Time to Schedule

Jake Kasper

I love lunch. It’s my favorite part of the day. I get to take a break in the middle of it all and eat. And if you know me, you’d know eating is my middle name, no matter what part of the day. This practice has been instilled in all of us since we indulged in snacks at preschool.

So when the Slovene students did not schedule time in for our esteemed ritual of eating, we thought the food gods would curse us and withhold dinner as well. Unfortunately, the curse held at times. It just did not fit the schedule at all.

This cultural difference of schedule and eating habits was one of the bigger differences in my book, as well as my stomach. It was not so much the culinary style or difference in tastes between the countries. It was time. They would eat if they remembered to. Unlike us, they use their heads to decide on their mealtimes, whereas we use our stomach to guide us, like greedy Americans would. Our stomachs tell us when to eat, how much to eat and what to eat; thus leading to the obesity problem the United States faces today.

I remember one day, we all had breakfast before leaving for Trieste, Italy with the Slovene students as our guides. The trip was nearing the end. After begging to eat lunch every day, we figured they’d remember to stop for some food. However, that was not the case. So we decided to split up as we gobbled some Italian pizza.

Now on the flip side of this trick coin, whenever we stopped for coffee or beer, we wanted to drink fast and get on with the day. They wanted to sit around and talk for a few hours. After a one-day trip to Bled, Slovenia, we had 45 minutes to catch our bus home. So what was the harm in going for a drink at a local cafe? Worst came to worst, and we ended up chasing down the bus in a car. During meals that we did eat with them, we would have to flag our waiter down and ask for the bill after a substantial wait. The students were surprised we wanted to leave so soon. In the United States, you get in and get out. It almost never takes more than an hour and half; otherwise the manager will begin to think you’re loitering.

Of course, like everything there was an underlying lesson to be learned from this experience. Trust me -- I had to think about this one for a while. Anyone who keeps me from my food is typically not be in a good position to teach me anything. So while munching on a Snickers bar after a missed lunch, I had to ponder this. The first and obvious lesson dealt with the food. Because they did not cave into their stomach’s desires, it was evident that obesity does not rear its large head in Europe as readily as it does in the United States. There’s no doubt about that. Unfortunately, the lesson didn’t end there.

Slovenes value communication and quality time over event schedules such as lunch, dinner or meetings. Who cares if they were 20 minutes late for a meeting? It gave them a full 20 minutes of getting to know strangers from afar. Learning and communicating with one another was far more important than something they do on an every day basis.

We learned that all the students from time to time had skipped classes and study groups just to guide us around their beautiful country. We came in the middle of their exams, and they still did not hesitate to give us their time.

It was not just about hospitality, but rather it was about values. Building relationships with strangers was far more important.

After all, we are all connected through communication and world travels. Through journalism, we shared a common bond, but through time we shared friendship. It does not seem all that complicated, but in the United States, we see our peers more as contacts and connections, rather than someone we need to sit and have a discussion with. Discussions ranged from politics, to sports, to cultural differences. The discussions taught us more than any lecture or book could teach us, and we did not even realize that.

Now I’m hungry, When’s lunch?

Jake Kasper is a history and journalism double major at Bradley University. He would love to get lunch ... now. Direct questions, comments, or recipes to jkasper@bradley.edu.