The perception of time has shifted for many people due to COVID-19 pandemic. The concept seems paradoxical where time eludes or stagnates even though it is not a material object that we can physically grasp, and yet, we commonly say Finding Rhythm Amidst Disruption: that ‘time is slipping past our fingers.’ Additionally, this pandemic has brought challenges with an unexpected translation of time: how soon or late our town Reconnecting through Cultural is infected, how many days we haven’t seen a friend, or how many minutes we have “zoom”ed throughout the day. While the context and consequences are Translations of Time and Motion radically different, we refer to this analogy to discuss the diverse translations and cultural shifts of time. Living in the United States as bicultural individuals —Indian, Iranian, Thai— Ladan Bahmani we perceive time in conjunction with an additional calendrical system and time Illinois State University, United States difference. Archana Shekara is a first-generation Indian American who has been in the United States for three decades and considers it her second home. Archana Shekara Ladan Bahmani is a first-generation Iranian American. She immigrated to Illinois State University, United States United States from Iran and has lived in the country for over a decade. Annie Sungkajun is a second-generation American, whose parents immigrated to the Annie Sungkajun United States from Thailand. When she began her college education, her family Illinois State University, United States moved back to Thailand. We have become conscious of time and its shift as we constantly compare and move between different calendrical systems. This has allowed us to live in a parallel world, adding new meanings to time that is ABSTRACT In this short paper, we present a design experience that otherwise passed in an ordinary way. explores translations of time to facilitate connecting or reconnecting individuals with other cultures and regions. We introduce four calendrical In this research, we explore intersubjectivity via a design experience by intro- systems, Gregorian (2021 AD), Indian (1943 SE), Iranian (1400 SH), and ducing four calendrical systems: Gregorian (2021 AD), Indian (1943 SE), Iranian Thai (2564 BE). This project can be experienced in two different forms: (1400 SH), and Thai (2564 BE). We strive to present accessible and equitable an interactive website and a printable poster that can also be viewed with pieces while aligning them with alternative ways of viewing the world. augmented reality to reveal unique videos. Calendrical Systems Keywords: time, connect and reconnect, calendrical systems, interactive, Gregorian Calendar motion design, augmented reality, cross-cultural awareness, cultural In 1582, the Gregorian calendar was established by Pope Gregory XIII as a identity, pandemic reform to the Julian calendar system (“Gregorian Calendar”, 1998). Julius Caesar’s calendar consisted of eleven months of 30 or 31 days and a 28-day Introduction February (extended to 29 days every fourth year), was quite accurate: but it As stated by Aristotle, time is the “number of movements in respect of the miscalculated from the solar calendar by only 11 minutes a year. By the sixteenth before and after.” It is often represented and measured through a change of century, this inaccuracy resulted in 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks) lag from events, much like the circular motion of the moon revolving around the Earth the actual solar calendar. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of or sequence of the seasons. With the lapse of time, there is transformation the calendar by 10 days and introduced a new corrected system to address the and adaptation which helps to anchor and ground ourselves. We are made error. This system was then named the Gregorian calendar, which is now widely conscious of time through our calendars and clocks —we understand how much used by most of the world. This calendar is officially used in the United States, is left within the day or a week and invoke deadlines, needs, and wants. The way marking the current year as 2021. time is measured and viewed may align or vary in different cultures depending on geographical locations, religions, traditions, and other factors. 86 MODE 2021 Edited Conference Proceedings [1] [2] [3] Figures 1–3: 1. Referenced concentric circular forms —Creation of Genesis from the late fifteenth century Nuremburg Chronicle (left), 2. Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England (middle), 3. Referenced concentric circular forms—Roman sundials from the ruins of Pompeii (right). Source: Aveni; 1989. Indian Calendar Iranian Calendar The Indian National Calendar was reformed in 1957. Prior to the reform, The Iranian calendar has changed several times from being lunar to solar people followed various calendrical systems based on regional astronomical according to different natural and astronomical events. In addition, its origin practices and customs. The national calendar follows the Hindu Shalivahana has been adjusted several times due to political or scientific reasons. The Saka, a lunisolar calendrical system and the Gregorian calendar is used for current Iranian calendar, Hijri Shamsi (migration solar) is a solar calendar. administrative purposes (“Calendars Exhibit”, 2008). King Shalivahana from the In addition, a lunar calendar, Hijri Ghamari (migration lunar) is followed to Satavahana dynasty initiated the Saka calendar to mark his victory against King recognize the Islamic observances. The Hijri Shamsi calendar is used for Vikramaditya of Ujjayini. The epoch of Shalivahana Saka corresponds to 78 administrative purposes. The calendar’s origin of time goes back to an import- in the Julian Calendar, and this marks the current year as 1943. Holidays are ant Islamic event (Prophet Mohammad’s migration to Medina) and currently determined in accordance with Hindu, Islamic, Christian, Sikh, Jain and marks the year 1400. The Iranian calendar starts on the March equinox and it Buddhist religious traditions. In the lunisolar calendar, months (masas) are is called Nowruz (New Day). The year is divided into twelve months with the determined by the phases of the moon. There are six seasons (ritus) and each first six months being 31 days, 5 months being 30 days, and one final month season consists of two months. The number of days in a month varies between being 29 days (except on leap years.) 29 and 32 days. The first month is Chaitra, with 30 days in a normal year and 31 in a leap year. Ugadhi (first day of the year) occurs in Chaitra masa, the first day of the bright half of the moon. The New Year generally is in March coinciding with the Spring equinox or occasionally in April. Finding Rhythm Amidst Disruption 87 Thai Calendar Website Thailand follows a lunisolar Buddhist calendar, meaning it is both a lunar The website contains information about the project and the designers, a link to calendar as well as a solar one that was adopted in the late 1880s, in order to download the calendar poster, and the interactive calendar of the year 2022. synchronize with the Western Gregorian calendar. The Buddhist calendar uses In the interactive calendar, the calendrical systems are presented in a grid struc- the date of when Gautama Buddha passed into Nirvana as it’s starting point, ture following the Gregorian calendar. The overall design is ambiguous allowing which predates the Christian Era by 543 years (Bikos). This marks the current users to explore additional information as they navigate through the site. Users Thai year as 2564. In a typical calendar, there are events found in the lunar are intentionally challenged to scroll horizontally throughout the site. As stated calendar to track many Buddhist holidays that is celebrated in Thailand. There by Damian Rees, “introducing a horizontal scroll could break a fairly rigid are also Gregorian events, such as New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), which are used for western convention.” (Rees, 2015) By breaking this western convention, users administrative purposes. The country celebrates its Thai New Year, Songkran, can become aware of the continued dichotomy that bicultural individuals typically in April. The year, months and days are divided similarly to the experience as they shift between two calendrical systems. Gregorian calendar. The website (Figures 4–9) presents holidays that are observed in each calendri- Division of Calendrical Year Based on Geographical Location cal system, along with a description of the holiday and how it is celebrated by The geographical location of each country dictates the way a year is divided. the general populace and the designers themselves. By clicking on a designated For example, in a Gregorian calendar used in the United States, there is Spring, color list on the left of the site, which is inspired from their homeland’s flag, each Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Similarly, the Iranian calendar also consists of designer’s cultural calendar dates are revealed by its colored ring. As a user four seasons: Spring (Bahar), Summer (Tabestan), Autumn (Paeez), and Winter clicks on a colored concentric circle, it reveals to them the name of the holiday, (Zemestan). However, the Thai calendar has only three seasons: Hot (Raawn), then an icon that symbolizes it, a description, and finally how it is celebrated by Cool (Naow), Wet/Monsoon (Fon Tok), while the Indian calendar has six the designers. seasons: Spring (Vasant), Summer (Grishma), Monsoon (Varsha), Autumn (Sharad), Pre-winter (Hemant), Winter (Shishir). On the website, several similarities between each of our calendars are present- ed. For example, Islamic and Buddhist holidays are marked on the Indian The Form calendar. A few festivals between Indian and Thai overlap, showcasing cultur- In the midst of a pandemic, where time is experienced as more or less long al exchange between the two countries. In addition, the Islamic holidays of (Grondin), we hoped to regain our sense of time by returning to our roots.