Time

Dan: I don’t think we’ve properly addressed the differing concepts of time to which we’ve had to adapt here. First of all, most everything is on a 24-hour clock. Sure, everyone knows the concept of AM and PM, but most things are listed using what I had always called “military time.” I work from 15:45 to 17:15. The soccer game starts at 21:45. The band will begin at 00:30. It still sometimes causes confusion and I still have to subtract twelve from the time to make sure I’m not going to be too late, or too early.

One thing that you either love or hate, depending on if you actually get to take advantage of it, is siesta time. It think it is only practiced in Mendoza and some other, probably agricultural, hot areas. It isn’t a national practice for sure. And even in Mendoza, bigger companies and most professionals don’t observe the siesta. Yet most shops are closed from around 14:00 to 17:00 or 18:00. But there are fewer lines to wait in at the supermarket (if that particular franchise happens to stay open at siesta). Eventually one gets used to the idea that nothing productive can be done out in the city during that time. To compensate, the entire Mendocino world stays open much later. While the average lunch time might be around 1 or 2:00, dinner is certainly after 9 PM. If you go to a restaurant at 8 PM, people are only drinking coffee. The stores close 9ish too, I think. Honestly I don’t really go shopping very often.

Lou and I get done with work at 8 or 9, then get going on dinner, eating by 10 or or half past. We usually get to bed a little after 12 on weeknights. I work most weekdays at 8 or 9. It might sound like a long day, but I work 1 or 2 hours in the AM, then come home and go back to work in the PM. Some days this allows for the realization of the energizing naptime. Our building has posted hours in which we asked to not make any bothersome noises, between 22:00 and 8:00, and also from 14:00 to 17:00, but our neighbor Jorge likes to crank up his bassy radio and sing along whenever he feels like it, so sometimes siesta time isn’t so peaceful.

Anyone who knows me well might have noticed that I am neurotic about punctuality. The TWO times I was late for work were due to malfunctions in the electric buses. I was frantic to get to class. I sent texts saying I was going to be late. When I got there, five minutes tardy, everyone was quite relaxed, saying, “No Problem.” They understand the plight of the user of public transportation. I haven’t noticed any particular institionalized tardiness as I did in Costa Rica, where when somebody said they’d be there at 6, you knew they meant 6:30, or 7:00, or 8:00, depending on the situation. But I have noticed that if a party begins at 9, no one will come til 10 or 11, I think mostly because they don’t believe a party should begin that doggone early. On weekends, the youngfolk don’t go out until after midnight. If they’re going out dancing, they don’t return until the clubs close at 6 AM (which is a new law that none of the young people seem to be happy about—they used to stay out until 8AM). At the theater, there are quite a few show times after midnight (00:00).

It takes longer here to get things done, especially if you’re new to the system. A friend of ours said to us,”I’ve never been so busy doing nothing.” When we first got here, it took us three days to buy some thread and a little pocket notebook. First we had to find a place that sold those items, then try to arrive at a time when the store was open. At home we could’ve gone to Target and been done in 20 minutes. Here it is mostly individual shops. Luckily if you find the right shop, the people working there know what they’re talking about and can help you. But when you get there, you may have to stand in a long line, or take a number. The lines at the supermarkets are like nothing we’ve ever seen. I seem to have a special talent for picking the slowest-moving line. It isn’t unheard of for me to spend 5 minutes shopping and 20 minutes in line. The line might only be five people long, but they move slowly due to price checks, cashiers constantly running out of change and people also paying their bills at the registers. I’m fortunate that Lou does most of the shopping, and she chooses to go to the small neighborhood shops whenever possible. At home things take longer as well, with the hand-washing of dishes and clothing and the cooking of meals from raw ingredients.

Lou: Here is my typical schedule: Does this really exist? It is becoming less and less typical…I guess I get up around 9:30 or 10, unless I have a morning student (which I do, 1 or 2 times a week) or an “intercambio” language exchange (I’ve put aside classes for a bit and am working on actually trying to speak Spanish! I meet with 1,2, or 3 different people each week to practice 1 hour of English--for them & 1 hour of Spanish). If I have a mellow morning, I do the normal morning business and have a smoothie or oatmeal for breakfast. Then, I do the dishes from the night before and laundry by hand. Since I only have 20 clothespins and only enough line to go with them, I try to do a little every day or two.

By then, its probably about noon. I may do a little class planning, go internet for ½ hour, or go get veggies from the local stand. If I have enough time I may go get the non-fresh food from the local grocery that is slightly bigger than our storage space in Hopkins, but somehow has a little bit of almost everything (except fresh veggies). We have lunch around 1 pm—usually leftovers. At 2 pm I have Capoeira class or it is time to watch Zorro. If it is the day I have Capoeira, I come home and shower, make sure I have all the ingredients for supper and everything for night class. Other days I might have an intercambio in the afternoon. Some days I have time to run a few errands; like today, I am going to go set up a dentist appointment!

Then, I start cooking. I usually start supper around 6 I get as much done as I can or as makes sense for the meal. I leave for night class around 6:45 or 7:30 depending on the day. Then, come back around 9-9:30 to finish supper and eat. I don’t usually get much done after that. I might have energy to do some spanish studying or do some cleaning, but by the looks of this place that hasn’t happened much! We read & go to sleep around 11-12.

Food: Salami.