It is tradition here to remove your shoes. I didn't quiet understand it, besides shoes can be hard on your flooring. Now I understand. Here's why:
Trash and other gross stuff. The Chinese people spit a lot. Like the gross loogey kind and spit on the ground. Disgusting. They clean the streets up with these natural brooms, which is a good use of natural resources, but they don't get the spit up.
And then there's my favorite. Small children here get started on potty training as soon as they can walk. They wear these little chap like pants - with no bum - that are open all through the crotch. When they need to pee their parents or grandparents stand them to the side and they pee in the street. We've seen them go in garbage cans in stores and the worst was when we saw a three year old little boy peeing in the isle of the store. Just out in the open. Lovely. Gross.
There you go. That's why you take your shoes off. It's tradition and polite - because it's not polite to track all the yuck into someone's house. Makes you want to take your shoes off, huh?
