October 30, 2010: Cultural difference number 1: Shoes

 

Not to be worn inside. EVER.

Prior to me developing into a competent and independent traveler, I went to Europe with an organized travel group and I can recall our tour guide telling everyone when approaching new cultures to think to ourselves that, “…it is not wrong, it is just different.” Although my Master’s itself is in Cross Cultural Communication, I have found this simple sentence a key to acceptance in several different situations, in several different countries. With these words of wisdom in mind, I would like to dedicate the next few blogs (projecting to the future forces me to continue my futile attempt at blogging) to all of the “different” customs that I have encountered whilst residing in Stavanger, Norway.

Cultural  difference number 1: Shoes

I first picked up on this “difference” when I was living in Sydney and my boyfriend was watching me pack for a weekend trip to the Gold Coast. I had an early flight and I wanted to get an outfit ready to throw on in the morning, shoes and all. So, I picked out some jeans, a top and a pair of boots and I flung them on my desk mindlessly to make room in a not so roomy room. When I did this, a noise of disgust mixed with a shrill scream exhaled from him and I thought perhaps there was a huntsman spider- roughly the size of a hand- or maybe a four inch cockroach in the room. Once I realized there was no Jurassic Period insect in my room, I realized his attention was fixated upon the boots sitting upon my desk. (For those of you siding with him, I admit it now that yes, it was gross; but if you heard that noise, you would have thought he just watched childbirth on a documentary- as that was the only ever time that noise was replicated).  So, this was my first encounter with Norwegians, or at least my Norwegian, and their distaste with shoes, specifically the bottom of them.

For two and a half months I decided it would be a good idea to live with three Norwegian men in Melbourne. Shoes were required to stay in the entry hallway (which was about two feet wide and none of us had small feet); thus, making half for hallway serving its purpose and giving access to the entire apartment and the other half home to four shoe collections. Visitors were to abide by these rules as well, even if they just had to stop in to use the bathroom, or grab their jacket, or grab a drink, or defuse a bomb, no exceptions. This mentality may fly in the States if say the people are new homeowners, there is mud on your shoes, there is new carpet, or it is a home you are not familiar with and are not sure what to do. However, this apartment very likely shared the same birth year as me based upon its pink countertops, burgundy tile and teal carpet. When questioning these young men about their strong convictions about shoes they cited the primary cause of not wearing shoes in the house was because, “If some food falls on the floor, I want to be able to eat it and not think about my dirty shoes on the carpet before the food fell.” Hmm, yes, I did see their point; however I would not eat off of that carpet unless I was paid a substantial amount of money. At least, say, $12 AUD, as that was my hourly wage at the pizza shop I worked at there. Anyway, my point is, this was when I realized the shoe thing was not just my boyfriend’s freakish hygienic obsession; no, this was a clear cultural difference.

I thought I had my head wrapped around this whole shoe issue, but alas, I found an entirely new dimension to it when I joined a gym. When you first walk into the gym there are two large shoe racks, a bench and two buckets filled with blue plastic bags. The first time I observed these fixtures in the entryway (probably on my third visit) I did not want to ask as I like to pretend that I am fluent in Norwegian and if I ask then the secret is out. So, I did what anyone does who does not want to speak but needs to require information, I observed. While pretending to read the class schedules, I watched someone as they sat on the bench and took off their shoes. They then proceeded to pull out another pair of gym shoes and put them on and then entered the training center. I then saw someone grab two blue plastic bags and place one over each shoe, similar to a doctor I suppose, and then entered the gym. The third person took off their shoes, placed them on one of the large shoe racks and walked into the gym in their socks. Well, perplexed and with little option as I only had one pair of shoes and my socks had rainbows all over them, I placed one blue plastic bag over each shoe and proceeded towards the ladies locker room. During the walk I looked around and no one was wearing the blue shoe bags; I decided they must take them off in the locker room and change shoes in there rather than on the bench. So, now what was I going to do? Simple. Go into the corner of the locker room, cough to muffle the noise of the bags being removed and then proceed to shoving the bags in my locker so no one will notice my dirty tennis shoes. I would like to say that this was a one-time occurrence… I will not admit otherwise. And yes, I do feel guilty when I run on the treadmill and look over to see some chick in her socks on the elliptical as my shoes may very well have soiled that same elliptical machine twenty minutes prior. But come on lady, put some dang shoes on!! I know, I know, it is not very cultural adaptive for me not to adapt. At this point I am just trying to blend in and when I do stumble upon a small fortune, I will visit a store and buy that extra pair of sneakers for the gym. But, until that day, I will just stick to the blue bags and the corner locker

So, in a quick wrap up, as I can’t be bothered to configure a proper conclusion, and it is my blog after all (even though you suckers are reading it) I will finish with this:

Based upon several conversations with my boyfriend about this issue I have concluded that the origin of this shoe fear was not out of hyper-hygienic-sensitivity, but rather out of pure practicality. When living in a place in which a majority of the year, people are fighting to keep their feet dry, it only makes sense that no shoes are worn while inside to keep the house (or whatever other place) dry. In Hawaii they have a similar practice of a “no shoes” rule; but, this is so the sand does not scratch the hardwood floors. A bit depressing to compare, but alas, comparable. So, remember the wisdom I once received on a tour bus, rather than in a classroom, “It is not wrong, it is just different.”

Until next time…