The Philippines

On Wednesday, Tom, Mark and Sue got up early to head to the Tacloban airport. They would fly to Manila, stay overnight in a hotel at the airport and then fly back to the U.S. early the next morning. About half an hour before they were to depart, David arrived at the Tacloban airport on the same airplane that would take them to Manila. Dave arrived to hugs and tears from his in-laws.

As they were getting ready to leave, Mark couldn’t find a pair of his shoes. Finally, Sue spotted them in a hanging potted plant. How come Mark didn’t think to look there?

Flip-flops or "slippers" as the Filipino’s call them are common footwear. Before someone enters a house, they slip off their slippers. When they leave to go outside, they slip on a pair - any pair - male, female, large, small, it doesn’t matter. If their foot fits in, they use them. I once saw their neighbor, who helped out with the cooking, slip on a non-matching pair.