a local bar and due to the
pandemic, they had to make their space smaller. So, we
were going to lose our operating home. We found this
location. It was a third-generation restaurant that had been,
you know, in existence. And we said, “You know, this is a
perfect space for us.” So, we said, “Look, we love this
space.” It's too big for us. So, we said, “Well, hey, what if we
invited some of our friends to join us?”
((NATS))
((Taryn Pellicone, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
The cost, it's really expensive to operate. And especially, we
are in the heart of the city. You know, spaces are hard to
come by, spaces that work for your business. And so, being
able to offset some of those costs is really helpful. You
know, coming from a team standpoint as well, it's amazing to
have other collaborators in here with us.
((NATS))
((Valerie Zweig, Co-owner, Prescription Chicken))
There's three of us. And we tried really hard to make it
complementary offerings. So, we have chicken soup and all
different types of chicken soup. We have Astro Doughnuts
and Fried Chicken, which is a doughnut and fried chicken
concept, and cookies. And then we have Saya Saltena,
which is a Bolivian empanada.
((NATS))
((Maria Iturralde, Owner, Saya Saltena))
I met Val and Taryn back at Mess Hall, five years ago. And I
used to have my catering company, everything great. But
then COVID happened. So, I had to change. I had to change
my business model. And I'm from Bolivia, so I decided to
start offering Bolivian food for takeout.
((NATS))
((Maria Iturralde, Owner, Saya Saltena))
I'm very thankful for this place. It helped me tremendously
because I wouldn't be able to open up my delivery platform
to other places if I wasn't able to share the space here.
((NATS))
((BANNER: Stingray Kitchen is another virtual delivery-only
restaurant just a few blocks away.))
((NATS: Theodore Sampel
Thank you for calling Stingray Kitchen. This is Theodore.
How may I assist you?))
((NATS))
((Theodore Sampel, Manager, Stingray Kitchen))
During these tough times, we're trying to create ideas to
keep our business surviving through the epidemic, of course,
or the pandemic. We have the space, so we decided to
utilize the space. And then, other than that, I guess a ghost
kitchen is basically high-quality, food-to-go orders, is what
really is the definition I believe. So, we created a menu and
we tasted it. And here we are today with a beautiful, little
restaurant, you know.
((NATS))
((Takeshi Nishikawa, Chef, Stingray Kitchen))
I think there is a part of me that misses the human
interaction. I think, I do like to see the faces of the customers
who I’m serving. But I just have to kind of pretend like, you
know, like what do they look like when they see the dishes?
What would they react when they open the containers? And I
think, I kind of have to use my imaginative side of my brain.
So, I mean, yes, I think, I do miss the part of the human
interaction for sure.
((NATS))
((Theodore Sampel, Manager, Stingray Kitchen))
I hope it doesn't just go to this. We do need to have human
communication. We need to sit, relax, escape. But I think,
the world has changed and we have to, you know, this is a
part of the business that is going to be with us for a while.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((PKG)) GIVING BIRTH DURING COVID
((TRT: 3:11))
((Banner: A Pandemic Birth))
((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)
((Locater: Reston, Virginia)
((Main Character: 1 female))
((MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
When you’re pregnant, you’re, kind of, bombarded with
information about, you know, things like Zika or other, you
know, diseases that can really affect the fetus, and with
COVID, just no information at all.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
All of our dreams of doing babymoons or having any sort of
like, you know, travel while we were pregnant, just obviously
couldn’t happen. All of the scans that I was getting just to,
you know, make sure it was a healthy pregnancy, normally
you would have your partner or spouse there. You know,
these are really like big milestones. So, like the 20-week
scan, which is the really big one, almost always a husband
would be there. So, my husband kind of missed out on all of
those. I mean, obviously he got to see the images, but just,
you know, interacting in real time with the tech, he kind of,
you know, didn’t get to have that experience. So, that was a
little bit, you know, disappointing.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
But luckily, they did allow one person to be with you in the
delivery, so it could have been a doula. Obviously in my
case, I wanted my husband to be able to experience it.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
So, he was there, you know, gowned up like any normal
delivery husband. He was able to be right near me the whole
time. He was able to hold Rumi. He had to wear a mask, but
I didn’t. So, I was a little nervous going into the delivery,
whether or not I’d have to go through a pretty intense
physical experience in a mask. But because I was negative,
they didn’t make me mask up.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
Post-birth is already a pretty intense period for any new
parent. You’re constantly questioning whether you’re doing
enough and layering COVID on top of that. You know, still so
many unknowns about how it affects children. You know,
sometimes you hear it doesn’t affect them at all. Other times
you hear that, you know, they can have serious issues.
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
We missed out on all of those early visits, the way that we
missed out on a baby shower. So, it wasn’t easy. I have to
say there was a lot of texting, a lot of phone calls. The silver
lining, I would have to say though is, no fear of missing out.
You know, normally, I think, when you’re a new mom, you’re
really like feeling the left behind, like you can’t go see the
hottest movies. You can’t eat out, you know. You’re really
stuck at home all the time. Well, during COVID, everyone
was stuck at home. So, I wasn’t being reminded of what I
was missing necessarily because there was nothing being
shared. I think, if I had been having that kind of
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
resumption of normal life hanging over me, I may have felt a
little bit more anxious about it. You know, I just remember so
many of my friends, like the last month of their maternity
leave, there's like this kind of almost dread because you’ve
gotten so used to one-on-one time with your baby and now
you have to think about somebody else stepping into that
role. It’s, you know, such an abrupt shift and for me,
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
I was able to kind of transition that a lot more gradually
which, I think, has been really wonderful and allowed me to
really feel comfortable in my role as her mom.
((MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
NEXT WEEK / GOOD BYE ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
In coming weeks
COVID Hair Salon
((SOT))
((Justine Carlisle, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
We would go to work from 11:00 to 8:00, do hair behind the
chair, serve our clients, and then we would go home and
from like 8:00 until midnight, we would be doing paperwork
online. We would be like looking for a location.
((NATS))
((Justine Carlisle, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
One of the most rewarding things every day is to be able to
have a team full of women at this point who come here and
feel empowered and inspired by other hardworking women.
((NATS))
((Devin Cook, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
There wasn't a lot of women that we worked alongside other
than each other. We always had each other. But when we
think about like our contractors or our lawyer or landlords,
people that we would talk to advise, it was always men. And
I think that the conversation of like women supporting
women, people are like, “Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.” Maybe,
industries that we think are more feminine are actually still
being run by men.
((NATS))
((Devin Cook, Co-Owner, Blackbird Salon))
Our standards or expectations, I should say, were set really
low. We were kind of like, “Okay, let's just survive the first
year.” Right? And then once we get out of COVID, we can
talk a little bit about growth or like even just the conversation
of success.
((NATS/MUSIC))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
