I like shoes…I mean I love shoes…really I am completely obsessed with shoes. More specifically HEELS! It’s possible that I have owned a pair of almost every color in a 64 Crayola box. Unfortunately for my shoes, their life span in my “hands” or in this case I guess feet is always a very short one. I become obsessed with my new additions and wear them non-stop. I also must trudge along with the grace of an ogre judging from the damage done to the heels. But, there is no excuse for ugly shoes, so I continue trudging, and frequent DSW as much as someone else may frequent the grocery store.
By this point, you are considering skimming over the rest of this entry or just stopping all together. I mean you came here to read about my adventures in South Korea, not my obsessive shoe consumption, but alas I am about to explain the connection to my life here in SK.
So in the United States, I live, eat, and breathe in high heels while a majority of my friends and coworkers prefer their lives on a much less steep incline. Before I moved out of 1057 E Jefferson, I threw away about 10-15 pairs of shoes who had a date with the dump. I use them, abuse them, and then toss them in the trash. (be thankful you are not a pair of my shoes) I left several pairs of heels at home, and only had room for three pairs, two pairs of boots, one pair of tennis shoes, one pair of hiking shoes, one pair of flats, and three pairs of flip flops in my suitcase. Now, I would have gladly forgone the 7 pairs of shoes without heels (one pair of boots has heels), but the other shoes were going to be necessities for our active lifestyles.
I arrive in South Korea, and it was like I had stumbled upon my version of heaven. Random but not so random note: if you have not seen What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams then a) you have no reference for each person’s heaven being specific to that person b) you must go rent it NOW, its one of my favorites! Everywhere I looked: Heels! Heels! Heels! Women were wearing heels walking to and from work, grocery shopping, and even hiking up the mountain.
So my first day of school, I put on my new(ish) silverish/gray heels (not disco they were classy and satin) and headed to school. My school is about a 20-25 minute walk, and in heels probably much closer to 30. Well uneven sidewalk and drivers who regard traffic signals as optional are not the kind of friends a girl in heels want to have. My beautiful heels were ruined by the time I had trudged to school. This loss was extremely excruciating, because my momma had bought me these shoes after Delilah had chewed up my purple ones of the same style.
Therefore, my life 3 inches closer to the sky ended, and my life 3 inches closer to the ground began. I have been living, eating, and breathing in flats, flip flops, or my mandated school slippers. Now it is my heart aching instead of my feet. Longingly, I gaze at the women’s shoes and drool in front of the store windows as I pass in my flats.
If you are thinking, “just go some heels already so we never have to read such a depressing entry again.” Well, I too, have spent countless hours thinking this same thought. If only…….I did not have a foot phobia :/
In Korea, they have a saying that the “customer is king.” Therefore, they wait on you hand and foot! So in this situation, there would be lots of their hands touching my feet. They would help me put the shoes on my feet and also help me take them off. One of two things has to happen before I can go into a shoe store. I either learn enough Korean to say please do not touch my feet, and insult them for refusing their help, or I overcome my foot phobia. That’s why next English Korean exchange with the music teacher, I will be asking her how to say “don’t touch my feet!”
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