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| What to call them? Where to wear them? |
This post will be short. I cannot resist this post. I simply must do justice to the humblest of all shoes, the shoe that represents life as I know it. The photo above is of my favorite shoes. I wear them easily six days a week. In Cambodia, easily over half of the population wears this type of shoes.
But what to call these shoes? I've identified six different English names for these shoes from my personal interactions,
- Slops- South Africa
- Slippers- Zambia
- Jangles- Kiwi
- Thongs- Australia
- Pluggers- Australia
- Flip-flops-USA
- Shoes- Cambodia
Flip flops work in Cambodia for several reasons; cheap, accommodation the climate, withstand seasonal flooding well, and easily slide on and off. Cambodia has revolutionized my understanding of shoes. My mother has long teased that I'm the type of person who will make people take of their shoes when they enter my home. (Yes, I am that type of person.) Funny thing is that in Cambodia, it's cultural to take our shoes off at the door of people's homes. At both my offices, we take our shoes off at the door. It's not terribly uncommon at workplaces in general. On the average weekday, I only wear my shoes to drive.
Both at work and home, people may have designated "indoor shoes" which are never worn outside. Taking off your shoes is cultural, but it's also practical. By taking off your shoes, you leave dust, mud, germs, and sewer sludge outside your home. Floors inside businesses, homes and offices are arguably the cleanest surfaces in the country because there is the expectation you will be barefoot.
There's no doubt I will be taking the no-shoes rule with me..."So I know you're wearing Converse with all those laces and socks, but would you please leave them at the door? Thanks so much." There's also no doubt I will purposefully call flip-flops by an alternative name with other Americans, because, I'm that type of person.
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