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Shoe shopping, a fetish, or a weird Chinese pass?
A Chinese fellow in a prim button down shirt and slacks flagged me as I left work the other day. Wanted to know all about my shoes.
Assuming he was shopping for his wife, I rattled on for a while, "They're Hush Puppies. Very comfortable. I've had them for, oh, gosh, fifteen years? Haven't really taken care of them."
He wanted the name of the type of shoe. Okay, I pulled the shoe off and found the name, getting an odd, overly interested vibe here. But he was Chinese, so who knew?
He didn't write the name down, and closed with:
"They look nice because you have such pretty feet."
Bwah? Uh. Thank you?
So ... foot fetish? Cultural shoe thing? Inept pass? Totally appropriate Chinese compliment that comes out strange in English? Someone who's awkward in any culture?
A Chinese fellow in a prim button down shirt and slacks flagged me as I left work the other day. Wanted to know all about my shoes.
Assuming he was shopping for his wife, I rattled on for a while, "They're Hush Puppies. Very comfortable. I've had them for, oh, gosh, fifteen years? Haven't really taken care of them."
He wanted the name of the type of shoe. Okay, I pulled the shoe off and found the name, getting an odd, overly interested vibe here. But he was Chinese, so who knew?
He didn't write the name down, and closed with:
"They look nice because you have such pretty feet."
Bwah? Uh. Thank you?
So ... foot fetish? Cultural shoe thing? Inept pass? Totally appropriate Chinese compliment that comes out strange in English? Someone who's awkward in any culture?