When I was growing up I was told it was rude to be on time. Always be ten minutes late I was told, it's the Irish way of doing things.
This morning I was invited to a 'Come and Meet the Mums in Year 3A' coffee morning - the invitation said 0830. Year 3A has children of all nationalities, with different cultural norms, but even so I didn't arrive until ten minutes after the appointed hour.
As I drove up I was joined by a French mum and two English mums - they'd also been trained from birth to be ten minutes late to a party.
Except the party was being hosted by an American mum and from the strained expression on her face when we all barged in ten minutes late I have come to conclusion that in America, one must be on time. Or one will never be invited again.
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That's funny! I have relatives who always arrive half an hour earlier than invited. Used to drive me crazy till I learned to invite them for thirty minutes later than I want them to arrive.
ReplyDeleteThat is a funny story! I'm North American (Canada) and my husband is from Northern Ireland. I'm always bursting with high blood pressure because I'm wanting to be on time while my dear irish husband is always late!
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