I used to catch the train to school in Brisbane. So, yes, I did walk to school. When we lived in Ipoh, my mother used to drive me every day. However, I do remember her allowing my brother and I to walk to catechism on Sundays. That was about it though. No walking by ourselves at any other time.
When we lived in Klang, the little kids in the neighborhood were all driven to school. They weren't even allowed to walk to the park 200m away from their homes. It is just too unsafe for children to be out unaccompanied. So, those poor kids used to skip rope in the small garage area, roller skate (yes, skate not blade) and play in that cement area while a beautiful park with a children's area was just 200m away. Its no wonder that they prefered the more sedentary games of PLAYSTATION.
In Palembang this morning, when we were out for our morning walk, we came across a girl who appeared to be around 7 or 8. She was having a great time wandering slowly to school. On other days, we usually see two brothers who seem to take a different route to school every day. Chatting, playing around and generally being free and having fun. Palembang is still safe enough for kids to do this.
I wonder what Aaron's school days will be like? Perhaps I will end up walking him to school so that he still gets to experience it while I get the peace of mind that he is safe.
2 comments:
It was still safe when I was living in Ipoh, so, I used to walk everywhere except for school since that was too far away. In Canada, my mom would drop me off to school on her way to work, and when the weather was nicer i.e. above 0 degrees celsius (haha), I'd walk home after school. It was about a 30-40 min walk. In college, I walked to university every day, about a 20 min walk. And now, I walk to work! There are 9% of SF's population who do that and what better way to get to work than to be able to walk? It's environmentally friendly and you're not bound by any bus/train schedule. Anyhow, yeah, it's sad that these days, kids dont get to do that anymore. In Bali, I do see the kids walking to school, mostly in groups, boys and girls, with flowers tucked behind their ears. :-)
I lived directly across the street from my school so I walked every day. Then in High School I took the bus till I got a car and then drove every day.
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