Socia Time The Heartbeat of Culture.docVIP

Social Time: The Heartbeat of Culture 1 “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” This thought by Thoreau strikes a chord in so many people that it has become part of our language. We use the phrase “the beat of a different drummer” to explain any pace of life unlike our own. Such colorful vagueness reveals how informal our rules of time really are. The world over, children simply “pick up” their society’s time concepts as they mature. No dictionary clearly defines the meaning of “early” or “late” for them or for strangers who stumble over the annoying differences between the time sense they bring with them and the one they face in a new land. 2 I learned this a few years ago, and the resulting culture shock1 forced me to search for answers. It seemed clear that time “talks”. But what is it telling us? 3 My journey started shortly after I accepted an appointment as visiting professor of psychology at the federal university in Niteroi, Brazil, a small city across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. As I left home for my first day of class, I asked someone the time. It was 9:05 a.m., which allowed me time to relax and look around the campus before my 10 o’clock lecture. After what I judged to be half an hour, I glanced at a clock I was passing. It said 10:20! In panic2, I broke for the classroom, followed by gentle calls of “Hola3, professor” and “Tudo bem4, professor?” from unhurried students, many of whom, I later realized, were my own. I arrived breathless to find an empty room. 4 Frantically, I asked a passerby the time. “Nine forty-five” was the answer. No, that couldn’t be. I asked someone else. “Nine fifty-five.” Another said: “Exactly 9:43.” The clock in a nearby office read 3:15. I had learned my first lesson about Brazilians: Their timepieces are consistently inaccurate. And nobody minds. 5 My class was scheduled from 10 until noon. Many students came late, some very late. Several arrived after 10:30.