Another newbie insight here in Canada: you take your shoes off when you go into homes, AND when you enter the chiropractor’s office!
Our neighbors Rob and Audrey came over for some pre-Christmas libations and arrived fully bundled up and carrying their slippers. We laughed. They’d come from, literally, next door. Had we been going there, we would have dashed over in shirt sleeves, and never considered carrying slippers.
But it makes sense. They didn’t want to track snow into our house, so they removed their coats and boots by the door and slipped into their slippers. Great guests! And now we know what we should do when we visit them. (Though, I still suspect we’d do without the coats, risking getting lost on the way home without sufficient survival gear.)
(Another aside: I have to remember to ask to take people’s coats when they arrive at our house, a novel idea for us.)
When we went to the U.S. Consul General’s house for the Christmas party, I took great care deciding what shoes to wear. In fact, I changed my outfit to accommodate my shoe selection. Silly me. We arrived in the entryway to find dozens of pairs of shoes stacked by the stairs, and the guests inside in their socks (most anyway, though some women retained their elegant pumps).
I guess I’ll have to start buying scintillating footwear, if it’s going to show so much!
Yesterday, Scott and I went to the chiropractor. We parked in the street, waded through the slush at the curb, and entered the chiro office.
Pink-cheeked, we took off and hung our coats, and then signed in and sat down to fill out the paperwork. As we wrote, more clients entered … and removed their coats AND boots at the door.
We glanced down. Our boots had puddled water. Oops. Sheepishly, we got up and removed our boots, and returned to our seats in our socks, taking the same seats by the puddles as punishment for our oversight.
Well, now we know. Wear good socks wherever you go here in Canada during the winter, and remove your boots if there is a carpet or tray near the coat tree!
Live and learn, eh?
Helen, I remember having to wear green felt slippers over my shoes for the few months when I went to school in France, until I began at the American school. It is one of the strongest memories I have of that period. Here in Calgary, slippers are a must! I’ll have to ask what they do in the schools, re: shoes.
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I have always thought the Canadians to be an polite and civilized people. After being married to a Canadian for many years I can relate to this posting. We are in England and we share the same sort of weather as Canada. Shoe removal here is pretty much the norm. Our guests bring their slippers to change into and we take ours with us when visiting. The Canadians and English do seem to like their slippers!!
As for the chiropractor. Here in the UK those services are not provided by our free National Health Service. We have to pay for a chiropractor usually. Many doctors work from their own homes. I saw one for three years and always removed my shoes at his door, as did his other patients.
We are in a rural area that always seems to be perpetually muddy. Boots and slippers are essential survivalware here.
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French friends with bourgeois houses used to issue friends with slippers to wear when they came to visit to avoid marking the parquet….at least Canadians have a good reason.
Happy New Year!
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