This week we launched our first “footstep” for the Out of Eden Learn Project (Project Zero @ Harvard University). Students watched two videos to learn more about Paul Salopek’s journey following the path of human migration. They learned about ‘slow journalism’ and his reasons for taking this trip. Paul began his journey in January 2013 in Ethiopia (see the map). He is currently in Tbilisi, Georgia for the winter. Our first ‘footstep’ is a practice one and asked you to engage in Paul’s journey and to respond to these questions:
1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article (Sole Brothers)?
2) What questions or wonders do you now have (about this article or Paul’s journey)?
Copy and paste your answers to these questions from your Out of Eden Learn Document into a comment box and share your answers. Also, reflect on the beginning of Paul’s story:
“Footwear is a hallmark of modern identity. How best to glimpse an individual’s core values at the start of the 21st century? Look down at their feet—not into their eyes.”
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
Image credit: Photograph by John Stanmeyer-VII (Out of Eden Walk blog).
Ethiopia, the starting place of Paul’s journey.
Paul is currently in the country of Georgia.
Linking to Thinking 
1)What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something that caught my attention from Paul’s article is that shoes are different from classes. Well, of course there are difference but I think there is too much of a difference. We can buy shoes that are $200 but for them, some people don’t even have shoes at all. “the cheap, democratic, versatile, plastic sandal of Ethiopia. Poverty drives demand. The only brand is necessity.” This stood out to me, especially the last sentence. I really feel bad for the people. I made some connections with India. There are lots of poor people in India like Ethiopia and there are rich people, but people who are rich are REALLY rich. Poor people are REALLY poor. Poor people wear sandals or maybe NOTHING, bare foot.
2)What questions or wonders do you now have?
・How can they live without daily technology?
・Doesn’t the government try to do something about clothing and footwear?
・Is Paul going to wear the same clothes for 7 years??
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
-Fashionable -Favorite colors -Lazy -Elegant -Comfort -Elegant -Rich/Poor -Showoff etc
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Lin,
This is a very god reflection. You also have nice questions for Paul.
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1. What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something that caught my attention in Paul’s article was that people did not need the sandals because their feet got really tough because they have been walking barefoot for years. I also found that people can repair their shoes at home but we have to go to the shoe shop for them to fix it. They must have gotten a few injuries because they could have stepped on glass while walking. I don’t think they really care if they have multi-colored shoes or shoes with patterns, as long as they have something cheap and easy to repair to keep their feet safe.
2. What questions or wonders do you now have?
One of my questions is: what is Paul going to take away from this long journey?
My second question is, what did Paul first think when he saw people walking barefoot and seeing their soles so damaged?
3. What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
You can learn what someone likes to do in their free time(for example play soccer), you can learn a persons favourite colour, if they are casual or formal. You can learn about their personality.
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Great questions, Samara. Paul is still early in his journey and he is a well-traveled journalist. I am sure he has seen a lot during his career. However, this journey will no doubt be a life-altering experience. I look forward to a book from him some day about this 7 year walk.
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
– Something that caught my attention was it was similar to India. The Ethiopians could only afford $2 plastic shoes and Indians can afford cheap sandal. And when I was inside my car going home I saw people walking on rocky, dangerous roads barefoot. Also in India when I go by car, I see a lot of poor people walking on their barefoot or raggy, dirty and old sandals. Sometimes I think that I am born as a lucky girl if I see people on the roads.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
– What does Paul take with him during his journey?
– How many clothes does he take with him?
– Where does he sleep?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
– not much footwear-lazy, poor, Does not care
-much footwear- fashionable, rich, Really into collecting foot wear
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Paul’s article was interesting because it talks about people that don’t have shoes and that have damaged feet. We can learn that our life is much easier than their life because we can go to the doctor when we have a small thing that hurts, but when they have a huge problem they cannot go anywhere to fix it. When people wear shoes we can see a lot of new things about that person. We can see if they have money or if they are poor, we can see what kind of jobs they are doing.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
Now I wonder how Paul Salopeck feels, if he really likes his journey, and if there are some things, that he regrets.
3) I think the shoes shows the personalities :
-favortite colors
-athletic
-elegant
-comfort
-rich or poor
-fashionable
-cool
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1)What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
-My attention was drawn to the whole article itself showing how the people can have a shown identity by looking at the footwear in the modern world. Although some who spend their lives walking barefoot on rocks do not require sandals to give little protection because by this time they would have feet as strong as leather. If you were in the US,you would see high heels,sport shoes etc. But in the poorest of Ethiopia shoes can still be afforded but only one single design that costs around 120 rupees. They still do have different colors of those shoes. Although they are cheap, they do provide holes so that air can flow into the shoes keeping the feet cool while protecting it from rough terrain. I was interested because even though Ethiopia is one of those countries that is not well managed, the poorest can still afford footwear while in a better managed country like India,many of the poorest can’t afford footwear. Probably the only reason for people in Ethiopia walking barefoot because after walking barefoot on rocks and other rough terrain there feet are strong enough to be there own foot protection.
2)What questions or wonders do you now have?
-What else could Paul say about the footwear worn by the poor?
-Was it easy to melt plastic and mold it?
3)You can tell if they are athletic or what is their favourite color.You can tell if they like comfort,elegance or how wealthy they are.Many people run in and take the first pairs of shoes they see.Others take a lot of time choosing the correct shoes for them.
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1)What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
This article reminds me of poor children in Cambodia and in India. It was really interesting for me because I once saw poor children living on the river in Cambodia and felt really bad about it. I believe throughout Paul’s journey more people will have empathy to this poverty issue around the world and begin donating to those who can’t afford things like shoes.
2)What questions or wonders do you now have?
Out of several questions I have, one of the most important questions is whether Paul’s helpers and tour leaders get paid or not. Another one is how can Paul Salopek catch up with one month late schedule. Is he on schedule for his journey? Last wonder is how old is Paul Salopek.
3)What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
-What are their hobby or favorite sports to play
-Whether that person is fashionable
-The color that person likes
-How wealthy or poor that person is
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1) Paul’s article was interesting because people in Ethiopia wear such poorly made sandals. They wear sandals that can be fixed if broken. Now I can see that there are people around the world who wear poor shoes, while some of us wear such good quality shoes. I cannot believe that people in Ethiopia can live life with such bad quality shoes and walk everyday with those same shoes.
2) I wonder if Mr Paul flies back and visits his family?
Will Mr Paul ever have to risk his life to continue on his “slow journalism” journey?
3) You can learn what their favourite colours are, which sports they like, if they like elegant or comfortable shoes. Either they are rich or poor, fashionable and cool. In today’s time like Mr Paul said ” Footwear is a hallmark of modern identity. How best to glimpse an individual’s core values at the start of the 21st century? Look down at their feet—not into their eyes.”
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something I found interesting was the issues in poor countries are just like India or Cambodia. For example in every single country, the main issues are : contaminated water, not enough money to afford food, clothes and shoes, electrical issues and medicine.
I was really concerned about the kids in those countries because when I saw the pictures of the kids on his blog, I felt like “I’m so lucky” because I’m a wealthy kid and I don’t need to care about money and those kids are only focused on for example “I might going to eat or not?”
What questions or wonders do you now have?
I wonder how people can live without basics necessities?
Second is how does Paul Salopek react to these poverty issues?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
We can learn about:
their favourite colours.
if they are athletics or not, or you can see which sports they like
their wealth-they are in between, which means not to reach no to poor.
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Good job, Enzo. We are very fortunate and blog posts like Sole Brothers make you reflect on your own life. We have much to be grateful for.
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something that I found interesting was about the sandals because they said sandals are cheap. But the sandals are really cool because they weigh nothing, and they are recyclable. That’s why, poor people feel happy for this sandals.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
I have two questions. First, why are the sandals really cheap? Because it’s really good sandals, so I wonder why it is really cheap. Next, why do they use sandals and not shoes? Because shoes is more stronger and useful. So I think it’s better to use shoes.
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
From foot wear, I can understand what color people likes. Also, if people wearing Nike or some sport shoes, I can understand they like to do sports.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
What caught my attention in Paul’s article is their shoes because their shoes are made out of plastic and they can afford them after one day of work. The shoes cost $2.00 usd and in Indian rupees 122. They only have one pair of shoes. When the plastic shoes break they burn them over a wood fire and mold them as good as new.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
Why don’t they wear shoes made of fabric?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
You can tell what color they like,if their athletic,or if their elegant, if their rich or poor,cool, and if their fashionable.
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1)What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something in Paul’s article that caught my attention was the sandal because the sandal was made from rubber so when it broke they could melt it and again fix it, which was fascinating. The sandal cost 1 day’s salary, and I know that the Ethiopians do not make that much money.
Paul’s article was interesting because It told the day of the Ethiopians and how different it is from my life and how I am living in a good place and how I have good education.
I made text to world connection to Paul’s article “Sole Brother” because also some Indians walk barefoot and it is similar to people in Ethiopia. Paul’s article made me think about how my life is free and with good education.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
As a slow journalist you might have a determination what is it??
What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something in Paul’s article that caught my attention was the sandall because the sandal was made from rubber so when it broke they could melt it and again fix it, which was fascinating. The sandal cost 1 day’s salary, and I know that the Ethiopians do not make that much money.
Paul’s article was interesting because It told the day of the Ethiopians and how different it is from my life and how I am living in a good place and how I have good education.
I made text to world connection to Paul’s article “Sole Brother” because also some Indians walk barefoot and it is similar to people in Ethiopia. Paul’s article made me think about how my life is free and with good education.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
As a slow journalist you might have a determination what is it??
3)What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
WE can learn there favorite color,athletic,elegant,comfort,rich/poor,fashionable,cool.
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Great explanation and very long and good paragraphs. I really like how you gave lots of details! Good Job Woon Ji!
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Paul’s article was interesting because some people only wear sandals and they only come in colors black, red, brown, green, blue,and, purple that is not fun to wear only these sandals .If the sandals only cost 2 dollars I can see why the sandals the so cheap,and plus they are made of plastic.WHEN they are broken you can melt them and mold them with my shoes if they broke i will just get a new pair of shoes and throw them away or give to a kid on the road. In Ethiopia they can work one day and get payed $5 and get two pairs of shoes .
2) What questions or wonders do you now have (about this article or Paul’s journey)?
How do they make the shoes?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
Athletic
rich
cool
sports
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something in Paul’s article ‘Sole Brothers’ that caught my attention was the sentence ‘Footwear is a hallmark of modern identity’. And it made me realize few things. The reason why I agree with that sentence is because he wrote that shoes announce their wearer’s class, hipness, career choice, sexual availability, even politics, and it made me understand why he wrote the footwear is a hallmark of modern identity. Because it felt like true since there are many brands and many people who are wearing fancy and expensive shoes. It was really interesting and came to my mind. Also, he wrote about the sandals of Ethiopia and that story reminded me that I am a really happy and lucky person.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
– How or where does Paul take a bath?
– Does he take some rest during his journey?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
I can learn about what is that person’s favorite color, or brands, and that person’s hike. If that person wears fancy footwear, I can notice that person cares about footwear, but if they doesn’t wear good footwear, I can notice that person doesn’t care about footwear.
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Yoobin,
I also wonder how often he takes a rest and when and where he decides to stop for extended stays on his journey to rest. I heard he is now in the country of Georgia waiting for the winter to pass or end. Maybe he has to stop for possible injuries, bad weather, or to write. I’m also curious about this.
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something that caught my attention were the sandals. They only come into some colors and not in others. It is incredible how we can tell personality just when we see what kind of shoes you have. “Shoes announce their wearer’s class, hipness, career choice, sexual availability, even politics (the clog versus the cowboy boot).” To me this is not how we tell the personalities of other people, not because of what they wear but how they act. It’s also incredible that sandals are the only type of shoes they wear in Ethiopia. And when they break, they just melt the plastic and makes some new ones. What I think is good about these sandals is that they can be recycled easily.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
I wonder why the sandals can only made of some colors and not others.
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
Their favorite color, if they’re athletic or like sports. If they’re cool or fashionable.If they’re rich or poor.
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something in Paul’s article that caught my attention was it was little different from me. I wear shoes for necessity and fashion but for Ethiopians, they wear shoes for only necessity and also it is limited colors. And they can buy one pair of shoes for little amount of money like 2 dollars, and if it brake they can just melt and stick it again. But for my shoes, he (a person who fixes the shoes) has to stitch, etc. I’m worried about what if Ethiopians hurt their feet because their shoes are not really strong. So, when I was reading this article I thought that my shoes are the best.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
When you walk long distance with sandals does not hurt your feet?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
– Their favorite sports
– Fashionable
– rich/poor
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Paul is not wearing sandals for walking these long distances, only some of the porters who are helping to carry his supplies. In East Africa, many of them have been wearing sandals their whole life and their feet (soles) are strong and probably like leather from so many years of wearing nothing but sandals, or walking barefoot.
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1What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Paul’s article made me think about some people only wear sandals and the sandals are recyclable for them so sandal is a necessity for them. I saw that someone is walking street with barefoot. But in India someones are rich but some people are so poor.
2What questions or wonders do you now have?
How long is he walking in each day?
3What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
I learn that the sandals will shows how is their personality, like favorite colors, are they rich, and the are they rich or poor.
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What caught my attention or interest about Paul’s article is that when all the people are wearing a same thing, that means that some country can’t make a different shoe because the country does not have a money to make it. So that means we are so lucky that we are born in the wealthy country and born in a wealthy family.Something interesting I found about Paul’s article, “Sole Brother” is lots of people are having a harder life than us.
A question I have is ,what are they(people who are hosting Paul) thinking about Paul?
What I can learn from someone’s foot wear is how rich is that people, and their personality.
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Great question, Mutsumi. I’d love to see the reaction of some of the people he meets when he tells them he is on a seven year journey.
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Q: What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something interesting I have about Paul’s article was all of the people in Ethiopia wear same sandals with only few colours. I have about 8 different kinds of shoes and they are really cool and good. But in Ethiopia they have so less shoes. I am surprised that we can see the difference from our shoes and their shoes.
Q:What questions or wonders do you now have?
I have question that why do you (means Paul) follow the path early humans walked? I don’t think you can get any information by just walking the same path of early humans. I don’t understand the importance of walking same path as early human.
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1. The article “Sole Brothers” caught my attention because in my daily life I really complain about not getting any Nike’s. After reading this article I feel good with what I have and I made a decision not to complain and be happy with what I have. I am really surprised that not having shoes is such a big problem in Ethiopia.
2. Is Paul Salopek going to walk barefooted in ab out a year?
How do you think of helping your friend about the barefoot?
3. I agree with most people. I think the shoes reflect different personalities. Like if they are poor or rich, their favourite colour,, it also shows how hard they work everyday and it also shows that Ethiopia is starting to make products of their own.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
What caught my attention was that the route, and distance of the walk is an amazing length and what surprises me is that all of his video logs, journal entries all seem to lead you that he is enjoying his route but it becomes lonely in some parts of his travel.
2. What questions or wonders do you now have?
I wonder if he is taking any souvenirs or like taking some private things for his family. I wonder if he is communicating with his family.
3. What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
I can learn that people can be identified without looking at them or hearing their voice. Also, that you can learn about their personality like what color’s they like, if they do physical activities and finally how they walk.
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article (Sole Brothers)?
I noticed that people live in poverty because he said that the sandals can be bought for a equivalent as a days work which was about $2 and that is a incredibly low amount for a days work.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have (about this article or Paul’s journey)?
-I wonder why people can only get so less money!
-Will Paul wear the same clothes?
-Does he ever return home to see his family once in a while?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
You can learn their identity and rich or poor and a lot of things. Rich people have expensive shoes and poor people might not even have shoes.
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1)What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
The thing that caught my attention was how Ahmed knew La’ad where waiting for them just by looking at the footprints.
2)What questions or wonders do you now have?
My one and only question is does every shoe have a specific mark so Ahmed could tell it was La’ad.
3)What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
Nothing really, or at least for me I don’t notice peoples feet.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
That you can repair the shoes by melting them
What questions or wonders do you now have?
I wonder who created the sandals company…
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
I think I can learn how much money the person has and how much time they spend shopping! 🙂
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
The thing that caught my interest was how cheap the green sandals were. They looked cheaper than the ones you can find on the road side in India.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have?
I hope that the sandals are little bit more comfortable than they look in the picture, and also how many miles will Alema will walk until he returns back to the green plastic sandals.
3)What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
By looking at the shoes that people were you can find out many things. One of the things you can find out about how wealthy they are. If someone is wearing plastic sandals like they are wearing in Ethiopia you can understand they were very poor. You can also understand about fashion and the new things that are out. You might also be able see whether it is a boy or a girl.
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1. What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
That the Ethiopians had cheap material and their feet souls were not so well. Also, they made really poor and cheap sandals. I would also like to mention that they could recognize the other people’s footprints because they either stepped on some amber, carved it, or did some funky design to their shoe soul.
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2. What questions or wonders do you now have?
I actually did have one question….
If they could recognize all of the souls and the people who are wearing the shoes, how could they actually see the footprints because the footprints are barely visable?
3. What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
You can learn what someone loves to do for their free time and you can learn what hobbies and sports do they do.
Sai
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1.What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
There was some parts that caught my attention. One of them surprised me which is that shoes represent their class, hipness, career choice, sexual availability, even politics. And also their shoes were limited with color.
2.What questions or wonders do you now have?
I have two questions. One is if shoes can represent their classes, what other things also can represent their class? and why not the shoes, why it is plastic sandal?
3.What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
-Their favorite color
-Their living life
-Their hobbies or sports they like
-Fashionable
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
I can’t imagine that in Ethiopia, almost every man, child and woman have the same footwear as one another. The footwear they have are not like the ones we have. They’re footwear is very cheap unlike ours. Also, they’re footwear weigh almost nothing. Plus, someone can tell who was walking there based on just their footprints.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
Is Paul going to try to help the Ethiopians a little?
I wonder if Paul enjoyed being in Ethiopia?
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
If someone has very fancy shoes, it could mean that they are kind of rich and they care about what they look like on the outside. Also on the inside. Some people who don’t care about their footwear that much, could mean that they don’t care what they look like like on the outside. They care about what they look like on the inside. You can also learn if he/she is fashion type of person or not.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
-It caught my attention and interest in Paul’s article because I want to know what happening in the world.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
-Did Paul had feeling that he wanted to give up?
-How did he start walking over the world?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
-I can learn from the values from their footwear about that they are poor and it’s hard to get shoes that we wear and it’s expensive.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
The picture of the person’s cracked feet really caught my attention. I guess I never knew that people’s feet could be like that. This must be what Paul means by slowing down and taking a closer look at things.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
This is a question for Mr. Paul: Are you going to try and do anything to fix how people don’t have good shoes without money? Did you try on those shoes? Wonder’s and Questions(For Myself): Are there other places in the world like this?
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
Footwear plays a big part in learning about someone. For example, if someone wears cleats, you can tell they like soccer. Or if someone is constantly wearing sneakers, you can tell they play or like sports, or even have PE that day! Shoes can tell you what gender someone is, and some people have shoes so different that you don’t even have to look at their face to tell it’s them!
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Good questions, Vinay.
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This Article is great!
I was Interested by how you can so easily identify people by footwear. It shows that what we wear makes an equally important mark as our actions.They show our identity as a single person and a part of a community. The article explained how the cameleers could be identified by their shoes,and how the guide could tell by the tracks La’ad left that La’ad was waiting in Dalifagi.
The shoe tells you a lot about the person as an individual too. You can tell if they are rich if the shoe has fancy patterns or if it is multicolored or if it is like a high heel.Some people (like the Etheopians) cannot afford those shoes and have plain shoes or sandals
But I wonder how he will ever be able to communicate delays along the journey without modern technology? What if La’ad’s tracks were not there?How will they have the time to deal with the delay?
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article (Sole Brother)?
In the article that I read had a meaning of love and poorness. I thought that the most interesting thing was the image of someone whose foot was painful to see. I hope that Paul would take a lot of meaningful photo because then I and every people could see the other side of earth that humans are having hard time.
2) What questions or wonders do you now have (about article or Paul’s journey)
I want to learn and wonder about the sole brother because it was so sad to see a same person like me having a foot like that. I hope Paul never gives up on this walk because it shows the entire world about these kind of problems. Also I wonder if we could fix this big problem.
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
When I see the shoes I could see that how much money we have and the fashion we wear. I can feel this because many poor people do not have a proper shoes. hope Paul could show many people how precious shoes are to us. Also I think I really know is that I feel comfortable and protects my foot from other thing like rocks.
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1) What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article (Sole Brothers)?
-I didn’t even thought of anything I read. Everybody have the same sandals, in all Ethiopia. They cost 2$, a man salary for the day. (Everyone is wearing the same shoes, how amazing is that ?).
2) What questions or wonders do you now have (about this article or Paul’s journey)?
-How are they so poor ? Why don’t they try to build things like us ?
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
-I think they don’t really care about their style, because the most important is to HAVE something, not if it’s pretty or not (I will especially don’t care if I was poor).
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
I was surprised to see that the people walking with Paul had no footwear. I think it is very important to have good shoes so you can walk better. Especially if you are travelling a long distance. I liked that he put pictures in too.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
I wonder if Paul is going to make it to the end because it is a very long walk!
And what if he gets sick very badly and is almost going to die, what will he do?
How does he feel when he sees the people in Ethiopia wearing these same shoes every day?
Does he feel sad about these people?
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
We can tell what color they like, if they are athletic or they like to be cool and some people have a special brand from their country so you can notice that the person is (most of the time) from that country.
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Sole Brothers made me realize a lot about Paul’s project.
First, when I learned about the Out Of Eden project, I thought Paul was trying to find artifacts and not really looking at how the world changed around this road. But now I realize he does look around and definitely isn’t searching for artifacts….
I find amazing that you can tell people’s style by looking at their shoes.
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The thing that really caught my interest was that most Ethiopians have plastic shoes.These can be melted and moulded to fix any hole or damage,today we use shoes as accessory and necessity but to them its just a necessity this makes me think about how lucky i am i have up to six pairs of shoes and they would only have around one to two pairs and they don’t have a big option like we do,they are only limited to a couple of colours whereas we have shopping centres where we can buy them.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something that I found interesting about Paul’s article is that we can think about people by looking at their shoes, clothes and other things. We can find their characteristics by their wearing. The other thing that I found interesting is about the shoes that they wear. I read that they have only five or six colors of shoes and it costs 2 dollars. To add on it, I think it is very cheap, which means the country is very poor. Because the gap between rich and poor people are huge. The something that I found interesting is that we can know them by looking their shoes/wearing.
What questions or wonders do you now have (about this article or Paul’s journey)?
what motivates him to go for 7 year plan? How can we improve this big issue?
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
When I see their shoes or their wearing, I can infer that how much they are poor and rich. But they just have the same shoes. I think it would be very boring to wear the same shoes over and over again. Honestly, this makes me very miserable and I think we should discuss about this problem. I really thank to my parents and gods that I am wealthy, able to eat food and have fancy shoes in my life. I can learn how much they have money due to their footwear.
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Jaehoon,
I like the connection you made in the last question. I agree that we can gain a new perspective when we see people who live in what we view as worse off conditions than us. It allows us gain a new sense of appreciation for what we have. We should be grateful.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
In Paul Salopek’s article(Sole Brothers), Paul is telling you about their need for protection for those who work. They are not aware and cannot afford. Something I found interesting in ‘Sole Brothers’ was that Paul is letting us know how hard life is for them. I thought that our little easy help can be of very big help for them. And though the companions were late for about a week, they were not questioned about the delay. It is understandable how difficult it is to walk with that plastic shoes.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
What did Ethiopian workers thought? Like, did they really care about their shoes?
How did you survive from dangerous situation? did you have one?
Do the workers have any opinion about their shoes?
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
As I see the footwear people wearing, I can see how they are living their life. We know their character also.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article? What questions or wonders do you now have?
If I was saying this out loud, I would say it in surprise. Breathlessly. In astonishment, “The article- it was about shoes!? Why- Why… Would somebody choose to write about… Shoes!? I admit, it was interesting to read, but SHOES!?”. Exactly. Why don’t they make the article longer and talk about Ethiopians in general? Or the clothes that Ethiopians wear? The manufacturers of the shoes? I mean, anything to make the article longer! I want to read more! Now, I think that it’s interesting how much you can tell by the shoes. But so what if Ethiopians wear only one pair of shoes! Is it comfortable? What is the government doing to help the Ethiopians? How do the Ethiopians feel about this treatment? I find it funny that here in India, you find spare sandals just lying around.
I like the way the Ethiopians are able to recycle sandals. They should take all the spare sandals lying around here and give it to other, needy countries! And on another hand, Who has the money to fund this journey? And whichever company that is, why don’t they use some of their money to fix problems around the world, like poverty? And why would somebody want to go away from their family, with no Skype or Facetime or Phone or anything, for SEVEN years? Won’t this trip have a MAJOR impact on Paul’s body and health? If he walks daily, at least 2 hours everyday, then he can either be having a major workout or a hunger fit. Is he going to be physically okay? In the hot sun, he may not have a habit of drinking a lot, and may be thinking of saving his water, as there is less water in the desert he’s in, so he will get easily dehydrated.
The BIG Question: Is he physically okay AND will he be physically okay in SEVEN YEARS? And if he isn’t, what will the world (and his family) think? Will the company that is sponsoring this trip give them a bribe to keep his family quiet? Even if Paul VOLUNTEERED to do this, I seriously think he is underestimating this and should reconsider. Did he think about what may happen in the future? What if he never returns? The Eden! (The End!)
“Footwear is a hallmark of modern identity. How best to glimpse an individual’s core values at the start of the 21st century? Look down at their feet—not into their eyes.”
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
You can see whether they are prissy, prissy girls (frilly shoes), or sporty athletes(dirty cleats). Whether they are those kind of I don’t care or vintage (sneakers) or those I am a teenager girls (high-heeled boots), they usually also wear stuff that reflect their personalities. Like an athletic person would wear shorts (soccer boys: nylon shorts, like PE shorts) and an airy, baggy t-shirt which allows them to move around. Or an I don’t care or vintage would wear jeans (preferably tight or ripped) of black or blue and a big shirt or a hoody. Prissy, school girls would wear a nice pink, purple, light blue, black, or white button-up shirt and nice leggings. Or a nice, simple skirt which edges inwards, not outwards. And an I am a teenager person would wear sneakers, high-heeled boots, ripped clothes, shorts or skirts, jeans with some extra cloth at the bottom and very tight at the top, and weird tops (I don’t know, maybe a top with a curtain at the back and a long, stiff piece of cloth that feels like cardboard?- Of the top of my head, use some imagination). But maybe if you read a book that a person wrote, you would get a better idea of the author. Like the author wants to be like the main character? Or is like the main character? There are a lot of ways to look at a person; but the human mind is too complex.
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Rhea,
Wow! I can see you put a lot into this response. It was interesting to read. I especially liked your response to question 3. As far as wanting to know more about Ethiopia, I encourage you to go back and read more about Paul’s trip through that country. This particular blog entry (Sole Brothers) was more that just about shoes. It was about how you can learn a lot about someone and what he/she values from what they wear. Look at Paul’s blog and you can read more about his journey there and in other countries he has traveled to. You can find it here: http://outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.com/
You can also learn more about who is financing this trip in his blog. Yes, it was his idea to do this and I am sure he must be keeping in touch with family through social media. Thanks for your comment.
Mr. Martin
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1. What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
It was interesting because I heard that Paul could learn things which he didn’t know. Also I saw the person in the picture look painful because they walk a lot.
The plastic sandals caught my attention because they have limited shoes and all the shoes are the same. When they break the sandals, they melt the shoes over a wood fire and join it back together.
2. What questions or wonders do now have?
I have question: How is Paul going to change the world by walking around?
I have another question: What do they wear shoes for walking around the world?
3.What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
Athletic shoes
Favorite colors
Brand shoes
Comfortable shoes
Fashionable shoes
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
Something interesting I found about Paul’s article “Sole Brothers” was how Paul Salopek sees events that are happening and even some small things like what people wear, use and eat. It really interested me that he approached without feeling that it is different and he just try to communicate and find out more about people. I also find interesting that everyone in Ethiopia is wearing the same shoes and what they wear shows the power that people have. It is really different from Korea where people wear different shoes and tries to wear expensive shoes which are from famous brands.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
A question I have is that how Paul Salopek could be able to travel without being sick or safe even he goes through different place which could be very dangerous.
3) What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
I think the shoes tells you what that person like to do because if you wear soccer shoes or running shoes that shows that they often play soccer or run around. I think people in Ethiopia are not lucky because they don’t get to try different variety of shoes. I really appreciate how my parents gave this great chance to wear different types of shoes depend on what kinds of sport that I play or do.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
In the Paul’s article, there was a picture with painful foot. The interesting thing was that they had only one kind of shoes and maybe they had different colors. So everyone had same shoes. Also those shoes were really cheap. It cost only 2 dollars.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
I want to learn more about footwear in Africa. I want to learn this more because this is the problem that people are having in Africa.
3. What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
If I see the shoes I can know about their hobby. For example what they like to play and their favorite colors.
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That he was saying that we are evolving and we are all walking together to the future and I think it’s true. Also that he was saying the because he started of in Africa he said that the people didn’t use shoes and there are photos of their feet cracked. It’s nice to know that something is not made in China .This will help out the country in a lot in multiple ways. It’s also horrible what people have to go through just because they can’t afford shoes. It also made me think that the country Ethiopia is poor and where I live now is also poor in my opinion, I live in India and there is a lot of poor people but here in India the poor people are not separated unlike in the US or the UK and also in Ethiopia. A ordinary person in Ethiopia makes 2 or 3 dollars a day and that’s how much a sandal costs and every person in Ethiopia has the same shoes and we as humans that are not as poor as them should be proud of he we are.
I have a question to him because I want to know that what if he gets hurt or something like that would he give up or would people help him or what?
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Something interesting about Paul’s article “Sole Brothers” was how they wear shoes according to different characteristic of them or their occupations, as it is stated here,“In the affluent global north, where fashion caters to every whim and vanity, shoes announce their wearer’s class, hipness, career choice, sexual availability, even politics (the clog versus the cowboy boot).” I find this very interesting because you could tell some characteristics of a person by the color and style of their shoes.
A few questions I have still about Paul’s journey are…
One, what is one thing that has made Paul feel really lucky for what he has?
Two, what does Paul think he will take away from this journey when he has finally completed it?
These are just a few of my wonders and questions.
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The thing caught in my mind of the sole brothers is that it really show their personality strongly and its show it is hard life even having a single, simple colored and plastic shoes. To buy these shoes their occupations are poor. I feel that if I was in ethiopia watching people foot that it all splits I feel that “Dude we are lucky that we have these colorful and good shoes” . Still for these people the one pair of shoe is very important to them.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
What caught my attention was that man’s feet was cracked.I wanted to read about it.Sole Brothers is a very interesting article.The reason why the feet was cracked because he was walking bare foot.The they got sandals blue,green,brown.I find amazing that you can tell peoples style by looking at their shoes.
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・I was interested in Paul Salopecks article because, I did not know people in the world have no shoes, so I want to give the shoes all poor people.
・It was funny they had same kind of shoes.
・I would like to help the poor people, buy some shoes.
・I saw some girls shoes, I think she likes simple shoes. So I think she is a simple person.
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1. What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
What caught my attention was how he can observe people in all ways. What a person is like, what the person likes, and their fashion sense.
2. What questions or wonders do now have?
i want to know about traditional shoes all over the world. I think it’ll be interesting- A shoe journey! 😀
3.What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
Um, I think I said it, but I’ll just say it again.. Crumpled shoes probably means that the person is in a hurry a lot. Good, fashionable clothes means the person cares about how they look. And dirty shoes means the person likes to exercise.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
What I found pretty amazing is that the guy recognised his friends shoe! And I feel like he is right, where you live influences you and what kinds of shoes you put on. When I live in Europe I used to have thousands of shoes. And now, I have a pair of Converse, two pairs of Adidas, and two pairs of flip flops.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
…
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear?
I can learn what kind of style that person likes, what they are comfortable wearing, and also what hobbies they have.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
The article showed how there are huge differences between developed countries and developing countries. It also focused on shoes, something one might normally not focus on. In developed countries, people spend more than $100 on shoes, while in Ethiopia they only cost around $2. In addition, developing countries have more need for things like shoes and they are very easy to repair. In developed countries, it costs sometimes more to repair the shoe than it actually cost to buy it.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
How are these shoes produced so cheaply?
Who had the idea to make these shoes?
What can you learn about someone, or their values from their footwear? (see photos of grade 6 footwear)?
The shoes show what their hobbies are or what they are doing on that day. Such as soccer shoes mean that people will do sporty activities, while shoes with glitter make a fashion statement.
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What caught your attention or interested you about Paul’s article?
I think it sounded amazing to walk around the world in 7 years just by foot and to discover the traces of humans,and to see that one worker in Ethiopia earns 2$ each day and we spend like so much money for shoes and other things like ipads,iphones,laptops and etc.
What questions or wonders do you now have?
Why doesn’t Paul travel by bike?
What does Paul eat on his journey?
What can you learn about someone,or their values from their footwear?
I can learn a lot about the style of the person,their personality,their nation and if they are rich or poor.
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