Free Little Piggies

 

 As a huge proponent of spending as much time barefoot as possible, I adore the Thai tradition of removing one’s shoes before going inside. It might be a little time-consuming constantly taking off and putting back on your shoes, but in a country with all tile floors it does keep things quite a bit cleaner. It also leads to an increased acceptability of flipflops in most situations, for which I am more than grateful.

This is customary in all temples, homes and in some smaller, family-run shops. It is also the standard at our school. All students are expected to stop and take off their shoes at the bottom of the stairs, before going to class. They then pick up their shoes and carry them with them to the classroom, where they either put them in one long row at the back of the room or in the hall, or put them under their desks. 

So far I have only tripped over three shoes. Not bad for being fairly clumsy and having taught twenty-two classes each week, each with 40 plus pairs of shoes scattered about, for the past six weeks. My only issue with the situation is that while my students get to run around in stocking feet all day, I have to wear shoes.