Do you take your uncomfortable shoes
off, change shoes and walk around in more comfortable, flat shoes? Tried it in
Italy lately? Want laughs and unbelieving looks?
Two weeks ago, I tried to walk 30
minutes to a church outside of town wearing some beautiful black strappy
sandals, with black roses adorning the straps. Except when I arrived at the
church, my feet had grown blisters under the charming black straps. The sandals
quickly lost their charm.
After church, I hobbled over to a small
market (open on Sunday, to my luck) and looked for some relief for blistered
feet. Italian band aids, perfetto! Bandaging up my feet, I hobbled home.
A few days ago, I walked over across
the City of Viterbo to a church for a wedding wearing my flip flops. It was a
twenty minute walk from one side to the other, where the church was. The only
nice shoes I had to wear for a wedding were those horrid blister-grabber
sandals. So, outside the church, I removed my comfortable flip flops, and put
on my uncomfortable, stylish, black sandals. The ceremony will only take one
hour, I thought. Then, I’ll change my shoes back to the flip flops, for the
walk back home.
As I was changing my shoes standing by
the church, two Italians, a man and a woman, noticed me changing my shoes and
laughed, covering their mouths with their hands. They had a disbelieving look
on their faces. They were part of the wedding attendees too. What is so funny?,
I thought.
Maybe they are laughing at something
else? So I plopped the flip flops in my bag and went in the church for the
wedding.
After the wedding, I was standing in
the street by Frankie and Stephano, two Italians who spoke English. They
thanked me for attending the wedding. My friend Kathleen and I decided to leave
to walk back across town. I took off my horrid sandals and put on my flip flops.
Frankie and Stephano started laughing,
just like the first couple, with disbelieving looks. I told them I was changing
shoes because the black ones caused blisters, and I did not want to endure that
again. They just kept laughing like they had not seen anyone change shoes
before.
So do Italian women just hobble about
in uncomfortable shoes? They seem to wear high, spiked heels on the cobblestone
streets, which amazes me. Don’t they worry about a sprained ankle? A trip and
fall perhaps?
Shoe changing must be another cultural
difference. Savy, American women have no need for uncomfortable shoes, no
matter how cute and stylish they are! My feet are proud to be American!
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