My First Day at Work

An introduction into an organization in Nepal is quite different than anything I have experienced in Canada. On arriving in Hetauda we had an appointment at 2:00 to meet the Chairman, Secretary, Accountant, and some of the employees of the dairy cooperative.  I am anxious for my CECI handlers to get me to the meeting on time. They take a more casual approach but adjust to my anxiousness and we arrive at two. But the meeting starts much later than that.

The dimension of time is different in depending on culture. In North America we view time in a "Linear" way, meaning there is a beginning and an end and the importance of a time framework, like meeting times. In other cultures time is "Cyclical" placing much less focus on a beginning and an end. What can't be done today can be done tomorrow*.

Niether is better or worse, what needs to get done gets done, just at a different pace. With rolling blackouts and a myriad of other hurdles that face the Nepalese it helps to explain their tolerance and amazing resilience that I am finding so pervaisive in their culture.

I am presented with a Tikka and a gift, welcoming me into the work family. The most common Tikka is red powder applied with the thumb, in a single upward stroke. It is a blessing and honour bestowed on a person entering the working family of an organization in Nepal. 

*For more about understanding the difference between cyclical time versus linear time go to http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt44267.html