(2 minute read)

A few days ago my friend (HJ) and I were talking to a Japanese lady at a store. As you would expect from a tourist, I asked her how to say some words in Japanese. After teaching me how to say hello and thank you in Japanese, I wanted to know how to say “How are you?” as a greeting in her language. I was stunned when she told me that in Japanese culture people do not use questions and inquiries as a form of greetings. In fact, in Japan, people start the conversation with a simple “Hello” or “Hi”, and jump right into the point.

Such is Japanese culture: efficient. Words, like resources, are used optimally in Japan. Time is seldom wasted on superfluous matters.

In Kuwait (and the Arab World), a conversation is precluded by countless questions about one’s health, life, work, etc. This is true even for close friends who see each other weekly. In Kuwait, if a conversation lasts an hour, 59 minutes are used to ask about you, your dad, your mom, your aunt, uncle, brother, sister, cousins, and any other form of immediate and non-immediate family one can think of. This would be fine if the person asking those questions actually cares about those people. But 99% of the time, these questions are asked as part of a social contract.

Such is Kuwaiti (and Arab) Culture: inefficient, time wasting, and filled with techniques to make even the simplest matters complicated.

Midway through the last century, Japan was hit by TWO nuclear bombs. Today, they are an economic giant and a model example of development and growth in the world.

In Kuwait, we still think blocking the road for 3 hours on new year’s eve to be “fun”.

Have an efficient 2010.

- Hashim