男友太凶猛1v1高h,大地资源在线资源免费观看 ,人妻少妇精品视频二区,极度sm残忍bdsm变态

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Lifestyle

Saving time and face is a lost art

By Lisa Carducci ( China Daily ) Updated: 2010-10-08 09:34:54

Transportation was unexpectedly smooth and I arrived at the meeting half an hour before time. I kept my eyes on the restaurant door. Several customers entered, but not my friend. At 6 pm, she sent me a text message: "Urgent work to finish. Will be 20 minutes late."

I had forgotten my book, so I spent the time reflecting on my experiences of being late in China. On my first visit in 1985, punctuality was deeply rooted in Chinese morality. There were no traffic jams then.

Saving time and face is a lost art

Our tour guide told us the previous night the bus would leave at 8 am, but at 8:02, one person was still missing. The guide panicked: "Something must have happened? This is impossible! Maybe he overslept?" And she asked the reception desk to send someone to the absentee's room for a check.

As a teacher in Canada, I always insisted on punctuality. I would open the classroom door to a late student for the first breach and the second, but not the third. He or she would have to remain in the corridor and catch up at the end of the day.

For one particular group of students, however, I had a bunch of guys who never cured their habit of arriving late. They included my son, who never made up, as he was born one week later than expected.

As an Italian, however, I was used to this disregard for punctuality. During a summer vacation in Italy, we had an appointment at 7:30 pm with a notary. He arrived at 8:15 pm. We chatted for a while, as we were old friends and had not seen each other for long. At 9:45 pm, he said: "Too late to talk business today. Let's go to the bar."

During the six years I worked for CCTV, I had a Chinese friend whom I often saw at lunch time, or after work. We used to meet at the subway station nearby. He was always late by 10-20 minutes. To my question, "You were busy?" he would surprisingly answer, "No". Once I asked him to check the clock in his office, thinking it must be wrong - it dawned on me later that this man was simply late-by-nature.

Saving time and face is a lost art

During the last years of my employment at Beijing Review, I moved to Shunyi district, near Beijing Capital International Airport and I contracted a taxi to drive me daily to Dongzhimen subway station in the city, so I could reach my office at a decent time, though my schedule was quite flexible.

In March 2005, I was granted permanent residence in China. The ceremony was scheduled for 9 am at the Public Security Bureau on the Second Ring Road.

I told my driver I had to get there by 8:40 am. "No problem," he replied. But, he miscalculated by thinking he had time to drop someone at the airport before picking me up. I desperately waited for him. Then, to rub salt into my wounds, he needed to stop at the gas station.

Finally, I entered the room at 9:07 am - the last guest to arrive. And here is the point: Instead of starting the ceremony immediately, the organizers let 10 more minutes run so as to make me feel at ease and politely cover my offence. They saved face for me and I will never forget their tactful kindness.

?

Editor's Picks
Hot words

Most Popular
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 大名县| 隆昌县| 江川县| 霍山县| 乡城县| 中牟县| 包头市| 岑巩县| 保靖县| 娱乐| 荔浦县| 安平县| 凤冈县| 白银市| 信宜市| 兴安县| 鸡东县| 政和县| 临夏市| 米泉市| 合山市| 柯坪县| 嘉定区| 璧山县| 宝丰县| 正宁县| 永善县| 锦州市| 集安市| 南川市| 湘乡市| 海门市| 唐河县| 日土县| 沙洋县| 安徽省| 许昌县| 思南县| 客服| 阳曲县| 黔西县|