Time

Americans think to be punctual is very important. It is what I heard before I went to the States as the Washington correspondent for Caijing Magazine three years ago. I didn’t want to be late for any interview. But I am not a good map reader. So I always arrived one hour earlier. Usually I went to a nearby Starbucks and prepared for my interview there after I found where the interview would be held.
I often recited the questions to myself when I prepared my interview at the Starbucks.
One day as I was murmuring questions in a line waiting for a cup of mocha at the Starbucks close to the World Bank, the man in front of me suddenly turned around and said:
“Absolutely!”
I was stunned for a second and then realized that he was answering my question.
Anyway, I never missed any interview.
When I came to the Philadelphia Inquirer I was reminded again of American’s emphasis on punctuality. The first day Andy Maykuth, my mentor at the Inquirer, gave me a printed schedule with a list of about 30 journalists I should meet in the newsroom the first three days. Every interview lasted exactly 30 minutes.
“Americans are not human being,” I said to myself, "they are computers.”
But quickly I found that Americans are also flexible. They would also change their agenda. I felt a little bit relaxed when my schedule was changed.
And then I was shocked again.
In my newsroom, when people don’t have time to talk with you, they usually say:
“Could you wait for a couple minutes? ”
Here people account by second.
“Five seconds, OK?”
I always hear that kind of response.
But then I find actually they need five minutes.
Now, whenever I hear a response like five seconds or a couple of minutes, I will translate them into five minutes or 30 minutes.
Does that mean Americans do not stick to their word?
No. They use seconds to show their respect for others and their time. But they are too busy. During this chaotic time in the whole newspaper industry in the Internet era, American journalists have to write more with fewer people and less pay. They are competing with different media, with all the other things people would like to read, with the Internet.
They are competing with the time and for the time.
So what do I do?
Leave and wait?
No. I will do exactly the same as I did in the newsroom of my country. Go back to my desk but still watch them to see if they have time to talk with me.
In China I always chase my editor or I would be chased and tortured by them. Here I have to chase my editors too or I could not get more opportunity to learn about the American society, the American newspaper industry and tell you the tale of the two cultures.