Walking Lessons
1 November 2009 at 21:51 kellykmckinnon 10 comments
By Kelly McKinnon, KF9 Leon Nicaragua
I fell off the sidewalk tonight. It was bound to happen.
The sidewalks here are raised and tiled and narrow. No extra room is allotted for lamp posts or stoops or two-way traffic, all must exist in no more than four feet dedicated to pedestrian passages.
The rules to walking in Leon are thus: a gentleman passes on the outside, there is plenty of room, and greet passersby with a smile and an “Adiooos.”
My days begin with these passages. Rather, as I, dedicated tom-boy, wobble to work in high heels, these passages are the best things about beginning my days: I wave to the tour office and the guards outside the mill. I strut until I see Yader, he greets me with my daily kiss (on the cheek). On Yader’s corner, across from the park of poets, at the intersection with the stoplight, is the lady who grills corn. Every day she does something wonderful like wearing aprons with row upon row of frills. We bottle neck at her grill.
At night the sky is green with blue clouds and lightening. Again tonight, my walk home is cluttered with political statements, fireworks and flags and a man yelling into a microphone. It makes me nervous. Not its political nature, I come from a political city. It makes me nervous because I don’t understand it. Coming from a political city, I know what it means not to understand—it is a careless thing.
The uniformed school girls roll their eyes. It’s because of the reelections, pues. They step off the curb and walk on, blue pleats bounce knowingly after them. They leave me tottering on the sidewalk.
Lenin waves to me. Of course I remember him, he works nearby and offered to cut my hair. We chat, he offers to walk with me. I decline, I don’t yet know how to walk two by two.
It is as the buses pass and the fireworks burst, that I am nervous and stumble backwards. Lenin reaches for my wrist and gently chastises. Be more careful, he says. And the buses grind pass. I am fine, though still nervous. I wobble back towards the lady grilling corn.
I walk home wishing for more stability: for the school girls, for our clients, for the lady who grills corn, for this country. But who am I, sidewalk nemesis in high heels, to wish for such things? I seem to be the only with having difficulties with balance.
Kelly McKinnon is a Kiva Fellow currently working with Fundacíon Leon 2000 in Leon, Nicaragua.
Entry filed under: All, Americas, blogsherpa, Fundacíon LEON 2000, KF9 (Kiva Fellows 9th Class), Nicaragua. Tags: .
1. Gemma | 3 November 2009 at 20:40
Very poetic Kelly!
2. Michael | 2 November 2009 at 17:41
Lovely writing Kels. And I second the roller blading idea!
3. Carol M | 2 November 2009 at 16:34
Kelly,
You are doing a wonderful thing! thank you for all your writing, I love to read it over and over. What a gift you have! thinking of you with much love.
4. Bryan G | 2 November 2009 at 12:43
I have the same issue with sidewalks in Peru…and I havent even busted out my heels yet!! Extremely well-written and I love the pics!
5. bkbriankelly | 2 November 2009 at 12:42
killer writing kelly, you summed it all up perfectly giving a vivid picture of your daily commute and life in nicaragua.
maybe you should try rollerblading to work, you know, if the high heels get too easy after a while. plus, it will help you blend in
6. Kassidy | 2 November 2009 at 10:37
I totally agree! It does take a while to figure out how to walk in any Nicaraguan city… and beautifully written about our lovely, yet crazy country!
7. Jan & John, KivaFriends | 2 November 2009 at 08:09
as I reached my senior years, I banned high heels from my life, I think they should be outlawed
carry on brave Kelly… but take care, jan
8. Marguerite Jimenez | 2 November 2009 at 05:18
You write beautifully! What an interesting time to be where you are! I’ll be curious to hear whether Ortega’s right to run again in 2011 and changes to the constitution (all sacred of documents) will stir up the same kinds of controversies alla as they have elsewhere como Venezuela, Bolivia, and Honduras (well maybe not Honduras – nothing quite so dramatic ojala).
Love you girl and see you in a few weeks!
9. Suzy Marinkovich | 2 November 2009 at 04:37
Kelly! I am so impressed that you are rocking high heels. I didn’t even bring any w/me!!
10. Jane | 1 November 2009 at 23:47
you’re not the only one! i’ve fallen down thrice already, with two large scrapes to show for it. (although it is the slippery ice in Mongolia that’s getting me)
still, today i was at lunch with a colleague in another dept, and he remarked out of nowhere – “you seem to fall a lot. you have a problem with balancing, no?”
take some comfort in that