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January 12, 2006
Being on Time
This LA Times article on punctuality around the world caught my attention, probably because since Josh grew up in the United States and I grew up in France, we tend to have a different idea of what being "on time" means (yes, you guessed it, I'm the one who's always late).
Jane Engle writes "Italy has two rail schedules: the one printed in the brochure and another, flashing updates, on a board in the station. The first may be a fantasy; the second, reality."
Rick Steves then comments "As for the French, I swear they are born with clocks in their stomachs. A vintner I once visited near Bordeaux halted in mid-sentence to break for déjeuner."
Hmm, I don't know if Josh would agree that I was born with a clock in my stomach but I do agree with Steves. French people eat at regular times every day and I still hard for me to have "dinner" at 4pm. On the other hand, if a French person invites me to their place for dinner at 8pm, I know that I'm not supposed to show up before at least 8:30pm or later. If I show up at 8pm, my hosts will most likely still be dressing and vaccuuming the apartment because they don't expect anyone to show up right on time... Anyway, enough time talk, click here to read the story.
Posted by insideoutmag at January 12, 2006 10:26 AM
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