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There definitely is a big culture component to this... to the point where arriving on time can be considered rude! I have been away from my native Mexico for a

by jordigh 11y ago

There definitely is a big culture component to this... to the point where arriving on time can be considered rude! I have been away from my native Mexico for a while, but I recently flew back for a wedding. As I was with my family getting ready to go, timing everything so we would be at the ceremony at the time indicated in the invitations, I was truly exasperated to see how slowly everyone else was moving. It soon became apparent that we would not make it on time at all. We finally arrived there 40 minutes late. There was almost nobody there! And the few people that had arrived all seemed in good spirits. The groom and the bride were relaxed and eager. The actual ceremony was in fact scheduled for one hour later than what the invitation said. Everyone expects this, including the hosts. My mother said to me, "Jordi, you really have forgotten how things work around here." Even for dinner invitations, you will be invited one hour before dinner is actually served. It is considered rude to arrive earlier, because then you may burden your hosts with having to entertain you prematurely while they prepare dinner. Of course, generally the expected lateness only applies to social occasions, but sometimes it spills over to business settings. It is less accepted in such a circumstance, but still common and tolerated.

iamcurious 11y ago
Yes, instead of seeing time as a point, there is a culture of seeing it as a range. The range is derived from context (how pissed people will be if you are late/how informal is the event). The range might even be different for different people according to their roles. This gives you a buffer to handle many unexpected things. It also allows you to disassociate urgent from important. There are plenty of important things that get done at the expense of arriving late. True, sometimes you have to wait for other people to arrive, but that is expected, so you can arrange your day around it. And when the time comes you know it is okay for them to wait you. It is efficient once you get the hang of it. It is even more efficient now that smartphones are ubiquitous, you can coordinate the range in real time!

by jordigh 11y ago

iamcurious 11y ago

Yes, instead of seeing time as a point, there is a culture of seeing it as a range. The range is derived from context (how pissed people will be if you are late/how informal is the event). The range might even be different for different people according to their roles. This gives you a buffer to handle many unexpected things. It also allows you to disassociate urgent from important. There are plenty of important things that get done at the expense of arriving late. True, sometimes you have to wait for other people to arrive, but that is expected, so you can arrange your day around it. And when the time comes you know it is okay for them to wait you. It is efficient once you get the hang of it. It is even more efficient now that smartphones are ubiquitous, you can coordinate the range in real time!