Barefoot Work

Barefoot work

Something that I love about my new work here is the fact that we all work barefoot when we’re in the office.  This is not a way to rebel or stick it to the man but rather is a cultural norm here.  Depending on how clean you want to keep a place, there are usually several pairs of sandals outside of any business or home.  My host also required me to do this in Japan when I stayed at his flat.  There are usually sandals and not too many shoes outside doors here I think because it rains all the time and your shoes would be constantly soaked and miserable to wear as a result.  This also happens to be my excuse for not exercising regularly, but that’s another blog entry altogether.

This can be taken a couple of different ways.  To many Americans that are used to having to wear shoes or even ones who get away with wearing sandals, this may seem unprofessional.  Maybe some would even argue it would cause to people to be less productive somehow.  While I think it might contribute a little to a more relaxed and inviting work environment, in no way does it make people less productive.  Honestly, I have worked harder on this mission trip than any of my previous ones by a long shot, at least mentally.  I have worked harder physically to be sure on previous trips, but as far as stretching my brain to learn a new skill set in order to help with the mission that we’re there to do, this is the hardest.

 

The second hardest wasn’t used specifically for a mission trip but learning Spanish proved very difficult when I was in Ecuador for the summer.  There are quite a few similarities that I would like to share here.  By the way, this applies to pretty much any new skill set that a person sets out to learn that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to them.  Some people have a certain knack for different skill sets.  Some people can pick up a new sport very quickly.  Others can learn new languages with a certain ease.  Even these people will tell you though that learning a new thing takes time and hard work.

Why would you want to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation in order to learn a new skill?  For me, this serves a couple of very specific purposes.  One is that as a teacher it is often easy and tempting to forget just how difficult it is to learn a new skill such as reading or writing.  With the students I teach in particular, it is even tougher for many of them as they are simultaneously learning a new language in addition to all the other subjects.  When I first started teaching, I was amazed at how some teachers were just completely dumbfounded when it came to how a student wasn’t learning a new skill very well right off the bat.  Admittedly, I have shared their same frustration on many occasions myself.  That is why I try and force myself to learn a new skill on a fairly frequent basis. 

A specific example that I can think of I’ll share here.  The first year I taught kindergarten, we came to the part in reading where you start blending words.  C-A-T,  CAT and so on and so forth.  The first couple of weeks, I was just astonished that this was even a difficult concept at all for my students to grasp.  We had worked on all the letter sounds, how hard is it to blend them together?  I realized though that this skill just takes time to master for some students.  At first, students usually say, “C-A-T, AT” when they try and blend it together.  After two weeks of that, something finally clicked in their little minds.  The light bulb went on is how we like to refer to it in the teaching world as well as other parts of people’s lives.  When we grow older, we may refer to it as an epiphany or a shift in our paradigm.  You know it when it happens, right?  Thankfully, so do five and six year olds and if you’re wise you will make a big deal at how they have worked so hard and are now gaining mastery over a new skill.

The other reason I consistently try and learn new skills is to help me in my efforts to follow Jesus.  Spreading the kingdom is needed all over the world.  Some are better equipped to spread the kingdom in their own neighborhoods and workplaces in the states; others are better equipped to spread the kingdom in different cultural contexts, be that at home in one’s city or across the world.  Whatever you do, do it as if working for the Lord.  This will often cause unease and discomfort.  At this point, you have two options, you can either push through to the other side or you can give up and go back to your comfortable place. 

Maybe it’s past time that we start working barefoot more often.  If I ever teach elementary students again, I really want to implement this, although I can’t imagine it will go over all that well with the administration and I would have to somehow find a justification for such a practice in my classroom.  For adults, this may sound even more impractical.  It is my guess though, that there are several people who rarely leave the office besides lunch perhaps.  Why not go barefoot more often?  It might just make you more relaxed and as a result more productive.  You might find it uncomfortable at first, but give it a shot.