Transcribed by Zaina Ali
One of my favourite things about living in Jordan is the balance between speed, vibrance, energy and the appreciation of taking things slowly and enjoying life. This balance is related to the concept of desert time -I’m wondering if I’ve made this expression up- which means people aren’t ruled by clocks and specific timing but rather by segments of the day, a pejorative expression that Arabs tend to get a bad rap for. However, desert time is a whole culture, it means not rushing about and enjoying the journey.
Being British, this has been very difficult for me to get my head around because we are ruled by clocks, we love punctuality and it’s a really big part of our culture. In England, if you have a family event or gathering you arrange it three weeks in advance so everyone knows the exact time and if you arrive late, then you are persecuted. Whereas in Jordan, it’s a lot more casual than that, your uncle might ring up and tell you that he’s going to come over later and you can expect him to come at any time between sunset and 11 pm (not even joking!), or somebody rings you to say that they’re five minutes down the road and are coming over for a coffee. As Arab culture is punctuated by hospitality, you should always be prepared to receive guests. And of course, receiving guests doesn’t mean inviting them into the kitchen, thrusting a mug of milky tea at them and chatting for a bit. It’s a lot more than that, it means inviting them into your home, having coffee, juice, fruit, sweets and the list goes on, spreading that across a whole evening while soaking up each other’s company.
The concept of Desert time is not just about family visits or occasions, it’s also about taking your time, enjoying the process of whatever you are doing, taking breaks between activities and not being stressed all the time. On the flip side of that, Arabs are proactive, when they want to get something done, they just do it. It’s really different from how it’s done in England, where we have to deliberate over every decision, draw out the process or make big lengthy plans…NO, we just get things done here.
Although bureaucratic issues are sometimes idiosyncratic and rely on who you are connected to, generally things happen a lot faster here. For instance, when my husband needed to renew his passport he did it in the morning, he had to run around to seven different departments in the ministry, but it happened really fast, and that kind of speed decision and action doesn’t happen in England. To apply for a new passport there, it can take a couple of months, though all you have to do is to just sign a form and send it away, it will take forever to get ready. So I feel like the Jordanians have got this balance perfectly.
MummyinAmman 