My first days in Campeche have been really nice; I've learned a lot from the culture and I've visited several interesting sites. Campeche is a state in the south east of Mexico. It is located in the Yucatan Peninsula. I am in the city of Campeche, which is absolutely beautiful. I've never been anywhere like this before. In the "centro historico" the houses are all painted in different colors and they all have a colonial look. It's a very nice area to take some nice, colorful photographs. Campeche is very calm and quiet overall, especially in "downtown." Everything we hear about Mexico from other countries about the lack of security and the high rates of violence and kidnapping is not true here. Fortunately, it is a very safe and calm area where people can walk around at night without being scared for their lives. I would even say that it is safer than any city in Argentina. I've been able to walk around by myself with my Nikon, looking like an obvious foreigner, without a problem.
In this entry, I wanted to talk about something I learned from the local culture that is a little hard to get used to. Like I said, the lifestyle in Campeche is very calm. I have noticed a huge difference in terms of their perspective towards time. Coming from the US, I was used to a culture that sees time as a very valuable matter. In the US, "time is money." While in Campeche, they see time in a more holistic way. They like to take their time to do things and enjoy what they're doing without worrying about "running out of time." Of course, one can argue that this is a great lifestyle because they enjoy life more and they aren't always in a hurry. But experiencing it has actually been hard to me. I usually get used to new cultures easily, since I am used to moving and experiencing different societies with varying world views and lifestyles. But since this trip is not only about visiting and fun, but it is more so to get working experience and learn new useful things for my career, it has been hard to get used to the calmness of the place. They perspective on time affects them in several ways. Some of them tend to be very unpunctual, which is what has been the hardest to get used to. They have something called "el tiempo campechano," which makes reference to the fact that when someone says they are going to be somewhere at a certain time, they will most likely get there at least a half an hour late. I guess that since this is something that happens often here, everyone is used to it so they go somewhere knowing that the meeting time is not really the actual time it is going to start. The first week, I was told to be places at specific times, and they had me waiting for a long time, up to even two hours. I had a lot of time sitting down waiting during the first week.
Another way in which their perception of time affects them is in their work ethic. They are, in general, calm at work. They generally don't get too stressed about their jobs. At the place where I'm working I see that my co-workers have a few specific moments at which they get fed up with something and they act like they are stressed but during the majority of time they remain calm and making jokes. They take several breaks. The common working hours in the office for most employees is 8am-3pm, but many of them get there later than 8 every day. Some of them don't get there until 10. The director of the office usually gets there at 11am. Also, once they get there, they leave for a moment to buy their breakfast. Throughout the morning they take breaks to go buy snacks. Of course, when they have a lot of work, some employees are very serious about it and you don't see them taking breaks or talking to anyone. But I have seen a lot of employees getting on Facebook or online chatting at work.
Something that is very common here is the word "ahorita," which is literally means "small now." What they mean when they say ahorita is "in a short period of time." So a lot of times when I was waiting for someone, I was told "ahorita viene" (he's coming soon). Everything is "ahorita" but I haven't yet managed to figure out how much time is a short period of time for them. When I am told that something is going to happen "ahorita" or that I should go somewhere "ahorita," it is hard to determine how long I should wait. At work, of which I will talk about later, I've made phone calls and I was told to call back "ahorita" or sometimes they tell me 15 minutes. But it is also hard to know what they really mean by "quince minutitos." Before coming here I didn't think I would experience a culture shock at all because I am latin American and I speak Spanish, but I was surprised by the many cultural differences between this culture and the ones I'm used to (US American, Argentine, Spaniard, Jewish, etc.). The time perspective has definitely been the hardest one to get used to. And although it might not seem as bad when you're reading this, it has been a challenge for me. But after approximately 10 days of being here, I think I've gotten used to it. I want to make sure it's clear that I am not complaining or criticizing the culture. I just see it very different to what I'm used to and I wanted to describe my challenge. Also, I am obviously over-generalizing a little. My judgement is based on the little bit that I have experienced in Campeche, which is my host family and the place where I'm doing my internship (the "secretaria de turismo municipal").
I hope you enjoyed reading this! I will keep writing as much as I can. I will tell you more about my job, the places I've been to, the host family, etc. Thanks for reading!
SP
Another way in which their perception of time affects them is in their work ethic. They are, in general, calm at work. They generally don't get too stressed about their jobs. At the place where I'm working I see that my co-workers have a few specific moments at which they get fed up with something and they act like they are stressed but during the majority of time they remain calm and making jokes. They take several breaks. The common working hours in the office for most employees is 8am-3pm, but many of them get there later than 8 every day. Some of them don't get there until 10. The director of the office usually gets there at 11am. Also, once they get there, they leave for a moment to buy their breakfast. Throughout the morning they take breaks to go buy snacks. Of course, when they have a lot of work, some employees are very serious about it and you don't see them taking breaks or talking to anyone. But I have seen a lot of employees getting on Facebook or online chatting at work.
Something that is very common here is the word "ahorita," which is literally means "small now." What they mean when they say ahorita is "in a short period of time." So a lot of times when I was waiting for someone, I was told "ahorita viene" (he's coming soon). Everything is "ahorita" but I haven't yet managed to figure out how much time is a short period of time for them. When I am told that something is going to happen "ahorita" or that I should go somewhere "ahorita," it is hard to determine how long I should wait. At work, of which I will talk about later, I've made phone calls and I was told to call back "ahorita" or sometimes they tell me 15 minutes. But it is also hard to know what they really mean by "quince minutitos." Before coming here I didn't think I would experience a culture shock at all because I am latin American and I speak Spanish, but I was surprised by the many cultural differences between this culture and the ones I'm used to (US American, Argentine, Spaniard, Jewish, etc.). The time perspective has definitely been the hardest one to get used to. And although it might not seem as bad when you're reading this, it has been a challenge for me. But after approximately 10 days of being here, I think I've gotten used to it. I want to make sure it's clear that I am not complaining or criticizing the culture. I just see it very different to what I'm used to and I wanted to describe my challenge. Also, I am obviously over-generalizing a little. My judgement is based on the little bit that I have experienced in Campeche, which is my host family and the place where I'm doing my internship (the "secretaria de turismo municipal").
I hope you enjoyed reading this! I will keep writing as much as I can. I will tell you more about my job, the places I've been to, the host family, etc. Thanks for reading!
SP
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