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As a frequent traveler, I've come across some rather strange customs regarding footwear. Here are some:

In most Asian communities- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, MyanmarThailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China....it is considered polite to take off your shoes AND socks before entering somebody's house or a place of worship. And in most of these cultures, your footwear has to be placed in a correct manner. An inverted shoe means that the host and the guest will quarrel.

In Morocco, I was asked to remove my shoes but not socks before entering a local house. The shoes had to be placed standing for some reason...which I learnt later, was to prevent scorpions from entering them, specially during hot summers.

In the Arabian Gulf states, it is considered polite to remove your socks and shoes before you enter the Majles or the reception hall where locals are sitting. You will also be offered water to wash off any sand and get rid of the odor.

In the Philippines, I've seen locals wear footwear all the time. And most Filipinos have seperate footwear for the kitchen, bedroom and toilet...maybe a leftover of the Spanish rule there.

Australians walk barefoot often inside and outside the house, especially in the outback.

South American communities again are like your Spaniards...footwear all the time.

It's probably a difference in culture, but I couldn't live with these people if I couldn't even be barefoot indoors! I've been barefoot everywhere for ten years -including outdoors, winter, work, etc, etc- and the last time I wore footwear for less than one mile I had blisters. If I'm not welcome barefoot, no matter how cool the place or people may be otherwise, I won't go. Bare feet are part of my appearance as much as a tattoo or hair color or such would be, perhaps not in a practical sense since shoes can be easily put on and taken off but in a sense as how I *feel* about them; would you ask someone to cover up a tattoo or color/cover their hair if it happened to be green?

I guess your friends could take a look at the link in the source, 'a case for bare feet', which debunks many myths about hygiene, safety, foot odor, and also respect, however it was written mostly with an American audience in mind. I'm not sure how well it'd serve to convince people who have a deeply ingrained cultural dislike of bare feet.

There are cultural mores that you must be aware of, but otherwise, it's about the host and what they want or don't want. However, there are some places I walk into where I feel like I'm a barely tolerated presence, and some I feel like I'm very welcome and I can do just about anything as long as it's not disgusting or illegal. I prefer to go to the latter places.

The reason for people's disdain for being barefoot in your home has a lot to do with where you are. In the US and especially in Britain, some people have very clean homes and very strict rules on cleanliness, even amongst themselves, let alone visitors. Some places are not so strict, and people walk in and out wherever.

I find the real issue is appearances and not logic. It's unhealthy to live in a completely germ-free place (your immune system will be weak if you do), nor is it healthy to be living amongst tons of raw sewage, contaminated water supplies and garbage. But a balance must be maintained, and we all have to realize that we all benefit if all of our immune systems are very strong and very hearty. But they are not, so we have more disease as a result all over the world.

But the more snooty people of the world do not want to be associated with you mere peasants, and so the attitude of "cleanliness" began. People that actually work for a living will get dirty, and they don't like be seen as people that actually work. They want to be seen as people that have others work for them, and as a result have an unhealthy fixation with a clean living place and in maintaining this appearance to others. That's where the disdain for being "barefoot in the house" comes from.

Not from logic. Nor from science.

Well in travel sometimes you encounter cultural things that you regard as strange or illogical but you have to go with the flow (within reason of course). It seems as though bare feet would track less dirt and cause less wear on the carpeting but to each his own. I don't feel uncomfortable with someone walking barefoot in my home, unless their feet are really foul. It shows they respect my home and don't want to track dirt around. Nor am I offend if someone comes in and keeps their shoes on since I know that not everyone has the same upbringing.

As an American ExPat living for 5 years in the Philippines, I have seen it to be a tradition to walk barefooted inside the house, even if you are visiting a friend or neighbor. However, for my health, I never go around barefooted. If you ever walk barefooted on a shiny tile floor and it ever gets wet and you walk barefooted on it, you risk being slam dunked onto that floor. However, if the tiles are non-skid, you might be able to risk walking barefooted but for me, I wear my non-skid flip flops all the time to protect my feet.

I think that you should respect the wishes of the home owner. I personally walk around barefoot in my own house but I don't want other people's bare feet on my furniture, I know I'm weird, but the thought that they are making them selves too "at home" really bugs me. My friend on the other hand doesn't like dirt tracked all over the house and makes us take our shoes off at the door.

So respect the wishes of the home owner is what I think.

I'm from Kentucky. Where all the barefoot hillbillys come from. he he he. :)

Personally, for hygienic reasons . . . EWwwwwww . . . I hate that. Some people do that so they don't track mud around the house. If they're wearing socks, I won't freak out. But honestly, if they are barefoot, I'm just inclined to think they're spreading foot-dirt all around my house.

I always have guests take their shoes off. It keeps the house cleaner. All the junk on their shoes from the outside doesn't spread all over the house.

Most people I visit are the same way. It is probably just culture, but my culture does make it easier to clean.

In many Indian homes it is quite the opposite. In traditional homes one does not normally allow outsiders and strangers to enter the inner quarters. When they do enter they are expected to remove their footwear - I think it is quite hygienic to do so as dirt from the road and outside does not get into the house where small babies crawl on the floor.

However in my view one should respect peoples' culture wherever we go. If in Spain one feels offended if outsiders remove their footwear and walk bare footed then why take the trouble to remove the footwear and offend them?

I have a friend who makes everyone take their shoes off at the door before they come in so in that case, you can't go in with shoes on. I personally don't care when you are in my house. I want my company to be comfortable. If they prefer to take off their shoes that's fine with me. If they keep them on, that's fine too. For me, my home is about comfort.