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Monday, October 11, 2010

One, Two, Buckle Your Shoe . . .


Three, Four, Piled By The Door!

When I first arrived in Hawaii at age 19, I had a friend from The University of Oregon (Go Ducks!!!—sorry, couldn’t resist) who took me around and introduced me to several interesting places around Oahu, and to many family members and friends.

I was surprised when I walked into a house one day and saw a pile of shoes at the entry.

What are all these shoes doing here? Are they going to have a sale or something? Maybe they’re for Goodwill.

Then I noticed no one was wearing shoes (except yours truly—the total mainlander!) Finally my friend said, “Cheryl, take off your shoes!” I was totally embarrassed. But, honestly, I didn’t know what was proper for me to do. I’d never gone barefoot indoors in Oregon. Your poor feet would freeze to death in Oregon weather!

I came back to Oregon in the summer, so I naturally took off my shoes, and left them at the entry. A few minutes later, my mom marched into my room, shoes in tow, and tossed them on my floor. Hmm . . . don’t think she appreciated the whole “piles of shoes by the entry” thing!

Now when I go to my niece’s house—guess what?? I see the familiar pile of shoes when I enter the house. Now, it's easy to slip flip-flops on and off during the summer, but boots and shoes in the winter??? And then my poor feet turn into little popscicles!

Sigh . . . guess I'd better wear extra thick socks!

Aloha!
Cheryl

9 comments:

  1. It must be a warm weather thing because we always take off our shoes in my house and yep, they're piled by the door. :-)

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  2. I'll have to research the custom. I always thought it was an Asian custom, but it could be weather related. I just thought I'd share my funny experience with my readers!

    Thanks for your support, Jessica!

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  3. We always leave our shoes by the door, but its not a hospitality thing so much as its my husband's obsession with our carpet. 0_0

    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  4. Yeah, I've had to do that in people's homes because they have new carpet or new wood floors. That was the hardest part of looking at homes--constantly taking off your shoes! And, of course, it never ended up being summer when I was in flip-flops. Always winter when in boots!

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  5. Yep, just wear warm socks - I now have a couple of friends who live in "no shoes" houses - here in the nippy Northwest. Another friend gave me wool socks last winter - I think these will be my mainstay.

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  6. Yup! That's what I need for sure--wool socks. Great idea!

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  7. I started writing about this custom in Japan, but it turned into more of a blog post! Please check it out at http://coachleslieinjapan.typepad.com/this_that_and_whatever_co/

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  8. Thanks, Leslie! Your history/cultural lesson was great.

    And I greatly appreciate your support. <3

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  9. Oops! Thought the <3 would make a heart like it does on Facebook! Anyway, lots of "hearts" your way, Leslie!

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I love hearing from my readers! Mahalo for visiting and commenting. Aloha! --Cheryl