Things to love about China: 20 of 100

Slippers

One popular question that foreigners ask is “Do Americans really wear shoes inside the house like in sitcoms?” Oddly, I’ve never really noticed this on sitcoms, but the truth is that in many households in America people really do wear shoes inside. This is especially true in the South, where people have cowboy boots, which are difficult to put on and take off without use of some sort of boot-removing device.

Like many issues in the States, Americans seem to be split on the shoe-in-house rule. Some people will insist that you leave your shoes at the door while others will insist that you absolutely do not remove your shoes in their house.

I myself am a remove-your-shoes-at-the-door man. I think that this is the norm in the Midwest. I like my feet to be comfortable, which is why I love that fact that Asian countries take this custom a step further: Slippers. If you enter an Asian household, the shoes come off and the slippers come on.

I have always loved slippers and I find it odd somehow that few people in the States where them. They are comfy and practical, they keep your feet warm, and –let’s face it- they look cool.

When I moved to Kazakhstan last fall, it was the first time that I had an entire home to myself and it wasn’t long before I got the idea that I needed slippers for guests. So in Uzbekistan last year I bought a bunch of gorgeous Uzbek, Dr. Suess-ish slippers. I haggled with an old lady and managed to get 11 pairs for fifty bucks.

These slippers have aided my friends and I through many Wii nights and theme parties. I was so taken by the usefulness and decorativeness of the slippers that I bought five pair of Kazakh ones last spring.

So that’s it folks, if you come and visit me in China, my beautiful central Asian slippers will be waiting to crawl onto your feet and make you comfy. Just don’t bring cowboy boots into my home- I cannot stand men in high heels.