Relax… there is no rush

The importance that we give to time in Latin America is definitely not the same as they do in USA, Canada or Europe. This is linked to why Latinos tend to be late and why things run a little smoother in warm countries generally speaking.

People have different perspectives of time depending on their cultural background, and the importance they give to it could vary enormously. I think everybody knows the Mexican reputation for being late. Well it’s not just a rumor. Really, it’s amazing! Now I get to notice it from an outside perspective. Before, I just thought it was completely normal to be late and I didn’t even notice it. Here are some classic examples in Spanish with it respective translation about the different perspectives on time between Latinos and the rest of the world:

1) Dame 2 segunditos – Give me 5 minutes
2) Dame 1 minuto – Give me 15 minutes.
3) Nomas me voy a tardar 15 minutitos – It only will take me about an hour.
4) Nos vemos en la entrada del restaurant a las 2:00 en punto. – Let’s meet in inside the restaurant at about 2:40
5) La fiesta empieza a las 8:00pm – The party starts at 11:30.
6) Te llamo mas tarde – I’ll call you in a few days.
7) Vamos mañana – We’ll never go.

Seems funny, but it’s true! When I used to make appointments with my friends back in Quebec they would always ask me: “Mexican time or Quebec time? Just to be sure…”. They never ever got to trust me completely with time measures, even when I did my best to be on time, maybe by the end, after 5 years, I got to learn to be in time. Now when I go back to Mexico I get so frustrated. Now I really think it’s important to be in time, it shows respect for the other person’s time. In the other hand, the way it works in Mexico is that when you have an appointment you know in advance that the other person is going to be late, so just need to be late too and you both will be alright. It depends on the formality of the appointment though. This is something you get to master in a lifetime.

So be patient with Latinos… it’s not our fault!