Wanted to remind you that tomorrow is Tom’s Shoes One Day Without Shoes! Please join in the effort even if it just for a minute! Onedaywithoutshoes.com

It’s Hard Without Shoes

Through everyday encounters with domestic poverty, we are reminded to appreciate having food and shelter, but most of us all but forget about our feet. Food, shelter, AND shoes facilitate life’s fundamentals. Imagine a life without shoes; constantly aware of the ground in front of you, suffering regular cuts and scrapes, tending to infection after each walk, and enduring not only terrain, but heat and cold.

The problem is large, but the solution is simple. Wearing shoes and practicing basic hygiene can prevent both infection and disease due to unsafe roads and contaminated soil. By imagining a life barefoot, we can all contribute to the awareness of these conditions. On April 8th, communities, campuses, organizations, and individuals are banding together to walk barefoot for One Day Without Shoes.

Take a walk with us on April 8th, 2010.

Facts:

• In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to school, clean water and to seek medical help.
• Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
• Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
• In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
• Podoconiosis is 100% preventable with basic foot hygiene and wearing shoes.

One Day Without Shoes is the day we spread awareness about the impact a simple pair of shoes can have on a child’s life. On April 8th, we ask people to go the day, part of the day or even just a few minutes, barefoot, to experience a life without shoes first-hand, and inspire others at the same time.

I spent roughly 11 days in Ethiopia surrounded by new friends who would fight to hold my hand. To manage the swarm of kids we would spread our fingers as far apart as possible so that different children could hold onto at least one finger. Many of them without shoes with the red dirt creeping up all the way to their faces. For Assossa, a city which is considered progressive, trash is thrown in the street along with the manure from other waste. Providing shoes for children is not luxury but a necessity. I am not a fan of going shoeless but I hope you will join me at least for a bit so we can support Tom’s Shoes and spend one day without shoes.

Learn more about this initiative at onedaywithoutshoes.com

Some highlights:

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Wicked

Phantom of the Opera

West Village & Greenwich

Shopping in SoHo

Central Park

Dylan’s Candy and Serendipity

Brooklyn Bridge

The list could go on and on but I will spare you… Unless you are wanting some recommendations, in that case just email I will get back to my regularly scheduled blogs this week but thank you all for the time off to enjoy a new experience and celebrate finally being done with undergrad.

Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today
I want to be a part of it – new york, new york
These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it – new york,
new york

I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep
And find I’m king of the hill – top of the heap

…

The day is finally here and by the time you are reading this I will have landed in New York. For the next 8 days I am freezing my butt off and taking it all in. Our schedule is very packed with so much that I want to see. I have literally exceled out our entire week with a Breakfast, Morning, Lunch, Afternoon, Dinner, Evening schedule. I am most looking forward to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, Serendipity, Pravda, and my sister joining in midweek for a day.

These little town blues, are melting away
I’ll make a brand new start of it – in old new york
If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere
It’s up to you – new york, new york

New york, new york
I want to wake up in a city, that never sleeps
And find I’m a number one top of the list, king
of the hill
A number one

These little town blues, are melting away
I’m gonna make a brand new start of it – in old
new york
And if I can make it there, I’m gonna make it
anywhere

It up to you – new york new york

New york

…

In the United States of America we take for granted having clean drinking water. We are able to access it readily from our kitchen sink, refrigerator door or water bottles that we purchase easily and regularly.  Outside of our homes one in eight do not have access to safe, cleaning drinking water, almost a billion people on Earth.

Over Thanksgiving weekend the city of Portland Oregon reached it’s own water epidemic, traces of e-coli were found in the water supply.  Immediately water was no longer safe to drink. Water fountains were shut down and Brita water filters were put on hold.  However, even this crisis pales in comparison to the realities of worldwide water issues.

The earth is made up of 70% water with 97% of the 70% being saltwater. That means only 3% of the worlds supply of water is available to drink for the six billion people on this planet.  Diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation is currently the most serious public health threat, killing two to five million people. 85% of all diseases and deaths are from lack of sanitation and clean water. To make matters worse, countries that have limited access to clean water have poorer education, economic development, gender equality and nutrition. Our water epidemic is 100% preventable.

To learn how you can help visit Charity Water (http://www.charitywater.org)

…

Precious is about a young girl who was abused on all fronts by her biological father and mother. This movie is not for the faint of heart and has the ability to sicken you worse than a scary movie like Saw. The raw scenes and unyielding acting force the viewer to not look away and discount the girl like we probably do everyday. Instead we must face her reality whether we like it or not.

The Blindside, unlike Precious, is a true story about football player Michael Orr. The son of drug addict he had no father and 2 shirts to his name.  He was taken in by a local family and soon tutored through high school and allowed to play sports where he later graduated and went on to play football in college and recently signed to the Ravens to play professionally.

Both movies were shining examples of people who we let slip through the cracks. Who we immediately discount because they are different than us.

Who I immediately discount because they are different than me.

And for both it started with one person to take notice and soon others followed. Over time their lives changed for the better. Precious’ story might not be as surreal as Michael’s but they both changed the cycle and expanded their radius.

I struggle with still being young and let’s face it… poor. I technically still qualify as a poor college student, how do I have anything to spare? I type this fully knowing that any extra money I have goes directly to shoes or the latest technical gadget.

Being poor or a college student is just an excuse. Admittance is the first step, right?

Not to bring in another movie but Dayereh (The Circle) by Jafar Panahi is an Iranian national cinema about a select group of women and the limitations they face in being a woman in Iran.  The movie can be long due to no score and long takes but overall I would recommend it. However, it is an interview with the director that I most remember. Jafar Panahi says,

“In my view, everyone in the world lives within a circle, either due to economic, political, cultural, or family problems or traditions. The radius of the circle can be smaller or larger. Regardless of their geographic location, they live within a circle. I hope that if this film has any kind of effect on anyone, it would be to make them try to expand the size of the radius.”

Posted via email from Danielle’s posterous

While in Bath I soon learned that my British little sister did not know how to blow a bubble with bubblegum.  Can you believe it? I couldn’t.  After practicing over and over again we decided to create a video of what we learned! I hope you enjoy and I am please to introduce you to Carys.

I landed in Chicago absolutely starving but with all of my luggage and only a tear stained cheek as a souvenir. Soon I was in my American Taxi (best taxi company if you are going from Airport to suburbs. You will save major money on it in Chicago because it doesn’t have a sitting fee just base price) on my way to Evanston to meet up with Ashley.

She had a final that afternoon and my 45-minute taxi ride had me arriving to her flat just minutes before she did. The new flight time actually worked better than the one I was suppose to be on! That night we took it easy with a local restaurant (which was bomb) and a movie. It was in the next couple days that the real fun began…

On Sunday and Monday we packed in more Chicago experiences than anyone could imagine:

Church at Willow Creek (Had a talented guest speaker who couldn’t have been more than a couple years older than I am. Her passion had everyone teary eyed.)

Lunch at Smoque Restaurant (http://www.smoquebbq.com/)

Exploration of Chicago neighborhoods and movie sightings (Wanted!)

Lincoln Park Zoo

Kingston Mines blues bar (http://www.kingstonmines.com/) for open mic

World famous Chicago pizza

Wicker Park & Bongo Room

Before I knew it I was back at the airport to fly directly to Heathrow. But as I waited for my plane, I met up with flatmate and travel partner to recount the my tour in the City I just fell in love with.

Enjoy a collection of low quality iphone photos to mark all of my adventures. Just click a thumbnail to expand.

Cheers,

Dani

Luckily my first flight was on Southwest so I got online and almost fainted when I saw the next flight went up $230 in price.  So I got on the phone to call and was told that if I get to the airport in 45 minutes then I could get standby for the next flight but I had to hurry.  I was simultaneously running out the door and calling for a cab and praying for grace.  I was met at Southwest by a good sized pacific islander man. Between him and the other girl working, a petite asian girl who looked about my age, I was glad to have him.  Men tend to a be a bit more sensitive to emotional women.  Us women have no mercy on each other.

He started working it all out and getting my on the 10:10 direct flight to Midway in Chicago but an error popped up and he had to call is counterpart up for help.

Oh ****.

Like I foreshadowed earlier, she was not having my frazzled state and I overslept excuse. Her response was something like… you were misinformed (glare)… you have to pay the extra $ (glare)… you obviously don’t understand what I’m saying. (glare)

As soon as she walked away the larger man looked at me said he would call his supervisor and then I broke out in tears. Not just little tears. Alligator tears. I looked like Paris Hilton when she got sentenced to 48 minutes in jail. I did not use these tears to get what I wanted, like you might be assuming. I was literally distraught. But like most macho men, his Achilles heel is a woman’s tears.

Supervisor came and together they worked through the system as I hiccuped on the other side of the counter. Standby on the following flight it is.

Grace.

As I left I gave two huge thank you and left the mean girl out. It was my feeble attempt at sticking it to the man.

More to come of my weekend in Chicago but until then, look at my shameless and unsponsored plug for Zuca luggage.

Follow my adventures at twitter.com/danidotnoah