Guatemalan Time

I´m having trouble getting my thoughts to express what I really want to say...oh well...

My friend and I used to have this joke about guatemalan time which is anywhere from one to three hours after something is supposed to start or after you've arranged to meet someone.  It´s really an approximate time since it´s completely normal and even expected to be late here.  Nothing really starts on time.  Time is relative.

It´s funny and interesting how different people and places deal with time.  In Wulingyuan, the small town I lived in in China, everyone was about ten minutes early.  I'd hear the knock on my door and be like, “Really?  Early?”  It took me a bit to get used to.

Growing up in NJ and the east coast, the standard is to be on time.  Sometimes I even wanted to be late but it was hard because I had internalized being on time.  I just...couldn´t...be...late.  Except at night.  Going out anytime before 11pm is early. 

Living in California for the past ten years, everyone was about ten minutes late.  Being more than an hour late was considered rude.  And, conversely, everyone went out earlier at night, most likely because the bars closed earlier than they did on the east coast.

Paris and Madrid are pretty similar to NY in regards to nightlife.  Go out late.  Stay out late.  People are usually somewhat on time for work though but Madrid is definitely more hurried and on time during the day.

It´s like I move to a new place and try the culture on like clothes and swirl around in a circle but none of the clothes are mine.  I´m borrowing.  Even in the US, I´m borrowing.

But here, in Xela, specific time arrangements are more recommendations than actualizations.  Which has its advantages and disadvantages.  It makes me think of my own culture and how people from the US are used to getting things exactly the way they want it.  Everything is so specific and particular.  Like in the US I can get a meal personalized.  I can order a hamburger cooked medium well with only one slice of cheese, no onions, and two pickles.  My favorite Starbucks drink in the US is a 160 tall non-fat raspberry mocha with whip.  I'm laughing now even typing that.  And if we get something that's not the exact way we want it, we complain and get compensated or have things changed.  You can't really do that here. 

I've seen people come here to Xela and expect to get things the way they are used to getting them back home, catered to their specific desires.  And it's great when we can get something the exact way we want it, but you can't really obtain things that you're used to from back home here.  And I've seen people get upset here when they get something not the exact way they want it or can't have things the way they are used to having them.  I'm wondering if this has more to do with control or if it's more about thwarted expectations.  I kind of think the root of most unhappiness is control.  A lot of people want to control their lives and what happens in them but that's a fallacy.  Control leads only to unhappiness because if you spend all your time focusing on how to make everything be the way you want then you're not really enjoying your life.   

Life here is more improvisation.  You work with what you're given.  You accept what you have and try to make it work.  You don't try to make what you have perfect and specific to how you want it (though I'm sure people still do) but it's more that you accept what you have here and see how you can make it work.  It might not be a 160 tall non-fat raspberry mocha with whip but it could still taste pretty damn good and you might even enjoy the difference if you drop previous expectations.