By Tere
Ruiz
Mexican Time
Ever
since I moved down to the Lake
Chapala area, I have
discovered many things that Mexicans normally do without noticing how annoying
they can be to people from other cultures. One of the things that I believe surprises,
or maybe I should say, annoys people from other countries and even Mexicans at
some point, is the Mexican Time.
Listening
to people who come to the Lake Chapala area from other countries and their
experience with the locals, I have realized that I have dealt with the same
things they complain about regarding Mexican Time, for all my life as well have
all the people who live in this country.
Maybe we Mexicans are so used to dealing with the Mexican Time issues that
most of the time, we don’t really pay much attention or think it is a big deal.
Mexican Ways?
All over
the world, people have their own way of being.
This depends on the different environments, culture, preferences, values
and beliefs. What works for Mexicans may
not work for everybody, and Mexican Time is a big example.
First of
all, I believe that it is important to clarify that not all the Mexicans are
this or that way, just like not all Americans, or Chinese, or Ethiopians, are
this or that way either. This is very
important, because we, as human beings, sometimes tend to generalize and that
is not fair for anybody.
I believe
that in Mexico,
most of the time, and generally when you are not dealing with “professional
businesses,” some people are not usually on time for their “appointments.” But there is an important thing to stress
here, the more cultural background you have, the less this happens. Still, this is very common, and I am sure
that most of you have had an experience with that.
Mexican Perception
Trying to
analyze this issue, I would say that it is important to note that the Mexican
perception of time is very different from other countries. The first difference is that in Mexico time has
nothing to do with money or honor. It
has more to do with family affairs, responsibilities and personal issues.
Another
important thing to note is that most of the time, Mexicans don’t know how to
say NO, because when they are pushed, they will say yes, and later try to find
a way to accomplish what they were “forced” to agree to do. I believe that this is a very important
issue, because when people cannot ‘keep their word,’ then they can be considered
liars or lazy.
So if you
ever make an appointment with someone to come fix your plumbing, mow the lawn,
build or clean something, just remember that you have to take it easy. Maybe you can plan on not going out that day
and get involved in something that will take a lot of time to do like cleaning
a closet or reading all your emails.
Then, if the person doesn’t arrive on time, you won’t be looking at your
watch.
Also,
never push a person when he says that he cannot do this or that in a specific
time or date, because, if you do, you will probably grow roots before the
person comes… or maybe not.
Regarding
social affairs, things are a little bit different, or maybe even worse,
LOL. I believe that the most important
thing to Mexicans when they are throwing a party is that everybody comes, no
matter the time, because after all, the party doesn’t end until the last guest
is gone. So if you make it to the party,
it doesn’t matter if you have a ton of things to do before, because you can
always come late, as long as you come.
I will
tell you about my own experience.
It is
funny how I was always a person who would be on time for every appointment, or
at least that is what I thought. Still
since I moved down here I have noticed that most of the time I am “late” for
everything. I have become used to hearing
someone say “oh, Mexican time” instead
of a “hey, are you all right, we were worried, we thought something happened to
you” or better “great that you are finally here.”
A couple
of times when I have managed to get to a party on time or not that late at all,
I’ve had to wait for a couple of hours for the people to start arriving,
LOL. This might be because my boss, Ray
Bullock, always says that if you are going to have Mexican guests, you should
tell them that the party starts two hours earlier, and everybody has taken this
for real.
But Ray
knows better, because he also says that as soon as everyone but the Mexicans
have left, this is when the party starts!
As a
Mexican, I start the party as soon as I finally get there – after I finish
everything that needs to be done and after my hair and makeup are perfect. And the only thing I am sure of is that I
don’t have a clue when I will go back home, because, after all, the night is
still young…
“The
night is still young” is a Mexican saying, what does it mean? I will give you some examples: when my daughter was young, she would never
wake up until 6:00 am, so I didn’t need to be back home before that time. And
if it was a week day, when I was going to school, my first class was at 7:00
am, and when I was working, my bosses never arrived to the office until 9:00
am. So ‘the night was still young’ until
I had to be somewhere the next day! Still, Mexicans always party on Fridays or
Saturdays, so you can always sleep all day long the following day! I specially love to party on the day that the
daylight saving changes, cause I have an extra hour!
Of
course, there is a very simple way to push Mexicans to arrive on time, and this
is called “motivation.” One example is
that if you ask a man to come to work at your house, you can tell him that if
he comes on time and finishes fast, you can always find more work for him. Another example can be that if they come on
time, you can always recommend their services.
And regarding parties, you can always talk about the delicious food you
will serve and how fast it will be gone.
Although for this last example, you might get a “Oh, don’t worry, we can
always call for pizzas if the food is gone”…
Anyway, if
you want to learn more on Mexican Culture, Mexican ways, Mexican time and Real
Partying, come on a Focus on Mexico Program and be sure you will have a great
time, because the night is always young!
Tere Ruiz-Rodarte:
Director of Research and Development FocusOnMexico.
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