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carrol
PopStar
Joined: Oct 11, 2004
Posts: 1122
Location: East of Eden
Status: Offline
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  Posted:
Jan 14, 2005 - 11:33 AM |
 
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| Post subject: Removing shoes .. |
Advice, please. Usually, when visiting, we are asked at the door to remove our shoes. I'm not quite sure whether this is a request, a requirement, or an invitation? And why is it ... ? To protect the carpet / floors / not to make a noise out of respect for the people in the apartment below / religious reasons ... or what ? I'd be interested to know .... |
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Carrol |
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CheekyMonkiez
Talker
Joined: Dec 27, 2004
Posts: 106
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 12:02 PM |
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It's tradition. It's the same reason Western peoples take off their hats when entering a place of religion. I think it's quite nice actually. Can you actually imagine wearing your dirty shoes in your own house? Not to mention, you get those nice little comfy slippers they offer you.
btw..it's a polite request. |
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Please do not make judgments of my character based on my scribblings above. Instead, I ask that you make judgments only after first taking a deep look into my two hearts. |
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niko
Rocker
Joined: Aug 23, 2004
Posts: 602
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 12:28 PM |
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and wearing slips is comfortable  |
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carrol
PopStar
Joined: Oct 11, 2004
Posts: 1122
Location: East of Eden
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 12:33 PM |
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Thanks for that, it's kind of what I thought. I do wear shoes in my own house, but they're not 'dirty' .. we have a mat at the front door. And to be honest, I don't find those slip-on slippers very comfy, I prefer my sheepskins .. but then, I can hardly take those along, now, can I?  |
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Carrol |
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bellabella
Gypsy Queen
Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 12:40 PM |
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In a lot of asian countries it's polite to remove shoes when entering someone's house. In fact in most traveller guesthouses and restaurants in Thailand you have to take off your shoes before going inside.
I quite like it actually and I like people to remove their shoes before coming into my house. It's sensible really, as cheekymonkiez said it's not nice to have outside dirt traipsed all through the place and wearing shoes indoors is actually quite noisy for the downstairs neighbours thanks to the really well sound proofed apartments we all live in! |
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olli
Barker
Joined: Dec 03, 2004
Posts: 144
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 01:45 PM |
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Considering some streets and habits like spitting etc. I can easlily understand why it became tradition to take off the shoes here...
By the way if you are not wearing high heels, the floors absorb sounds pretty good, I am positively surprised... |
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bellabella
Gypsy Queen
Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 14989
Location: London
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 02:14 PM |
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^You could have fooled me, maybe my upstairs neighbour walks around in high heels all day but I don't think so! I don't live in an 'expat' apartment complex tho, just a regular place with lots of chinese. |
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cks69
Ranter
Joined: Aug 06, 2004
Posts: 562
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Jan 14, 2005 - 03:03 PM |
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its tradition, but it also makes sense. no matter how much you wipe your shoes on the doormat, all of those germs get tracked in. now when i return home to the US I always take off my shoes...my family members look at me like I'm crazy. |
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olli
Barker
Joined: Dec 03, 2004
Posts: 144
Status: Offline
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Jan 14, 2005 - 03:27 PM |
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Sitting on the floor has to do with this, too.... Talking about hygiene, can you imagine what it means to touch the door handle in a common public toilet...?  I know a professor who did a research on this topic... 
bellabella: You can never know WHAT people are doing or wearing when they consider themselves alone |
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fukuman
Wonder Wit
Joined: Sep 18, 2003
Posts: 3699
Status: Offline
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Jan 15, 2005 - 10:59 PM |
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i wonder round like a lunatic in bare feet in winter and open toilet door knobs with my teeth just for the heel of it.
this tradition sux. all the effort and money into my sneaks collection and the only acknowledgement i get is, " wow, hairy toes" |
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sinned69
SuperStar
Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 1512
Location: China, Middle East, Asia Pacific
Status: Offline
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Jan 16, 2005 - 12:11 AM |
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in reply... its a request and in some ways a requirement, because failing to do so even if no slippers are offered would be taken as an offence by the occupant. its done for 2 reasons, firstly as a sign/mark of respect to the host and their home... if an asian person walks into the foyer they will usually remove their shoes even if the host fails to provide slippers, the guest will simply tip-toe through their visit, especially if the guest finds the premises to be exceptionally clean. secondly as others have alluded to, irrespective of the perceived cleanliness, the dirt (plus more) is to be left at the door and not merely trampled throughout the guests home or business. this is so common here in asia, and can be found not just when visiting a private dwelling, in thailand it is very common that shoes will be removed at the entrance to many business premises esp. smallish shops or other places of business. its also practiced to a greater or lesser extent in vietnam, indonesia, cambodia...
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olesechka
Rocker
Joined: Nov 02, 2004
Posts: 782
Location: somewhere moving around
Status: Offline
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Jan 16, 2005 - 12:57 AM |
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But it is not only in Asian countries. In Russia we do the same. I am from Moscow and it would be very unrespectful not to remove the shoes. With Western influence now sometimes hosts can say there is no need but only in summer and if there was no rain. Among other explications I can give that often in Russia people have carpets at homes and only slippers would not leave any dust on them:) |
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ROiD_RaGe!
Seeker
Joined: Apr 05, 2004
Posts: 53
Location: University of Michigan - USA
Status: Offline
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Jan 17, 2005 - 09:37 AM |
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My steel toe boots stay on at all times, no exceptions. |
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University of Michigan - www.umich.edu |
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yu888
Board Deity
Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 18054
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH
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Mar 01, 2005 - 09:40 AM |
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shoes come off in my house no matter what country i am living in. it defintiely helps keep the floor and carpets cleaner, not to mention it allows me to clean less ! I always feel a bit uncomfortable wearing my shoes into others' houses now thinking that I walk thru all sorts of crap on the streets here... |
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good4kicks
LoopKicker
Joined: Jan 20, 2004
Posts: 955
Status: Offline
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Mar 01, 2005 - 10:14 AM |
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Custom or no custom, the last thing you want to do in China is walk into your home with your shoes on. Take a look on the sidewalks at all the green snot, rotten food, sometimes vomit. You step on that everytime you leave home. You really want to drag that into your home?
Back home, I never took my shoes off and didn't even know anyone that did. In some countries like Germany, it would be rude to ask someone to take off their shoes. |
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richvenom
Barker
Joined: Sep 06, 2004
Posts: 153
Location: Somewhere out there where you aint wanna know
Status: Offline
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Mar 01, 2005 - 10:19 AM |
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It is all about leaving the god-damn dirt shoes' marks in the house and guess who has to clean up the floor with the mopping or sweeping of the floor or carpet.
Taking off the shoes before ending is sure a good thing to all but i guess for those who dont do that (either you have holes in the socks or a "impressive smell" with those feet !)
I do take off my shoes once i am back home and give my feet a good rinse of water to "cool' off from a day of "tight constraint" of my feet in those shoes. Come on, you need to take care of your feet too, just like your hand with the gloves on, it is the same theory, you change your clothes to get into something more comfy back home ... that also goes for your feet. afterall 'they" carry you around for the whole day.
My 2 cents worth (wonder if that is really what it worth)
Rich |
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