Take your time

Recently, my husband and I were taking some new colleagues through a set of orientation materials, including some culture "Do's and Don'ts". Many of the items we could rate as True or False, some of them, as with many other parts of life, were distinct gray areas. 

Don't talk while in the bathroom: true

Avoid religious conversations except with close friends: false (good luck trying to avoid that!)

But one of the items always makes me laugh a bit: Don't expect events to start late or take a long time.

FALSE

One key to happiness is accurate expectations. And if residents of this island expect things to start on time and end quickly, well, that's a recipe for unhappiness!

For example: we were invited for a ceremony celebrating the end of an English class in a nearby village. They said it would start after the evening prayer. So... if prayer is at 7:15... then we'll start at 7:30? Our little delegation didn't even bother coming until after 8pm, and we were the first to arrive! Decorations were still being put up. But no worries, since we knew what to expect, we weren't bothered.

Another recent event we were involved with was a local wedding. I was prepping the bride and Mitch was helping the groom at the event venue. The time for the bride's arrival came and went, and we were nowhere near ready. But was anyone particularly worried? Not in the slightest! We knew we'd eventually arrive, and better for everyone else to have a chance to arrive before the bride makes her entrance anyway. The grand processional ended up being about an hour after the scheduled time, it was a beautiful event, and everyone enjoyed it.

So... maybe the moral of the story is, if you're frustrated and upset, reconsider your expectations. Just as having accurate expectations helps with adjusting to a new culture, it can also help us with a multitude of daily events in our normal life.