Nine years ago when we lived in Singapore we found removing our shoes by the front door to our home or anyone elses to be a charming custom that was easy to observe. For one thing Singapore is hot and the cool stone and wood under our bare or stockinged feet was a relief. But, I'll admit that the cleaned and polished streets of Singapore didn't prepare us for the real reason Asians remove their shoes before entering a home. As a generalization Asian streets are dusty and dirty; in Beijing we discovered streets that were dusty, dirty and full of other people's spit. Yes, big ol' luggies right there on the sidewalks, in the subway stations, and even the on floors inside the malls. What used to thoroughly gross me out I now view as just a crass cultural habit that likely won't change while I live in China. So, today removing our shoes at our front door is a habit born of sanitary necessity.
The new twist that I didn't observe much of when we last lived in Beijing (during the winter months when babies are not really out and about) is the pottying habits of babies and the toilet training practices of parents. Babies wear pants that are split wide open between the legs and when the little one needs to potty they do so wherever they happen to be: on the street or in the subway stations. (To be fair I think the families I've seen promoting this practice in the subway stations were out of towners, and not native Beijingers.)
Perhaps, we now have a reason to consider removing not only our shoes but our britches as well when returning home from a days outing. Yesterday, Tom and I had a long subway ride and were happy to get a couple of seats next to each other. An extended family returning from the Beijing Zoo took up space next to us; Mama and Baby Boy, who was seated next to Tom, were charming and engaging. Baby Boy watched us and waved when we waved; we said "Ni hao" and his parents encouraged him to say "Ni hao" to us. We asked Mama in our best Chinese: "Ta you ji sui" (how old is he?) Mama replied: "Liang sui" or 2 years old. Baby Boy was adorable, but he had one feature that made Tom cringe and move a little closer to me, and that was his pants that were open between the legs. Well, no accidents occurred, but it made us wonder about the subway seats we sit on when given a chance. Perhaps we should remove our pants at the door as well as our shoes...
