When you arrived at apartment SS219 in that brown box shipped from the nearest REI store that summer day, you probably thought you’d spend your time walking through some Florida trails. Maybe hike up north at some point. But how could you have known the adventure that awaited you?
Adjusting your straps was way more complicated that I had expected. And for several days, they still weren’t right. New things just take a bit of getting use to.
The end of last July brought us to Gainesville, Georgia. A town with the same name but six hours away. Our first real test: Training Camp. No matter how prepared I thought I was, leaving my comfort zone was painful. The massive blisters you gave my feet that week were proof.
You patiently waited in the corner of my room as September 6th grew closer and closer. You are more World Race style than my everyday footwear. After a sweet stay in a hotel room in Atlanta, we were off. That 14 hour flight, you couldn’t handle my swollen feet, but that was last time I doubted our journey before us
We’ve been through a lot together this year, the three of us.
You waited outside the door in Cambodia since I had to teach English barefooted.
You landed in several piles of unmentionables left by stray dogs as we prayer walked down Bar Street in Chaing Mia, Thailand every day.
You were cleaned in the salty Pacific Ocean on relaxing afternoons spent at the beach in Vietnam, when I realized how similar the other side of the world is to home.
You graciously caught several rounds of vomit in Uganda as I battled with some major intestinal misfortune.
You carried me down miles of dirt roads that still held the stories of genocide as we brought love from house to house in Rwanda.
You were covered in dirt and sunshine as we tilled the earth, planted seeds, and made one heck of a garden that would feed dozens of widows and orphans in Ethiopia.
Montenegro brought a change of pace as well as a change of temperature. You were paired with thick socks, a fashion nightmare, but perfectly practical for walks around the city to meet with new friends and hikes to the top of castles to see the view.
The next month, we traveled with new adventurous teammates to Macedonia, where we pounded the pavement and bussed to far away cities as we searched the country for new contacts for future teams.
In Honduras, you provided the support needed to teach, dance, and play with kids for hours as well as bring back those ever glorious tan lines.
You were the perfect accompaniment to hikes in Nicaragua. Whether those hikes took us to mango trees, rivers and canyons, or across town to visit friends, we sure added some milage.
You may not have been the most stylish shoes in Costa Rica, you’re spotted in painted and you don’t seem to match the sundresses in the shops’ windows. But you’re a lot better than cutting my feet on rocky beaches.
Chacos, we had no idea what we were getting into together. But we’ve walked hundreds of miles through African villages, Thailand’s red light district, old towns in Europe, through gang territory in Honduras, up and down mountains in Central America, along the beaches in Vietnam and Costa Rica, through old minefields in Cambodia, and grassy fields in Ethiopia. Now we just have one more land to conquer, airports in the US.
Though it looks ridiculous, and I’m probably going to regret it during wedding season, I’m thankful for the mark you’ve left on me. It reminds me of what an incredible blessing it has been to leave my mark in 11 different countries.
Photo Credit and foot model on the right: Becky Houston
