If there’s one cultural lesson I’ve learned so far in Honduras, it is this:
“Be there at 9:00 AM”
REALLY means
“Definitely don’t get there BEFORE 9:00 AM. Feel free to show up anytime after 9:00, really. You could even show up at 10:00 AM, and if you do, definitely don’t mention anything about being an hour late- pretend as if the moment you show up is the exact moment you were expected to arrive. In addition, if you choose not to show up at all, don’t feel the need to call beforehand. If anything, you can call at 9:30 or 9:45, just to verify that you won’t, in fact, be showing up at 10:00 or later.”
Although, in theory, I knew about this cultural norm regarding time before we moved here, I still had a bit of difficulty adjusting. The first time I waited for someone for more than a half hour, I figured there must have been some kind of emergency. Ten minutes later, when the student walked into the room as if nothing had happened, I knew I had had my first “time difference” experience. Little did I know, this would be the first of many.
Now, from what I have witnessed, it is still remotely unacceptable to be late for an official job. For example, Andrew would not be able to keep his teaching job if he showed up an hour late every day. (My observations may be skewed here, because he works for a bilingual school with many US staff). In addition, the folks I have met who work for the university are always standing in the coffee shop line at the very punctual time of 7:40 AM (work begins at 8:00 AM). So, from what I’ve gathered, this “time difference” occurs only for events that don’t involve getting paid. Strangely, the “time difference” phenomenon DOES occur with events for which the late person is paying. For example, students who pay me for English classes often show up about 30 minutes late, even though they are paying for two full hours. (On the flip side, the students who receive free English class through a grant definitely show up late more often than those who pay.)
At first, I took offense to the fact that even the paying students were showing up late to my classes. Am I a TERRIBLE teacher? Are they SCARED of me? Am I incredibly BORING? But through all the kind words, homemade baked goods, greeting cards, and fast English language skill development, I’ve come to realize that it really ISN’T me- it’s just how things work.
Although I am still learning the exact cultural rules for this “time difference” (note to self: remember not to arrive on time for a conversation exchange), I have made some changes in my daily habits that allow me to fully take advantage of this phenomenon. I never arrive to teach a class or meet someone without a good hour’s worth of entertainment- papers to correct, books to read, novels to write, etc. In this way, I have actually learned to enjoy this special time given to me by the cultural “time difference”. For the sake of me ever returning to the US, let’s just hope that I don’t take it too far and start arriving an hour late. Or for that matter, not at all.
