Footsteps

Back in the Philippines, when I was a lot younger, I was quite known of my walk.  I'm not talking about a runway/fashion model walk.  I'm talking about just my ordinary walk.  It's nothing special either.  But it's noticeable.

When I was a kid, I had a hard time catching up to my dad whenever we go places.  Being asthmatic makes it worse when I have to take three steps for each of my dad's single step.  I think I didn't complain 'cause I just see dad as a giant.  Apparently, he noticed how hard this was for me.  So he taught me how to walk "his way".

"Take wider strides."
"Use gravity/your weight to pull you forward."
"Don't force it.  It'll come naturally."
As I grew up and got "the walk" I added "a steady rhythm."  Fortunately I was a dance enthusiast that time.  That helped a lot!  Being light-footed but with powerful strides made me walk faster, stabilized, and steady.  Add to that, it gave me power-thighs!

I walked this way everywhere I go, however the path may be.  Be it climbing a mountain or treading downhill.  Even the locals of the mountainous regions gave compliment to the way I walk.  Some people recognized how I "pass by them like the wind."  And even when it's not directly addressed to me, I hear talks about how fast I could go distances.

The only bad thing (but I don't consider it bad really) is when kids notice me.  As I pass by them, I hear them counting "1... 2... 3... 4... 1... 2... 3... 4..." a lot of times.  I can easily tell they're teasing how I walk as it's so steady and rhythmic, you'd mistake it for a march.  I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, 'cause they just don't understand how beneficial to me, the way I walk.  But it's sometimes annoying as I pass by people minding my own business, and get distracted by these petty mockery.

It's when I came here in Korea that everything changed.  Lately, I noticed how bad I walk.  I walk like a fat person with very short strides, no more heel-and-toe motion, and no sense of stability.  I even lost my precious rhythm.  Back in the Philippines, when I stopped dancing to concentrate on music, I gained a lot of weight.  But that didn't affect the way I walk.  It only affected the distance I could go to without rest.  Here, I'm just pathetic.

I blame it on snow.  I never learned how to walk on icy roads.  It takes short strides with a strange footing (landing my foot very flat as I take a small step) to avoid the chance of slipping.  In Ilokano, it takes to "baddek" (stump) instead of "magna" (walk), to cross a simple, icy, four-foot, walk.  It shortens my stride to ensure my supporting leg is stabilized, and in case I slip, I can easily recover.

So there you go.  I lost my walk that I was proud of.  A walk that my dad taught me.  All because of snow.