The International Meaning of Time

Comm 322: Cultural studies

Professor Padilla

Jamie Stratton

11/16/15

The International Meaning of Time.

         Thinking on the matter of our upcoming blog, I struggled to find a topic that i was interested in and that i wanted to write about. I, like any other student at this point, found my self stressed and anxiety ridden because i could not think of what to post and thought of the many other classes i had work for. It then came to me that our idea of time and our use and of it as a culture can be very different than that of other cultures, and can even shape our world around us greatly. In our book Cultural Studies, it brushes over this briefly in the begging of chapter 12. I thought it would be interesting to delve into this topic a bit more and take a closer look at how time is used and viewed, and how it shapes cultures and nations.

        Since my first international trip when i was 4, i have loved to travel and experience new cultures. Understanding a different way of life and new people is important to me. It was later in life though that i truly began to appreciate time and learned patience. I was on my first trip to Kenya to do missions work with my church, and the long and short of it is that very quickly i learned that there was such thing as "African time". I'm assuming most of you have never been to Africa, but if you plan to go, you need to understand this term. For example, the church i go to back in Connecticut has a set schedule which is routine and common place to almost everybody: Food is put out 9:30 AM, worship starts at 10 sharp, announcements at 10:30, Pastor speaks at around 10:40, service ends between 11:15 and 11:25, simple. When in Nairobi, the service went something like this: Morning pray starts between 7Am and 9 (not required), worship may start between 10Am and noon, Message from pastor may start any where between 11 and 2, Service ends between 12 and 4 (patrons of the church) may arrive anywhere between 6Am and 4Pm. This may be confusing so to really make it simple these experiences really highlight what "African time is. While in Nairobi, our van driver was scheduled to show up at 4Pm, he rolled up at 5:30 and told us he saw a friend on the side of the road and "spoke to him". To the other Kenyans, this was not a problem to them and was accepted. As irritating as this was, it was something that had to be not tolerated, but adopted as normalcy. The following trips taken over the next few years, I learned to accept this and adopt the African culture in that way.

           African countries are not the only that have different views of time, and it should not be the only highlighted. I have been fortunate enough to travel to different place, and i've come to realize that, unlike what i had thought, the rest of the world didn't function how america does, as a go go go society. Of course there are some countries that do, and some that have areas which are more fast paced then other, but for the most part, each country has there own unique time management code. In France, lunch is held as usual, between 11Am and 2Pm, but from 2 to 4 business's shut down and life stops and nearly everybody sits around drinking coffee or tea  talking, reading, or merely observing. In Ireland, the nights to go out are Tuesday and Thursday, as opposed to friday and saturday. On top of that every bar in your average town or city closes at midnight sharp, as opposed to most establishments in the U.S. In Ecuador, People take their time in an everyday aspect, and have a "Siesta" time, a short nap, each day which occurs in the early afternoon usually after the mid day meal. This tradition is practiced in many countries with warmer climates and originates from the Mediterranean region. Finally in Italy, life is usually fast paced much like the U.S. Except for when it comes down to meals, which is almost always a family matter. Sundays are the main time for family, and on this day dinner is eaten as early as 2Pm, and the day ends after that ensued by a time of rest. 

         

         It is interesting to look at these wide variety of cultures and the traditional norms in regards to time, and see how their society is affected by how time is treated and handled. Where I live in America, it is a million mile per hour culture. Positioned right next to New York City, Fairfield county doesn't stop and things need to be finished before they're even started. I have grown up very time conscious and am ultimately punctual for the most part. The proof here Padilla is that i have never been late to any of your classes. I theorize that because of this though, people in my county tend to be stressed, grouchy, and rude. It ends up becoming a society that is more focused on self rather than relationships. In Kenya however, and many other African countries, the slow time culture does something different to society. Progress is generally slow in many aspects of Kenyan life, so slow in fact that the government often times hires Chinese engineers and workers to construct city infrastructure and road ways because they know it will get done quicker. However, This relaxed life style leads to a culture that is centered around relationships and the community, and ultimately people are friendly, welcoming and talkative.
         Time is something that is man made, and it is what society makes of it. The vast differences between nations in the way they function and their cultural properties due to something that theoretically does not exist is absolutely incredible. We can be shaped and molded by a function that the populace has created, and the effects of this function on the world stretch farther then people imagine.