Getting To Know You

The pilgrim culture is strange. One of my favorite parts is the intial interactions. When I first start walking with someone or getting to know them, there are only 5 things that we need to establish:

1. languages spoken
2. places we began
3. destination (and approximate date)
4. walking alone or with others
5. status of feet

It´s not unusual to know people and not know their name or their country or their job or their marital status. I know where their blisters are. That´s what really matters. Three days might pass between times that we see one another, and the first thing we establish (by word or gesture) is the status of our feet.

I´m going to lance my first blister tonight. It´s like a rite of passage. Conversation will be rich during tomorrow´s walk.