Visiting People

I have recently become more pro-active about removing my shoes in homes where people do not ask for it. The main reason being that a lot of people at church have now visited my other blog and may have found out my strong feelings on the subject. It does not seem quite right if I am not leading by example (though if I am visiting somebody who usually wears shoes at home I am still not going to bother).

I visited my friend Andrew the other day. As I was leaving and about to put my shoes on, he said "I am sorry I didn't offer you any slippers to wear. We have a spare pair of flip flops." Andrew had been a missionary in Albania a few years ago, where the norm is to exchange shoes for sandals at the door. It would have been a radically new experience to wear borrowed slippers in a British home. In Japanese homes, the slippers are often not quite the right size or shape and can be uncomfortable.