Time is a Funny Thing

So you wouldn´t think that time was culturally specific, but after having to adjust to the Spanish´s sense of time, and still not being completely successful, it´s strange how time means different things to different people. This afternoon after class, which ended at 4, I went with some students for a late lunch. It was yummy -- steak, eggs, and french fries. But what was funny was that it was clear that we weren´t supposed to be eating that at 4 p.m. The staff at the restaurant thought we were crazy, and unlike in the U.S., where the wait staff would just be thinking of you as another opportunity for a tip, our staff were annoyed with us.

But then I came back to my neighborhood, and sat in a square, had some coffee, and graded and read, and everything was perfectly normal because that´s what you´re supposed to be doing at 5 p.m. There were tons of people in the square, and lots of children playing, but at about 7 everything will close up for a couple of hours before dinnertime starts at 9.

The Spanish know all this. They know when they are supposed to be doing the things they do, and it makes me wonder what a Spanish person would feel if they came to the U.S. They would probably be equally out of sync. I still haven´t completely adjusted. I´m not sure if I´ll ever really get used to starting my night at 10 p.m., and in fact, I´ve been able to do that only over the weekend. During the week, my natural tendancy is to try to be asleep by midnight at the latest.

But it´s good to try to do something at a specific time and see if I´m successful. Clearly, going for coffee or a wine at 5 p.m. in a square totally works. So that´s one time period solved.