evilcaramel

I’m sure most of us, one time or another, were subjected to the shame of having our parents force us to wear stuff that we absolutely detested. I remember quite clearly one incident back in grade school.

My mom was so proud of these pair of shoes that she claimed were quite fashionable back in her days and very very sturdy. Apparently, she had worn them before and it had survived the test of time and since they were still alive and functioning, she had the bright idea of passing them on to her kids. My older sister was the first one subjected to wearing them. And to my horror, when her feet had outgrown them, they were passed on to me.

Ahhhh…the Famolares. That was the brand of the shoes my mom made us wear. And boy, were the UHG-LY! They were some kind of platform shoes, that were quite hip during the 70’s!! The ones I had to wear were these black bulky Famolares with their signature wavy soles. Needless to say, it was quite an embarrassment for me to be walking around school in those hideous looking things.

During lunch time one day, while walking in my Famolares, I suddenly felt like I wasn’t walking evenly. Somebody tapped me on the shoulder and when I looked back, some girl behind me was pointing to what was the sole of one of my shoes!!! When she asked if I had dropped something, I told her no and quickly walked away. When I was alone, I tore of the sole of my other shoe and threw it in the bushes. Despite my shame and having to walk around soleless for the rest of the day, I was secretly happy to finally have a reason to stop wearing the Famolares.

When my mom asked me what had happened to her precious shoes, I feigned ignorance and told her that I had no idea that I was walking soleless the whole day. She ended up buying me new shoes that afternoon which I was able to pick out myself and that was the end of my Famolares and the last I ever saw of it. Until now, when a friend reminded me of it.

Hehe. I wonder what ever happened to the sole in the bushes, if anyone ever found it and what they might have done with it?

Anyway, here’s a picture of what my Famolares looked like, to give you an idea…

Ok. This is it. The official countdown. 10 more weeks until I leave Thailand for good and go back home. Am beginning to have mixed feelings about it. I remember when I first got here and up until last month, I couldn’t wait to leave and now that the end of my stay is nearing, am beginning to get cold feet about going home.

Funny how you think you want something so badly and yet when it’s finally given to you, you’re suddenly scared that it’s not as good as you were imagining it to be. Life is funny that way…

I’m also beginning to realize how much Bangkok has grown on me. Each thing that I used to take for granted, I now look at wistfully and now always think to myself that these are the last few times I’d be able to see this, do this, buy this, be with this person. Am trying to hold on to things here for as long as I can…taking pictures in my mind, relishing each experience of living here, trying to take in as much as I can on my last few weeks here.

I’m definitely glad to have been given this experience. And even if it was bittersweet, I wouldn’t have had it any other way I’ll remember this experience forever.