I believed my race was Goan, but by Peter Li's definition of race, there is no Goan race, only a Goan ethnicity. In Canada, Slippers are just Slippers Like race identity, my class identity was also an issue of confusion as a child. In fact, my notion of class was even more strongly intertwined with my religious identity then was my notion of race. My parents came to Canada as political refugees from Uganda with no money and two children. Back in Goa both my parents were considered Brahmins.
Brahmins are the highest level of India's multi-leveled caste system.
In Goa it is a sign of the upper class to wear slippers around the house. Now it makes sense that people would want to wear slippers in Goa as the floors are made of stone. My parents both wore slippers as children. However, in Canada we have a carpet, or at least my family did. Soft, plush carpet, the kind you'd want to bury your face in.