Happy Feet

Since I arrived here in September, I have been complaining about the mud. Maybe not out loud or in writing, but in my mind I curse the mud daily, usually hourly.  It is especially bad on my walk to and from school, or to and from the road to catch a taxi, or to and from my tuck shop, or to and from my pit latrine. It really doesn’t matter how short or how far I need to walk, there is mud on the path. The problem really lies in the fact that it started to rain the day I arrived at site, and it more or less has not stopped. I still remember my second day at school – I just barely made it to school through all of the mud because my shoe broke along the way. It continued to rain throughout the rest of the day, and the walk home was even worse. I seriously considered going home at that point. I mean America home.

Why not just go out and buy a pair of boots? Unfortunately, September is the END of the winter season (and beginning of the wet season, apparently) and boots in my size were in short supply. So for the last seven and a half months, I have been toughing it out using my hiking shoes, “gogo” shoes (the equivalent of fake Keds), flip flops and whatever cheap and insufficient boots I could find in town that fit. The part that really gets me is that I know how important it is to take care of my feet!  I’ve had various foot problems in the past, and keeping my feet in tact was at the top of my priority list when I was preparing to come here. Clearly a huge fail on my part. Not to mention, I knew I was miserable. I just kept telling myself that everything was fine. Its not like I am the only one that has to walk through this sludge every day. Although it certainly felt like I was the least apt.

All of that changed this past weekend. The winter season stock recently arrived in stores, and I was first in line to make my selections. I bought a sturdy pair of rain boots that I can wear to work in the garden, wear to walk around the yard and village, or wear to walk to and from school on the worst of rainy days. I found two additional pairs of nice boots that I can wear to school. And I treated myself to a pair of childish, furry boots that I have absolutely no place to wear, but I figure I will don them when I go to town on a dry weekend. That last pair also happens to be fairly warm, so I will likely wear them around the hut when it gets really cold. With what money did I make these fine purchases? Truthfully, I don’t know. In theory I have money set aside every month for “clothing and shoes” but most months it gets spent on something else. I’ve told myself that I just spent that part of the budget for the next two months, but I’ll just have to wait and see if I need to eat a few more packs of two-minute noodles rather than the gourmet pasta I usually eat. Haha. Doesn’t matter: totally worth it. I have already been in a far better mood the last few days because I know that I don’t have to worry about the state of my feet and shoes upon my arrival to school. All those months I really was kidding myself – everything was NOT fine! But now it is, and hopefully will be for the remainder of my time here.

A few new and essential additions to my shoe collection.