Sunday, June 21, 2009

A 4:25am thought...

Don't ask me why I'm up at this hour; my body won't tell me either.

One strange thing that always startles me the first time I see it: cell phone etiquette in developing countries. I suppose Qatar only barely falls into that category, but the cell phone manners are the same. I've yet to see anyone ever turn of their cell phone ringer, or refuse to interrupt a given conversation and call a person back, or otherwise acknowledge that a conversation in person might be more important than a conversation on the phone. I'm sure this has something to do with the fact that nearly all cell phones overseas are prepaid, and you don't get charged if someone calls you, only for calls you make.

Still, it takes some getting used to to see people talking on cell phones in nice-ish restaurants, and everywhere else as well. Who wants to eat a meal where you spend half the time either on your own phone or waiting for your dining partner to hang up? Shrug. Bizarre.

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