“My grandma used to tell me that I can’t step on the floor with my bare feet because then

I think I would get sores… on my hand?

What would she tell me again..

Oh! Not my hands, my mouth.

Like cold sores.”

I personally do not agree with this folk belief at all probably because in my culture, it is respect to take off our shoes and walk around with only our socks or bare feet inside. This superstition was made probably to prevent children from getting sick because of cold feet, but getting cold sores when walking around in bare feet seem very random.

Vanessa Marquez is another co-worker of mine. She is a married 27 year old. She was born in Mexico and came to the United States as a child. These folk stories were shared to me during break at work in a casual setting.