Doin the Time Warp

Culturally speaking, we westerners tend to like things as efficient as possible. For us, that usually means taking less time for each task. Or, it can mean filling each hour/minute with something that is productive. But we have noticed that there is a fundamental difference with the way time is spent in this culture...

One example comes from our cable provider, Showtime Arabia. Erin's soap is about 4 years behind, and Lost and Desperate Housewives are in season one. We watch Jay Leno and Conan in the morning now. Also, we get ESPN Orbit as one channel, and recently they aired a Texans Football game. Football on ESPN pretty normal, you say? Yeah, except this particular game against the Chiefs took place in November of last year. I remember Erin and I watching after I had flipped the channel to ESPN, and I said, "Oh I remember this game, the Texans get pounded. Why is it on?" Maybe local Chiefs fans were clamoring to see this lopsided blowout. This happens with other sports, too, as we've noticed hockey games are broadcast sparingly but with no consideration for when the game actually took place. I don't know, but in the "up-to-the-second" culture we came from, this seems a little odd.

Also, when we bought our Pathfinder, the 2006 models were just being released. In the states, it's typical to find the next year's model in October of the previous year. Here, it wasn't released until April of the same year. Maybe its an issue of distribution, don't know on this one.

Hours of operation also tend to be geared toward a more leisurely day. Except for the big malls and grocery stores, shops open about 8 AM - 1 PM and then from 4 PM - 7 PM. There's a three hour break that we like to call "Nap Time". And of course, the calls to prayer, which are five times each day - however business tends to go on during prayers, with many stores or malls offering prayer rooms for privacy.

One thing we've noticed that we like: Our weekends are reversed, since in the US it's typical for shopping and social activities to take place on Saturdays and Church and Family activities on Sundays. In Qatar, our first weekend day is Friday, which is the Muslim holy day - and as a result most businesses, including the malls, are closed until 4 PM. So in effect we get our day of rest first, and we shop and go out on Saturday instead. It is nice to have a weekend day where you really cant do much else except hang out and relax. Kinda makes you a bit more laid back for the rest of the weekend.

Odds N Ends: We went to see "Failure to Launch" last night, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McCona-whatever. It was decent, a few laughs, although it was silly in parts. I really think Hollywood is in quite a slump. The seating was assigned, too, so at the counter we picked our seats off a seating chart like you would for a flight. The worst part for me, though, was the snacks. If you know me, you know I will intentionally skip meals in order to get buttered popcorn, but the theater HAD NO BUTTER. The popcorn was the natural white color, instead of the artificial yellow color, and there were salt shakers here and there. AHHH! Where will I get my daily saturated fats??!!

On Saturday night, we were watching the remake of the Bad News Bears with Billy Bob Thornton at home. Ok it was funny, not as good as the original though. Based on my love of baseball and a certain German-rooted wife, my favorite line, which I have to share, is "Baseball's hard. You can love it but, believe me, it don't always love you back. It's kinda like dating a German chick."

-Steve