Buying Shoes

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The night before I left America for Prague, I was frantically packing and re-packing, only to discover that my luggage was still over the 50-pound limit. I ended up taking out everything I didn’t consider essential, so I only brought one pair of sneakers. Well, I’ve been wearing that pair again and again, day after day, as I trek around Prague’s cobblestone streets. Now my formerly white sneakers are not only filthy looking, but also in need of a good airing out. So, I’ve been trying to get a hold of some new sneakers. I’ve checked in several shops, but I can’t tell what is leather and what is just some cheap, plastic knock-off. Katiri suggested that I go to the “Fila Outlet,” which is right near my apartment. So, I went in there today and was utterly disappointed. I wonder if they have the same concept of “false advertising” here. Although the sign outside the store claimed they had Fila and some other well-known brands, they had nothing of the sort. The only shoes I found were a very small selection of ridiculously overpriced Converse sneakers.

So, I leave the store and check out another one across the street. This store’s window signs claim the place sells Sketchers, but after my last shoe shopping experience I’m not holding my breath on that. I go in and there is one person working there, a skinny blonde girl who looks about 22. My eyes scan the little shop, hoping to find sneakers, but to no avail. So, I ask the salesgirl in Czech if she speaks English. She says something that I don’t understand in Czech. I assume it means that she speaks enough English for me to talk with her. So I ask, “Shoes?” She points up a stairway. I go up there and find a little wall with a decent selection of Sketchers. Success! A brand I recognize. Eventually, she comes upstairs, and I ask if she has a blue pair in size 41. She leaves and comes back after a while with a box of bright red sneakers in size 41. I try them on, and they are just a smidge too big. The sneakers I brought here say they’re size 41, so I’m not sure why these didn’t fit. I really didn’t want a bright red pair of sneakers, so I ask if she has the blue ones in size 40. She says no. I ask if there is anything in size 40, she says no. I really don’t want the red sneakers, so I point to another pair of sneakers, in a nice blue and white, and ask if she has those in a 40. She says, “Men”. I know they were technically men’s sneakers, but they looked like they could easily pass for unisex and they weren’t in a hideous, bright red. I give up on that blue and white pair, because apparently “men” also means “no.”

I ask again, “Do you have ANYTHING in size 40?” She then pulls a shoe from the display shelf and hands it to me. It’s tan and white, not exactly what I want, but better than a bright red pair of clown shoes. I nod, and she goes to get the display model’s counterpart. I buy them for 950 crowns, about 56 dollars, which is more than I usually spend on sneakers, but at least I know this pair is made of real leather. The salesgirl looked really accomplished after I hand her the 1000 crown bill. I bet she’s proud to have completed a sale in English.

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