Now I know that the University of Guelph is home to a couple of individuals who can be seen walking around campus shoe-less, everyday. However, that is not the norm in Guelph, or in Canada, and these people often draw wide-eyed stares and whispers among passers by.
In Australia I have definitely noticed an increase in the number, and acceptance, of people who don't like anything impairing their foot-ground interaction. Now don't misinterpret this as me telling you that no one wears shoes in this crazy country, most people do, but the number of abstainers is definitely greater than I am used to. It is also something that I notice a lot more whenever I leave the big inner city.
I figured that it would be a fun social experiment to go a day without shoes. "Walk like an Aussie" is what I coined this adventure as. Now, I didn't quite last all day, I honestly only lasted the walk to school. I underestimated the strength of my soles, it turns out that they are quite soft pedicured princess feet!
Some benefits I could pull out of my short time with my soles to the ground included the awesome ability to feel the grass and the fact that it makes you walk slower (stop and smell the roses reference). Perhaps more seasoned shoe-less joes wouldn't find this as much as I but my steps came a lot more gingerly and I tacked 5 minutes onto my walk to school.
Ultimately I cannot really understand why someone would want to take this on full time but I guess it comes down to individual differences. Maybe we would see more bare soles in Canada if our grounds weren't covered in snow for half of the year?
In Australia I have definitely noticed an increase in the number, and acceptance, of people who don't like anything impairing their foot-ground interaction. Now don't misinterpret this as me telling you that no one wears shoes in this crazy country, most people do, but the number of abstainers is definitely greater than I am used to. It is also something that I notice a lot more whenever I leave the big inner city.
I figured that it would be a fun social experiment to go a day without shoes. "Walk like an Aussie" is what I coined this adventure as. Now, I didn't quite last all day, I honestly only lasted the walk to school. I underestimated the strength of my soles, it turns out that they are quite soft pedicured princess feet!
Some benefits I could pull out of my short time with my soles to the ground included the awesome ability to feel the grass and the fact that it makes you walk slower (stop and smell the roses reference). Perhaps more seasoned shoe-less joes wouldn't find this as much as I but my steps came a lot more gingerly and I tacked 5 minutes onto my walk to school.
Ultimately I cannot really understand why someone would want to take this on full time but I guess it comes down to individual differences. Maybe we would see more bare soles in Canada if our grounds weren't covered in snow for half of the year?
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