The concept of time here is very loose. It is generally a Mendocino thing, but punctuality is a term that is defined here as someone who arrives 15 minutes later than the supposed arrival time. Most of the time, people do not arrive somewhere until at least half an hour to an hour after the commencement of an event. Obviously, for more formal events, such as church, things will start when the majority of the expected number of people who are supposed to arrive are present. Such as this evening, there was a group talk at the church that was supposed to begin at 18:00, but when I arrived at 18:06 it still had not begun. At 18:17, they decided that there were enough people to begin the function.
The concept of time here is completely different than what I have been used to my whole life. I remember learning, particularly through swimming on Eastern Express, that if one does not arrive 15 minutes early, that person is late. Here, if you arrive 15 minutes early, you will not find a soul in the locale. Everyone knows how timing works here though. They say something begins at 21:30, when the person who is hosting the event is not even in their house before 22:03. This is one concept of Argentina that I really do not enjoy. I like being punctual. I like being on time. I like having things begin when they are supposed to. However, since everyone here is always “slightly” late, they plan their events around that fact. I have found myself to be a little more relaxed on time. Honestly, I do not like it, but, there is no other way to function here. I am not exaggerating either, I hope you know. Now I understand my Mom’s “fashionably-late” mentality :)
K bye.
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