海角大神

A few weeks ago, I showed up to a lunch meeting 20 minutes late. I was embarrassed, frazzled, and had literally climbed out of a window to get there.

But when I showed up at the restaurant in a strip mall in Monterrey 鈥� sweaty, hands covered in dirt, and mentally exhausted from trying to map my escape from the building I鈥檇 accidentally been locked into 鈥� the restaurant was empty.

I sent a message to the woman I was meeting: 鈥淚鈥檓 here. I鈥檓 so sorry鈥�. I don鈥檛 see you.鈥�

She wouldn鈥檛 show up for another 30 minutes; almost an hour later than our original meeting time.

I felt silly for sending out updates for a measly 20-minute delay when my lunch date hadn鈥檛 thought to message me once, even though she was creeping up on the hour mark. But I didn鈥檛 find it rude. It was just a wake-up call that I really had no clue how to interpret time here.

Time is one of the stickier issues facing anyone living or working abroad. Whereas an American in the United States might know that 鈥渏ust a second鈥� could mean up to a five-minute wait, how should that same person interpret 鈥渞ight now,鈥� ahorita, in Mexico? (Look out: You might be waiting over an hour). These are subtleties that take a while to fully grasp, and as I learned in Monterrey, even when you think you 鈥済et it,鈥� there鈥檚 a chance you don鈥檛.

When I moved here seven months ago, I knew to expect social engagements to start late. Yet I was still surprised recently when my husband and I showed up two hours late to a birthday party, and still beat the rest of the guests by another two hours. (Mexican friends responded to this anecdote by saying that 鈥渁t least the hosts were there鈥� when we arrived.)

There are lots of stereotypes associated with cultures that tend to see "late" as "on time." Some interpret tardiness as a sign of laziness or being irresponsible. But in fact, Mexicans work incredibly long days.聽

I鈥檓 still adjusting to interviews scheduled nonchalantly for 10:00 pm, or canceled at midnight. There are restaurants in my neighborhood that are busy serving the lunch crowd at 5 p.m., and while I take an after-work stroll, those diners are heading back to the office.

A聽recent ranking聽by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development placed Mexico second-to-last in terms of work-life balance. Nearly 30 percent of Mexicans work 50-hour weeks, whereas in the US some 11 percent of citizens work those same "very long hours," according to the report.

One of the better explanations I鈥檝e read about the difference in attitudes toward time between Mexico and the US is this, from an article for 鈥淕lobal Business Languages鈥� and published by Perdue University.

I appreciate that the people I鈥檝e met so far value taking the time to get to know a foreigner like me 鈥� even if the conversation starts a little later than expected. 聽