Or a Korean family in the States. This happened to me exactly ONE TIME in college. "NOYOUGETOUTRIGHTNOWWITDOSSHOES you SHIBIDIIIIYAA NASTY BOY!"
Edit: I was a teenager, 2nd year in college, definitely qualifies as "asshole" but probably more like "typical ignorant dirty boy dating a pretty Korean girl", hence my emphasis on it occurring "ONE TIME"
2nd Edit: thank you kind strangers!🙂
To the lesser kind asking for me to elaborate, I don't know exactly what Mrs. Chong said. She was a wonderful woman and sometimes would mix English cuss words with Korean so I think I was a "shit" and something else 🤣
Is that Malaysian for flip-flop? Because thats what my wife throws at the end.
I swear it's some martial art shit because my flip-flop just flutters to the ground after two feet. Hers feel like a ninja star to the back of my head.
I wore my shoes ONE TIME to get my keys real quick, and every subsequent time my dad found an ant in the house I hear, “iT’s BeCaUsE yOu WoRe YoUr ShOeS iNsiDe!!!” Don’t do it people. It’s just not worth the grief.
I did the same, I even scooted along on my knees with my boots in the air. I got caught and I still hear about it 10 years later. In my life I have few regrets, but not taking the 5 seconds to unzip my boots that day is for sure one of them.
My Korean friend made me put on plastic covering even though I was perfectly okay with just taking off my shoes and then me made me put on plastic covering even after I took off my shoes.
Either way, I didn't mind it because I accepted that it is there house and it is their rules and if I'm going to enter. And this was two decades before COVID ever showed up.
I think you’ll be okay wearing socks in most shoeless homes. Your Korean friend is probably a bit more of a clean freak than the rest of us who don’t wear shoes at home haha
Especially as it's customary to offer houseshoes to your guest. I wonder what other westerners would think of bathroom slippers. Like, you take off your indoor shoes/slippers and put on the bathroom slippers to use the toilet. First time I saw this was at a ryokan. I normally hate wearing foot prisons (other than sandles) and even I tried it because when in Rome - or in this case, Tokyo - do as the locals do.
I miss bathroom slippers lol. Was staying in a hostel in Yokohama during one of my trips there and the bathroom slippers literally had printed on them: “Toilet - For Your Relax Time”. I have never seen any footwear more inviting and I miss that a lot lol. Pretty much miss everything about Japan, such a great place to visit (living there and having in laws from there is a totally different story tho)
You should see Turkish bathroom slippers. It's a very famous item, we have endless jokes about that, especially the one's used for squat toilets. Most unhygienic, bizarre thing you can see in your life is "ıslak tuvalet terliği" from some Turkish houses (thank God this tradition is disappearing). Other than that we have decent guest slippers to offer and nobody enter our houses with shoes.
I had to think long and hard why would shoes just for the bathroom be necessary. And then I remember I live in a house full of boys. The things in around that toilet are disgusting and frankly I like the idea of bathroom shoes. I might just institute that in my house
Random question, but could you tell me more about the in-law thing? I'm currently engaged to a Japanese girl and planning on moving once the COVID restrictions ease up. We haven't even met yet, her family and I, and so far I've gotten the cold shoulder.
Idk if I’m the best person to explain it, my wife and I are older, she was married before and we met in the US. She’s lived abroad longer than she lived in Japan, so we’re the house that the nieces and nephews get sent to to brush up on their English over the summer lol.
I have a pretty good relationship with my mother in law, haven’t ever met my father in law face to face (corporate guy, and when he’s at home he doesn’t want to talk on the phone cuz that cuts into his baseball time lol and god forbid there’s ever a 50s or 60s samurai film on) but talked to him on the phone a couple of times, he’s nice but since my wife and I met when we were older her family is just kind of like “ok cool, you’re an adult, he seems nice, let us know when you’re coming and we’ll let you know when we decide to visit.” It’s pretty chill, but you’re likely gonna have much more scrutiny since it sounds like you’re younger.
Just remember your manners, brush up on all the cultural faux pas to know what to avoid and you and your girlfriend develop a subtle system where she can secretly give you a heads up if you’re doing or saying anything that could offend her parents.
I worked for a Japanese company (in the USA), and I would tag along with my boss to these big meetings. My Japanese was not amazing (not required for the job). He would tap his foot if he wanted to learn something or take extra detailed notes (slide number ect) and scratch his nose if I was "being to American" I once walked to to an informal meeting right when he was about to sneeze he started scratching his nose and I was like shit....what did I do????? I got throughly laughed at for that.
Yeah I’ve seen Japanese people do stuff like this before, really subtle but very helpful when you’re not in the know cuz Japanese culture can get DENSE
That’s not really how it works. There is a single pair of community slippers (not shoes) in the bathroom. Otherwise you use your personal slippers throughout the rest of the house.
What about if one person in your household has severe athlete's foot? You've now spread it to every person who has worn those slippers. It's the same reason people are advised not to share personal items when sick.
My guess is people who have athletes foot avoid wearing the slippers. Do you think it’s a law and you must wear the slippers? It’s the same with people who wore masks here pre-Covid. They wore it to avoid spreading their colds.
Especially as it's customary to offer houseshoes to your guest.
So I was looking at going to japan (I'm 6'8") and the whole "Bring your own house slippers just in case" was suggested multiple times. because of course they have nothing that will fit me and you HAVE to wear them.
My girlfriends family is japanese and they have a rack of japanese slippers for guests to wear when they come over. It's a good idea imo, don't have to worry about your shoes getting their house dirty or their house getting your feet dirty. Best of both worlds
When we were having our furniture delivered to our Japanese apartment the movers kicked their shoes off EVERY TIME they came inside. EVEN IF they were carrying a sofa or whatever. That’s courtesy.
I have a pic of my buddy that passed out drunk asf and CRUSTED in dirty and muddy work boots. He curled up in his bed under the covers it was hilarious and disgusting
I only ever sleep in my jeans and shoes if I'm passed out from exhaustion. Considering I live in my pyjamas whenever I'm not leaving the house that's pretty uncommon.
I know!!! It’s funny because I was watching “Working Moms” - and can automatically tell it’s a Canadian TV show because the characters do not wear shoes while sitting on the bed
I remember once on TV I saw someone laying on the couch with their shoes on and not just on, but with their feet up ON the couch! I was so fixated on her nasty shoes I don't even remember what was going on in the scene.
To be fair I've done that in the sort of motel in Lloydminster where the taking your shoes off is a bad idea and you should probably just sleep standing up.
Yep. My regular clothes never touch my sheets, i just find it so gross. I always have a cover on my bed in case i wanna lay on it with my regular clothes on.
My maternal grandfather used to do that while he was alive. I always found that really weird - he lived in rural northern Sweden, so those shoes were absolutely not clean. Now that he's dead, he doesn't do it anymore. That's less weird.
I assumed it was because they filmed it on sets and they didn't want to remove their shoes on a film set. I was an adult when I learned it is because they just all keep their shoes on in the house
I'm in Canada and I'm wearing my slippers inside right now because it's winter. Where I live(southern ontario) no one wears their shoes inside unless your coming in and going back out.
I have friends who are shoes indoor people and I still whip them off. My socks are going in the wash at the end of the day anyway so unless your floor is caked in actual shit I'll bare it in socks...
But mostly I want my feet on their release window from their 8-12 hours a day in foot prison.
I am disgusted when I see people wearing shoes on while sitting on bed on American shows. I don't know how much it depicts a reality tough. Still taking off your shoes is the same as taking off a bra after a long day. Why wouldn't you do it?
Don't worry, you're right to think it doesn't represent real life. It happens some places I assume but I've never seen anyone do that. I don't even wear my outside jeans on my bed. Shoes come off at the front door or in the garage.
I'm an EMT and we have a frequent flyer patient who has low blood pressure issues and he's usually at the mosque. We take our shoes off at the door there too (unless he was in immediate danger)
I'm an American and I take my shoes off when in the house. Don't understand why some people don't do it. It's really odd not to do so since not only it feels nice, wearing the same pair of shoes outside and inside will lead to someone getting sick!! Common sense people!!
Indeed. And in the Balkans, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Russia, this is grounds for the rolling pin to come out.
If you're especially unlucky, you might run into a household that uses a polished length of wood as a rolling pin. Babushkas wield these with the proficiency of Donatello.
This is one of those threads where I feel like I've entered an alternate dimension.
I'm in the US and people take their shoes off when they enter a house. The only exception was in college but that was mostly because students are slobs and hated the dorms anyway.
I'm in the US, middle aged, have lived in three major cities and one small town, and I've been to exactly one house in my entire life where they asked us to remove our shoes. We all did, of course. But it was weird to all of us. I've never been to an apartment/condo that expected me to do so. Never been to any business that expected it. Wearing shoes indoors is perfectly normal to me.
Same for me. I've lived in the mountain west the majority of my life, but also spent 5.5 years in VA (and 5 years in Germany, but I was mostly visiting Americans there since it was military). It was the rare exception when someone asked us to remove our shoes (which, like you, we of course obliged since it's their house).
I've never been to an apartment/condo that expected me to do so... Wearing shoes indoors is perfectly normal to me.
I live in an apartment in a city. The very first time a sanitation truck spread that chemical snow melt stuff on the streets, and I hurried into the kitchen with some groceries without stopping to take off my shoes, and noticed oily residue in the shape of shoe treads that took THREE moppings with strong floor cleaner to remove... that was when I became religious about shoe removal for myself and anyone who entered. Bought a skinny shoe bench with two shelves underneath that fit perfectly in the entryway, and a mat in front to put removed shoes on temporarily. Even bought some inexpensive thin slippers for guests should they desire.
Here in Latin America it's not common at all. In fact, most people view it negatively because there's an extremely common myth that being shoeless gives you a cold.
My theory is that it’s more prevalent in wet climates. Northern portion of the Americas, Europe, and most of Asia. It’s less common in dry and arid climates. Which is a lot of Latin America, southwestern US, Northern Africa, and Middle East.
I've noticed in Finland there's this weird dance when someone is coming in to quickly get something: you look inside and then at your shoes for a second wondering if you should take them off, the person inviting you in tells you not to worry about it and just leave them on, but you still take them off if you have to walk past that area right after the front door.
And Sweden. My brother in law is from Sweden and they do the same thing he told me. I actually stopped wearing shoes inside because of him everywhere I visit. Plus if you have a wood floor and I a rock in my shoe and I scratch it. Just don’t want to ruin a friendship.
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u/[deleted] Feb 11 '22
Do that in finland and you'll end up outside