“Please Remove Your Shoes. Mahalo”, read the welcome sign placed gingerly outside the front door of our vacation condo. Cultural traditions can be charming, especially when you understand their underlying messages. The Kauaiian natives had a rhyme for their reasoning, namely red dirt. With half the island roads being flanked by vibrant powdery clay, and the other half of the old sugar-cane dirt roads left in their natural state, it’s relatively easy to track adobe dust into the home. My husband had no problem complying to their request since he lives by that motto daily. I, on the other hand, was raised to always keep shoes on my feet. (Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that during my childhood I seemed to stub my toes on practically every piece of furniture in the room as I was passing through it. Or that I managed to tumble down a flight of unforgiving hardwood stairs in my stocking feet.) In any event, since I had no desire to do housework on vacation, I thought “Why not?”. Upon closer consideration, I discovered this Hawaiian custom was directly related to showing respect as well. Home is considered to be a sacred space. It is filled with the fruits of the Spirit; namely kindness, gentleness, love, and peace. I knew I had adapted well the day our landlord popped in to acknowledge our gratification. As she took a sidelong glance at the shoes cascading down the stairway, a look of amusement spread across her face.