As we've discussed, there are different "times" in the world. My Arab friends joke about Arab Time - while my Indian friends joke about Indian Time - and my African friends joke about Africa Time. They are, as listed in the previous sentence, is descending order of certainty and specificity; in all of these different temporal realities everything that is scheduled happens, just not when they are scheduled. I remember sitting in my office in Mumbai talking to my dear friend Raj and he was talking about a meeting he had scheduled for the day with a company downtown in regards to a Champlain internship opportunity. I said that was great work, and when was the meeting scheduled. He looked at his watch and said, without a hint of irony, "Now." I responded that we had to drive all the way downtown and that it might take us an hour and a half in the infamous Mumbai traffic. He looked at me like I was a madman, but in a kind way. The point was that time was simply more fluid in India. We showed up, actually about two hours late, and the man was happy to see us and immediately ordered tea. I was thinking of that story on the recent Jordan trip and I decided why Arab Time is always slightly off is because no matter where we are - and what we're doing - we always have to stop for a huge lunch. Once I dragooned Mahmoud into getting carryout shwarma that we could feed the students on the bus, which he did (and it was fantastic) but it made him a bit grumpy. It's not that he - or Jordanians in the broader sense - don't want to get shit done, it's just that they're extraordinary hosts and it's important that their guests have an amazing time. Hence, we better stop and eat.
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