If he tells you to be there ‘BY’ 5:00 pm, he means ‘AROUND’ 5:00. I arrived ‘BEFORE’ 5:00 pm — about 4:10 — and had to wait for some time. He assured me that his use of English was accurate, because that is what ‘BY’ would mean when translated directly from Punjabi. He apologized for the ‘miscommunication’ only because I am older than he is, not because there was something he needed to learn about the English language. Didn’t mind the waiting so much as the attitude.