What's the hurry?

On Sunday, I met with a great friend who is a Filipina and working here as a Director of an NGO.  When talking about being a boss here, I was amazed to hear her use the same line I use in dealing with Thai staff.  She simply said how they show no sense of urgency.  She sees all their work just building up, with so much being left undone until the very end. 

How true!  Nothing here is done quickly.  Many things are ongoing and just left unfinished.  Then the classic experience is seen when Thais want something done immediately in their time frame after leaving the same task go unattended for so long.  There is then a great rush and a demand for immediate action. 

Here there is no great sense of urgency amongst the general population and life just goes on and on and on.  I am reminded of this approach to life by the picture of last week of the two girls sleeping at the bus stop.  That is such a typical scene.  I am coming on the bus to work this morning and there are two school girls sitting together and both are sound asleep.  You wonder if they will ever wake up for their stop. 

It is a week before Christmas and this time of year has its own sense of urgency to get things done and be ready for the big day.  It is all go!  None of that here.  Life goes on at its own pace.  Nothing will move the people unless they want to be moved.  There is a general complacency, a certain laissez-faire among the population but there is much more to them than that.  This is not the whole story for you don't want to disturb them or disagree with them without expecting a backlash.  Like everything here, it highlights how complex the culture and the people are.  Nothing can ever be dealt with by a short essay.  Rather any understanding demands at least a chapter of a major thesis.

For someone like me, it keeps me ever awake and ever thinking on what is really happening and how best to approach life issues. 

Merry Christmas!