Thursday, September 20, 2012

Big foot

Twice now I've attempted to go shoe shopping and each time has led to the exact same problem: they don't sell my shoe size. In fact, the store doesn't sell women's shoes above a size 7 US!! (that's 4.5 UK or a 37) I thought that I had a relatively normal sized foot (size 9 US) but I need to remember that I am 5 ft 8 inches tall in a country where the average height for men/women is 5 ft 3 inches.


Before I went rafting, I needed to buy a cheap sneaker that I could wear in the water. After digging through piles of shoes without any luck, someone in the store came to help. When I explained what size shoe I needed, I got a shocked expression and a shake of the head.

Feeling a bit exasperated, I asked if I could try the Men's shoes - which caused some confusion, until they realized I was serious. One store clerk ran off and came back looking very proud of himself. He then passed me a completely massive man's sneaker (clown shoe basically). It was the opposite extreme. I said "great!", but tried to convey that I needed a size in between the tiny and humungous shoes.


In the end, the best shoe I could find were Men's size 9.5 US black Converse shoes. While they are actually too big for me, I can't complain much because I only paid about $12 US for them and they were perfect for rafting.

Last week I needed to buy some flip-flops and also had to settle for a large men's flip-flop. But the second time, the size dilemma was less surprising.

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