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Shoo the shoes!

Seeing slippers around the corridor of the
apartment reminded me of RRF. It used to be the
kids' pastime to kick somebody's (especially your
enemy's) slipper off the balcony to see whether
it lands on passer-by's head
Just the other day, I found myself invited to a Belgian friend's friend's house. After finishing their contract in Malaysia, they were heading home sweet home. They came in as a newlywed couple and they were returning with a newly born baby of a month old! Why I got invited? As the couple had 'gate-crashed' into my Deepavali open house celebrations before, they felt morally obliged to invite us (me and wifey) to this predominantly Belgian crowd filled farewell cum baby Mats' 1 month celebrations.
Now, why am I ranting about a baby's celebration?
After getting trapped in the maze of parking lot which had all exits (stairs and lifts) needing authority card to swipe for its usage, I finally made it to the couple's doorstep in one piece with the the help of an apologetic foreign guard who could barely speak English. That's high-end condo living for you - trapped in a virtual prison at the mercy of foreign guards.
When I finally reached the unit on the 26th floor, I was surprised to find shoes all arranged outside the house. Hey! I thought it is an Asiatic practice to enter a home without one's shoes and barefoot. Well, they have a newborn and walking in with the shoes seem unhealthy with all the bugs that accompany our footwear. Malaysia is a tropical country making it a fertile ground for moulds, insects and protozoans to propagate the year round.Our footwear makes a perfect conduit for these pests to infiltrate into our homes. In template climates, toes may get too cold for comfort and chill from the floor may literally seep to the bone, making it imperative for one to wear their footwear.
As slippers are traditionally seen as a dirty objects,
here Pakistanis are rejoicing when George W Bush
had a shoe thrown at him. Even though, footwear are
seen as low in the hierarchy of orders, paradoxically
only the rich could wear them in ancient times.
Interestingly, I have attended many functions hosted by affluent Malaysians that I know (where Caucasians are in the list of invitees) where the hosts insist that I walk into the house with my shoes. Asians think that moving up the ladder means walking with your shoes into your house.
At one time, when you run, you wear shoes. Research by footwear companies (?coincidental) made our feet well padded and cushioned to make our runs comfortable and to prevent immediate and future injuries (so they said). It has now taken a full circle. Now runners are advocating barefoot running just like our cavemen ancestors did as it develops all the intrinsic muscles of the foot and leg!


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Comments

  1. sheila31 May 2011 at 15:49

    It used to be the kids' pastime to kick somebody's (especially your
    enemy's) slipper off the balcony... yes I remember that!
    I hope non of the victim reading this.

    ReplyDelete

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