The 2-hour Lunch Tradition

Of the many clichés associated with France, the long lunch tradition has remained a suspicious mystery in the rest of the world. Awkwardly swallowing a greasy sandwich at their desk, vaguely overlooking wide-distribution emails while dictating the contents of an urgent letter in-between two gulps, anglo-saxon businesspeople just do not understand why the French take so long to drink a glass of wine and finish off a plate of foie gras. Repositioning French meals around their social role as an incubator for debates and exchange of ideas might help. The French often like to question the established order, undo societal models, re-invent philosophical doctrines over a glass of Bordeaux.
Sitting at a table with a French, an Italian, an Indian, a Turkish, a Russian and an Australian participant, after a banal review of everyone’s country of residence, I entered the predictable digression around socio-economics and political issues – to what extent should Germany practice socialism; what are the flaws of the American public system; how could an uncontrolled liberalization based on a corrupt banking system induce a financial crisis in Russia; How can India tackle the urgency of feeding 4 million people starving to death, while creating an industry cluster to assure the country’s future. The ferocious velocity with which arguments were fired around the table was only matched by the depth of their truth. When I carelessly looked down at my wristwatch, I noticed that two hours had elapsed. Two hours of intense cultural debate around some of the key issues and differences in our modern world. Two hours of intellectual delight. Two hours of lunch in progress…
Here it is just another day at school…