Cultural Differences

[Natooke]

I always find it interesting to learn about cultural differences, even though we come from the same continent North America and have many things in common. I look at it this way! A Canadian from the Prairies can relate to an American just North of the boarder e.g. winter sports, snow removal with many similar life styles or East coast Provinces and Eastern States etc.

The one cultural difference that I would like to learn about is … taking off shoes? My family always thought the further you lived South. (warmer weather) that there is never a need to take them off ,just no dirty shoes. Then I remembered a thread a while back about culturally showing your feet wasn’t consider polite (or something along those lines) Can someone here explain … is it just some areas in the States or ?

My Mom wears runners in the house for the need of support, but her runners never are used outside.

P.S. I'm not comming here to start my country v. your country ... I'm very interested with some of the differences ... I myself may have some quirky differences that I don’t even know of

[Carrie]

I grew up in Oregon and always got in trouble for taking my shoes off in the house. My mom's family is from Texas so I don't know what part of the country that tradition really came from. The second I walk into my house I kick my shoes off. Until I moved here I never would have dreamed of taking my shoes off at someone elses house (unless they were really muddy or something). I had it drilled into me that shoes off in the house was rude.

Carrie

[Carolyn]

This is really kind of a funny thread. As many of you know, I'm the granddaughter of Swedish immigrants to the US and since I've been little, when we visited grandpa, we ALWAYS kicked our shoes off in the house. And in our house, at least my mom and me, the shoes were the first thing to come off, so I adapted to that very well in Sweden.

That being said, when we visited other non-Swedish folks in the US, you never took your shoes off, unless for some bizarre reason they were soaking wet and covered with mud.