A European shoe obsession
I discovered another cultural difference between New Zealand and Europe the other day- or rather it dawned on me even though I have sensed it for a long time. Each time I take my 2yr old out I often let him run around bare feet- even on the beach or on the grass I still get funny looks from other featherless bipeds. They sometimes tell me to put something on, lest he catch a cold. I remember most of my childhood in New Zealand was spent barefoot- whether it was the classroom or the playground or home, our fleshy hobbit feet were mostly out on show. There is that pivotal moment in a Kiwi upbringing, that tribal initiation of passage when we start to play rugby with boots around the age of 15. Now I remember the first time I was in London, happily going for a barefoot jog in the park and innocently slashing my foot on a broken gin bottle (was that the end of my childhood?). It would be easy to get esoteric and talk about the grounding and earthing we miss by wearing shoes all the time but I will save it for now- my saxophone exam paper in Cologne was failed partly because I included my chapter on playing the saxophone with the feet (which was meant in a more energetic way rather than physically!) For a euro-based saxophone class I would tone down my esoterica a little and say that if you do have floor heating, I recommend practising bare-feet as well as removing all the broken gin bottles from your lawn.
