Why Don’t American People Take Off Shoes in Their House?

When I went to home stay, I experienced not taking off my shoes in a house for the first time. It was uncomfortable for me not to take off my shoes in their house. I couldn’t relax, and I thought it was dirty to enter the house with my shoes on. Why don’t American people think so? So I wondered, “Why don’t American people take off their shoes in their house?”

Now, I live with my RA and my friends in a dormitory where I always take off my shoes, and then I wear my slippers. Also, in Japan I always take off my shoes in my house. It is a common style in Japan because a long time ago the floors in Japanese houses were made of tatami, a kind of rush mat. If I walk on tatami with my shoes on, it scuffs the tatami and makes it dirty.

I asked my RA this question and she said, “I take off my shoes in the house.” I was very surprised. Her family has taken off their shoes in the house all the time because they also think shoes are dirty. I realized that, like my RA’s family, not all American people wear shoes in the house. However, most do. I heard that a long time ago, American people ware their shoes in the house because the floors in old houses were very dirty. So that were the custom started.

In conclusion, American people and Japanese people have different customs and houses, so there are various styles for each county. I learned the number of American people who take off their shoes in the house is increasing in the US. There are various styles in different countries or times.