Thou Shalt Brown Nose

I am a programmer by education and worked in the profession for over a decade. It's not easy for me to overcome my respect for rules. However, with hard work and life in the Middle East, I'm overcoming this handicap.

In the Middle East, you get things done not by following rules, but by being nice to people. Act meek, be obsequious, praise people, and ignore the rules; no one follows them anyways.

1. There is a law in Jordan prohibiting smoking in public transportation vehicles. Expecting people to respect this law is like expecting Bush to say something intelligent: it happens sometimes, and causes a small outburst of joy in one's heart, but it's definitely the exception and not the rule. Instead of expecting people to follow the law, explain to them that the smoke really hurts you, that you don't mean to burden them, that they are kind, etc.
2. Recently, I went to visit someone in a hospital. The guards told me there were no visiting hours at the time. I told them that I came all the way from Sports City (a 20 minute taxi ride) and they said, "OK. Pray for us." On my way in, someone asked me, "Are there visits allowed now?" I replied, "There are exceptions."
3. On my way back into Jordan from Syria, I had misplaced my entry card. The Syrian border guard told me I had to pay a 100 lira fine. I told him, "I hear that you guys love to honour your guests and overlook these sorts of things." He smiled, stamped my passport and waved me off.

Moral of these stories: just brown-nose your way to whatever you want.