Spain is technically on CET (Central European Time), but I think it is worthy of having its own time zone. In Spain, when someone tells you to meet them at a cafe at 4pm, they really mean they plan on showing up closer to 4:45pm. I was warned about "Spain time" in a culture class during orientation, but nothing compares to first hand experience. Take today for instance, a teacher showed up to class not "on time." Meanwhile, I had arrived at exactly 11am and felt awkward just sitting there while the class turned into a zoo so I rallied everyone together to sing, "If you´re happy and you know it clap your hands" until there was NO WAY I was happy anymore. For an extremely anal New Yorker this has been... a challenge. It is my natural inclination to be "on time" because...well that is what I have done my entire life and I, as well as the person I am meeting most likely has overbooked their day and cannot afford to spare an extra minute. Given all of this, it is definitely a refreshing experience to have a lifestyle where I don´t feel the pressure to squeeze 36hrs of studying, errands, meetings and sleep into 24. Due to this I believe people here are significantly happier and healthier than they are in the United States, (or definitely at least in New York.) The long lunches, siestas, and lack of pressure to be out for the night before 10pm is something I would love to bring back to New York, but sometimes I wonder how things actually get done around here!Tuesday, November 17, 2009
On time
Spain is technically on CET (Central European Time), but I think it is worthy of having its own time zone. In Spain, when someone tells you to meet them at a cafe at 4pm, they really mean they plan on showing up closer to 4:45pm. I was warned about "Spain time" in a culture class during orientation, but nothing compares to first hand experience. Take today for instance, a teacher showed up to class not "on time." Meanwhile, I had arrived at exactly 11am and felt awkward just sitting there while the class turned into a zoo so I rallied everyone together to sing, "If you´re happy and you know it clap your hands" until there was NO WAY I was happy anymore. For an extremely anal New Yorker this has been... a challenge. It is my natural inclination to be "on time" because...well that is what I have done my entire life and I, as well as the person I am meeting most likely has overbooked their day and cannot afford to spare an extra minute. Given all of this, it is definitely a refreshing experience to have a lifestyle where I don´t feel the pressure to squeeze 36hrs of studying, errands, meetings and sleep into 24. Due to this I believe people here are significantly happier and healthier than they are in the United States, (or definitely at least in New York.) The long lunches, siestas, and lack of pressure to be out for the night before 10pm is something I would love to bring back to New York, but sometimes I wonder how things actually get done around here!
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es muy interesante,hija,porque hay una frase que en Sao Paulo gana su plata, pero gasta en Rio, el lo mismo en Milano(gana plata) y Roma(gasta plata). Lo que es similar es que en Sao Paulo y Milano se llega a las citas a tiempo pero en Rio y Roma se llega tarde a las citas.Quizas la diferencia esta en una zona mental: tiempos de trabajo y otras veces para suenos.
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