The are subtle, and not so subtle, cultural differences that we ex-pats experience every day.
For instance:
---Time is relative. If you make an appointment and arrive sometime within the hour of when you're supposed to be there, you're OK.
---Meetings always begin with coffee and light snacks, for those folks who do arrive on time and have to wait for the late comers.
---The greetings here are lyrical. There is the double cheek kiss and the litany of prayers that they say to each other, even when they see each other everyday. It is especially pronounced when they greet each other sporadically. Women greet women and men greet men.
---This elaborate greeting happens, no matter when they arrive. We could be in the middle of a meeting, but everything stops for folks to greet each other.
---Cell phones ringing in a meeting is no big deal. Answering the call and proceeding with a full-on conversation is not taboo either.
---Side bar conversations during meetings are constant. It really rattles Western presenters.
---Deadlines are fluid.
---The art of calendaring events is virtually non-existent. Things are happening all the time, but notice is by word of mouth.
---Last minute changes happen frequently, but again, the information goes out word of mouth.
---There is no such thing as a "working lunch." When you break for lunch, that time is sacred and is expected to be undisturbed. A new teacher made the mistake of keeping her class in to finish work during their lunch break, and was quickly called on the carpet for that faux pas.
---Correct spelling in not important. Most everything is spelled several ways, and it's up to you to decipher what it is. The town where I live has at least five difference spellings, all of them official, meaning they are found on maps, office buildings, etc.
---Kids play unattended in the neighborhood. Even toddlers, as young as two or three.
---Kids run - full force, like they're outside - in the hallways at school, without restraint or reprimand.
---Many boys, when you're trying to reprimand them, run from you, like you're going to play a game of chase with them.
These are some of the things we experience that are quite different from what we're used to. These things are not necessarily wrong, but they are different, and require an adjustment in thinking.
For instance:
---Time is relative. If you make an appointment and arrive sometime within the hour of when you're supposed to be there, you're OK.
---Meetings always begin with coffee and light snacks, for those folks who do arrive on time and have to wait for the late comers.
---The greetings here are lyrical. There is the double cheek kiss and the litany of prayers that they say to each other, even when they see each other everyday. It is especially pronounced when they greet each other sporadically. Women greet women and men greet men.
---This elaborate greeting happens, no matter when they arrive. We could be in the middle of a meeting, but everything stops for folks to greet each other.
---Cell phones ringing in a meeting is no big deal. Answering the call and proceeding with a full-on conversation is not taboo either.
---Side bar conversations during meetings are constant. It really rattles Western presenters.
---Deadlines are fluid.
---The art of calendaring events is virtually non-existent. Things are happening all the time, but notice is by word of mouth.
---Last minute changes happen frequently, but again, the information goes out word of mouth.
---There is no such thing as a "working lunch." When you break for lunch, that time is sacred and is expected to be undisturbed. A new teacher made the mistake of keeping her class in to finish work during their lunch break, and was quickly called on the carpet for that faux pas.
---Correct spelling in not important. Most everything is spelled several ways, and it's up to you to decipher what it is. The town where I live has at least five difference spellings, all of them official, meaning they are found on maps, office buildings, etc.
---Kids play unattended in the neighborhood. Even toddlers, as young as two or three.
---Kids run - full force, like they're outside - in the hallways at school, without restraint or reprimand.
---Many boys, when you're trying to reprimand them, run from you, like you're going to play a game of chase with them.
These are some of the things we experience that are quite different from what we're used to. These things are not necessarily wrong, but they are different, and require an adjustment in thinking.
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