I still remember the first time I sprained my ankle. I was doing the long jump and came down on the outer edge of my shoe. My momentum carried me through and my ankle said “pop.” Ever since then, my left ankle hasn’t been the same.
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with running shoes. I like the way that runners feel on my feet. I strongly dislike having to slog the extra weight after a few miles. To that end, I’ve had a mixed relationship with running. I love running around as a kid. Then, facing a mom who (rightly) believed that lots of exercise was good for a growing girl, I was strongly encouraged to do cross-country and track. I was not a fan.
Some of my favorite memories have been times spent in various parks with friends. We’d take off our shoes, stretch out on the grass, and enjoy a beer and some good conversation. Inevitable, someone would bring a ball of some sorts and we’d all be up having a good time. But I think that the removal of shoes was key.
I digress. Recently, I read an article about how shoes aren’t really that good for you. Actually, they are bad. We have thousands of nerve endings and dozens of tiny bones that we have specifically for the purposes of locomotion. And what do we do? We try to out-think our bodies, which is kinda dangerous. More and more research is showing that we’re pretty well designed and we really shouldn’t mess with it too much. Science has provided innumerable ways to improve on our flaws (I think we can all agree that glasses are a good thing), but too often we try to fix what isn’t really broken. Recently, we’ve come to depend on pills for things that we really could correct naturally. I wonder how many pills in the US could be avoided by a lifestyle change. I also wonder how many podiatrists would be looking for work if everyone took off their shoes.
I’ve had problems with my ankles and also my knees and hips (though to a lesser degree) for quite a while. In Korea, I wore high heels more in three years than I had before in my life. Now, I’m putting aside my shoes for the next few weeks to see what happens. I also started running this past week and this morning I took my first jog barefoot.
It’s cheesy, but while I was running, I kept thinking of all of my barefoot memories. )When I was eight, I prided myself on being able to sprint on gravel. I can’t do that now, but my feet have retained some of their toughness.) I only ran for about 20 minutes (with some walking-I’m not in shape), but for the first time in ages, I enjoyed myself. I had a lot more to think about. Not only did I focus on my breathing (I read that exhaling on your left foot helps to avoid side stitches), but I also got to enjoy the different textures under my feet. I don’t know how it will be when the novelty wears off, but I supposed I’ll just find different paths to take.
Now back at home, I’m becoming very aware of all the muscles that have become rather lazy in my shoes. A little painful, but in that nice “I’ve just worked out” kinda way. As with anything, it’s best to easy in slowly.
But I’m still looking forward to tomorrow.
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One of my sisters told me that she had a friend staying in Heidelberg. After some chit chat on facebook, Melissa and I decided to meet up for a day was wandering around the castle. I was a little bit worried about finding each other at the train station, but it turned out not to be a problem.
We went to the Heidelberg Castle, which overwhelmed me. Sean told me that after seeing Heidelberg, he just didn’t really want to see anymore castles after that. I have to agree. Even after meandering for a spell, the jaw-drop factor didn’t really dissipate. (The rest of the pictures can be seen at the link at the bottom of the page.) And it kept getting better. Turns out that concerts are held there and even (I’m excited about this) Nosferatu.
*Nosferatu is one of my favorite films. It is a rip off of Dracula, with a few minor differences. A live orchestra provides the music for the movie,
After touring the castle, Melissa and I went for lunch and beers. Heidelberg is a nice place just to walk around. There are dozens of interesting shops, almost as many places to grab a bite, and street performers. After discovering that we both had a love of hookah, Melissa and I found a cafe where we could enjoy hookah, beers, and the music of the nearby band. We got to do some people-watching and talk with some other Americans who sat next to us (they were military kids who did NOT was to leave Europe)
Later, we purchased some pastries and went down to the river. I cannot imagine a more relaxing place. I made a mental note to return and rent a kayak.
Then I hopped on the train back to Ramstein. In Korea, I’d picked up the habit of falling asleep on the subway. However, falling asleep on the high speed train is not a good idea. I missed my stop (woke up just after we were pulling away from my stop) and ended up a stone’s throw from the French border. All that would have been okay, except for the fact that I’d left my passport on the dresser. As I got on the train going the right direction, I noticed that the police were coming by checking everyone’s passports. Funny enough, I didn’t really worried about getting hassled by the German police (who do NOT have the reputation of warm and fuzzy kittens), but rather the phone call that I’d have to make to Sean. I imagined hanging out with 
friends years down the road and the story getting brought up again and again and again. Fortunately, the train served, causing one police officer to fall into the seat across from me. He got up laughing, his buddy teased him. And while they were bantering, they completely overlooked me. I peeked over the seat after they had passed. Everyone’s passport had been checked, save for mine.
After that, I just wanted off the train. Instead of waiting for the train to take me to Ramstein, I decided to get on one that would take me to the next town over and walk it from there. There are bike paths between the towns and the walk was pretty. Overall, still an awesome day.
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| Heidelberg, Germany |
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Wow. I need to post more often.
Okay. So weekend before last, Sean and I went to see Neuschwanstein Castle. It was built in the 1800s by a brat of a king who didn’t seem to have much common sense. (You can read more about it here.) While the castle was certainly interesting, I appreciated the scenery much more. We also spent a day wandering around in Munich. There, we came across a great band playing on the street. The violin player was such a showman that he mesmerized anyone walking by. If you get a chance and enjoy good music, check out their website.
Then Sean had a last minute business trip to Cyprus and I decided to tag along. We stayed on the Greek side of the island the entire time. It was horribly hot there, but beautiful. We stayed on the south part of the island. We got a chance to visit some ruins as well as a few days to just vegetate on the beach. Anyways, I did a fairly good job of putting captions on the photos. Here they are. Enjoy!
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| From Ramstein to Munich to Cyprus |
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Sean and I are in Munich. Hurrah! Street musicians, great food, and awesome beer! Tomorrow, we’re off to see Neuschwanstein castle.
We were lucky enough to find a place to stay near the train station. Hotel Monaco is a pretty good place to stay. The rooms are neat and clean. The room that I’m staying in doesn’t have it’s own bathroom but rather shares one with two other rooms. Which is fine, because that made it cheaper (which I am all about-given the fantastically terrible won/euro exchange rate). But the best part about staying here is the people behind the desk. Helpful, friendly, and speaking English. Again with the hurray!
So yeah, there’s my plug for the hotel. 
Cheers!
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Wow. Ummmmmmm………….the action was alright.
That’s about the nicest thing I have to say about the newest Transformers movie. And concerning the rest of my opinion, where do I start?
How about some plot failures? Can anyone explain to me why it only took the shard to revive a Deceptacon but Optimus Prime needed the matrix?
Sean and I argued about my next point. He claims that the script was written by machines. I think it sounds a whole lot more like a bunch of whiny middle school students. For those of you who didn’t see the movie, here’s an example.
Female Lead: How do you feel about me?
Male Lead: I adore you.
Female Lead: *pouts because he didn’t used the “L-word”
Male Lead: You say it first.
Female Lead: No, YOU say it first.
Male Lead: I’m dead!
Female Lead: Wait! I love you!
Male Lead: Aha! I’ve resurrected!
Female Lead: Oh! I did say it first!
Me: gags.
This is the sort of drivel that I have never been able to tolerate. The movie played on EVER SINGLE SACCHARINE cliche and over-done movie line. Sadly, they didn’t even pick the good ones. Tacky. Tacky. Tacky.
Speaking of tacky, the first Transformers movie kinda annoyed me by how it fawned over “the President” (pretty obviously Bush) and the military. Whatever. In this movie, the world is in immediate danger because of Obama. That’s right. They named names. Yeeesh. The rest of the movie pretty clearly depicts the President as an idiot and a jackass. The military, however, doesn’t seem to behave like the military at all. Soldiers clearly disobeyed direct orders, took orders from civilians, and never noticed that their communications system was compromised. However, the movie does make a nice showcasing of the military’s more expensive toys and how the expensive toys save the world. Sounds like someone would like more funding.
And while I get that the military would rather not share it’s toys with people wanting to criticize them, this came off way, way too strong. Think tacky-granny-perfume strong. Yes, movie makers, I understand that you have strong feelings concerning politics. However, I came to see an action movie. Sadly, I could not enjoy your action movie because I was choking on all the other crap you shoved down my throat.
I’m going to bed.
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I am not the best blogger. While I like to write, I have the attention span of a six-year-old. I’m very attentive for about a week and then I’m distracted with something else. So here’s the update.
I think I’m done with Korea. I won’t say that I know. I won’t even pretend to know. One of the things that I’ve discovered about myself is that I’m rather fickle when it comes to plans. Or rather, I’m fickle until I’ve decided that I REALLY want something. And everything that I’ve really, really wanted, I’ve done. Namely, travel the world and be financially independent. Check and check. I’m the first to admit that I my life is far from perfect. And sometimes I get horribly jealous of my friends and acquaintances. Yes, I would like a family. But I’m love the family I have and I couldn’t ask for better friends (scattered about the world as they may be). I’m well aware that my job has a notable lack of income (outside of Korea) and a lack of prestige. On the flipside, there’s a portability that I relish and that suits my fickle ways. And I really, really enjoy hearing from former students, both uni and elementary. Through this odd ride, I have been lucky to learn a whole lot about the world and myself.
(Side note:In my experience, heath care in parts of the world that have socialized medicine is AWESOME. In the past three years, the most I have EVER waited to see a doctor was about 20 minutes and I was a walk-in. And the care I received was far more kind, personable, and detailed than most places in the States. So if you think that socialized medicine is evil, I highly suggest talking to someone who has actually experienced it. I, for one, am a huge fan.)
I digress. My plans from here on out are……flexible. I’m considering jobs in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Those are just the places where I’m actively looking. If I run across something interesting in some other part of the world, I’ll consider it. The only plan that I have set in stone is that I want to see my family in August. But until then, I’ll be relaxing in Europe. After a year and a half of six-day work weeks, I plan on doing some considerable R&R. Something interesting though, I think that working on one year contracts may have ruined me for a “regular job.” I enjoy taking a month or so off between contracts. And speaking of contracts, I’d better start looking into that. I’d like to have a job lined out in the next month or so.
Oh yeah, pictures will be coming soon. I have a ton from when I brought my camera to school and a few that I have taken here. I’ll get them up this week. Peace.
