(allposters.com)
I saw the movie 'the Terminal' last night, and it was pretty good, but kind of forgettable. I think Steven Spielberg is kind of stuck in the late-80s, there were a bunch of shots with streaming light highlighting the characters - reminiscent of E.T.
Oh, and the movie is based on the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived in the Paris airport for 18 years.
But something struck me - I think people outside of America have a greater ability to wait on things. Working in the computer lab last week, there was a tax help session for international students. Often, the people running the program were 15-30 minutes late in showing up and when I told the students that this was the case they shrugged and said that they would wait in the corner. If the tax program was for Americans, people would get pissy and hang around my desk and ask for information about who they could call.
Perhaps this is because America is a democracy and things get done because people complain about them. Maybe it's because we're more individualistic. Maybe it's because we don't have the normal 20-minute to 3-hour grace period of lateness that many South American and African cultures seem to have. Whatever it is, it's kind of interesting.
aw I love that movie! The concept is so good. The beginning is great but it def. loses its sparkle as it goes on.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right, although I think it has less to do with democracy and more to do with our fast-paced, results-oriented culture. I've become more patient living over here because everything happens slowly and, even when you're in a hurry to get something important done, no one else is. I think, at least in Jordan, it's partly that people are used to slow, inefficient bureaucracy and also that they place a greater emphasis on conversation and are rarely hurried. It can be annoying, but patience is a good habit to learn I guess.
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