Old Shoes, New Shoes

Changing cultures is a little like buying new shoes. The old pair is comfortable, it fits perfectly and it is what you know and love. The new pair takes some getting used to. You need to wear them a while to break them in. They can initially be sore and not as comfortable as the old pair.

After a while the new pair becomes more familiar, maybe even as comfortable as the old pair (or more?). When you put the old pair back on, you now notice a worn spot, a pebble, or a small flaw that makes it less comfortable than it once had been. Something has changed.

Once you have worn a new pair of shoes you never see the old pair in quite the same light. This has nothing to do with favourites. I have had many pairs of favourite shoes that had to be thrown in the dustbin because they had done their time, and many new pairs that never did fit right.

Right now I am wearing one American shoe and one South African shoe. The American shoe is comfortable. I know exactly what to expect when I put it on, how to behave and what I can do in that shoe. The South African shoe is becoming more familiar- more comfortable- but there are still moments when my foot becomes sore and I realise that I can't yet walk so far without needing to stop and sit for a while.

I can't pick a favourite pair, though, as I like them both. It has taken the wearing of each shoe to help me see the strengths of the other, and for that I am grateful. How many people get to have two pairs of shoes?