AL |
4:43 PM |
Firstly, I will clarify that by foreigners I include all non-white person from foreign countries that are notorious for being late e.g Latinos, Central Americans and persons of African decent. If you need an example of what I am talking about, I mean issues of serial and endemic late arrivals such as this recent incident in The Copa America soccer tournament in Argentina (Read more). There are reasons foreigner have become the ambassadors of tardiness in the West. Let's examine why. (Also read: AFRICAN TIME.)
1. Socializing.
Foreigners generally love to have conversations with other people. Real conversations whereby something is actually discussed or shares.
Ever heard this type of conversation?
White Person A: Hey how are you doing
White Person B: Good, you?
White Person A: Good! [end]
White people designed this particular type of conversation to make sure they get where they need to get on time. Meeting people you know on the way to an appointment can be time consuming so white people have solved that problem but not bothering to get to know anything about new people they come across. Foreigners are quite the opposite and this presents a challenge for white people because they are not prepared to have a conversation beyond the example given above. For that reason, they will tend to cut the foreigner off and bail out as fast as they can without having to further discuss anything.
Example:
White Person A: Hey how are you doing
Foreigner: Not great. I just got fired. In fact, I am considering walking over to that cliff and jumping off!
White Person A: Awwwww that's a shame, any way I gotta get going! Good luck!
2. The Understanding of Time.
Time in many foreign countries is a rough guideline and not a rigid concept and in foreign countries it is not uncommon for an event to start significantly later than advertised. When I was young the invitation to my neighbor's wedding indicated that the ceremony would begin at noon. I took a walk by the venue at around 2pm because I had other things to do and predictably, nothing had started but the venue had racked up a contingent of white people who arrived at noon as the program suggested it would but were met only by the unforgiving Botswana heat. The wedding proceedings ended up starting around 5pm. So when you make plans with foreigners for 10pm at night, don't be surprised if they aren't ready at 10pm. In fact they will more likely only START to get ready at 10pm.
Notes: When a foreigners say "I'm on my way" it could be anything from 20 minutes to an hour or two.
3. Relaxed Culture.
Many foreign cultures have the idea of relaxation built into them. Nobody is rushing anywhere. This was why when I was walking through the streets of New York City I was horrified at the pace everyone was moving at. The speed I walk meant I was the proverbial 97 year old woman on the highway driving at 36 miles an hour. The strange thing I found out was that many of them are just rushing without out anything in particular to rush to. They are just programed to move as fast as they can no matter what. Foreigners will only rush if they absolutely need to be somewhere at a given time and they know for sure they will be late. Ironically, their laborious pace is usually the reason the end up running late in the first place. Being more relaxed means you will have "more time to stop smell the roses" but it also means you will be late for many things.
4. Bigger Families
White people figured out that the most mobile family unit will include a parent, possibly two, and roughly 2.75 kids or a total that can fit comfortably into a five seater. When the family has to go somewhere, it's in one car and the procedure is swift. Foreign families tend to be larger. So leaving to go somewhere is more like evacuating a large building. It takes a while and in the event that people panic it complicates matters further. With increased numbers, comes increased responsibilities. For example, you have to: feed it, put clothes on this, brush it's teeth, comb it's hair, stop it from crying, stop it from beating it's little brother.....the list is endless. Needless to say, if you invite your African friend's family of 8 for dinner you can almost certain:
A) They will be late..
B) That your house and snaity will be systematically torn apart...
5. It is not important to be on time for everything.
It follows that no two events are of equal importance to a Foreigner. The need to arrive at a job interview is important on time is important but is it really important to arrive at a party exactly on time? Social events are not treated in the same way matters of business are. Rigidly scheduling socializing is an oxymoron in some regards. Socializing is supposed to be relaxed and relatively spontaneous. White people may go as far as to put socializing into their daily planner, including a definite beginning and end times e.g
17:00 pm: Meet Susan for drinks.
1745 pm: Take Memphis(Dog) for a walk.
18:00 pm: Attend Jason's party
19:30 pm: Prepare for bed
Regardless of how fun what they are at maybe, they have planned to leave at a set time. It is also not uncommon for white people to socialize even when they don't want to because the have already scheduled it or prematurely RSVP'd. In such cases, they may attend the event, fain moderate pleasure and leave after a standard periods of time consistent with the type of event.
Standard times you can leave without being a douchbag:
Drinks: 20-30 minutes
Parties: 45min - 1 hour.
Small Business functions: 15 minutes
Family gatherings: 1.5 - 2 hours
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