If you’re anything like me, you absolutely can’t stand being late to anything. I know people who are late everywhere they go and I still don’t understand why that doesn’t just drive them crazy.
People like me apparently do not exist in Spain, so when I went there last summer to satisfy my minor in Spanish, I had a lot of adjusting to do.
You see, in Spain, the phrase “at 7 o’ clock” is more commonly interpreted as “around 7 o’ clock”, meaning as long as it’s not 8, you made it on time. This started off an infuriating cultural difference, but once I developed the Spanish mindset, it started to make sense.
It’s not that the Spaniards have nowhere to be during the day, but as long as what needs to be done does get done, there’s no need for a timetable in most cases. Of course my journalist friend in Spain likely works on a much more concrete schedule, but her line of work relies on deadlines.
Let me give you an example of this “Spanish mindset” I mentioned earlier. In Spain, there is a time called “sobremesa” that takes place after a large meal. It wouldn’t do me any good to translate the word literally since there is no one-word translation into English, but it’s pretty easy to describe. It’s time spent after a meal chatting, watching TV, playing cards or drinking coffee before going back to work.
See what I mean about the Spanish mindset? Of course there’s a word for killing time after a meal. Of course it would happen often enough that employers accept it as part of the average workday. After all, if the work gets done, what’s the matter with a little free time?
However, before you begin to think that perhaps the U.S. should adopt this mentality in some capacity, let me make something clear. For the entire time I was in Spain, the sun rose early in the morning, but set around 10 P.M. In other words, the days in Spain last much longer, or at least they did while I was there.
It should come as no surprise then, when Spaniards say they have plenty of time to get things done considering just how long the day is. Even I found myself in no hurry to be anywhere because I knew the sun would be up much longer than I had the energy to stay awake for.
I like being on a concrete schedule here in the U.S., but I will always appreciate the difference in time management in Spain. Obligations in Spain never felt stressful, which is something I only wish I could say about my obligations now.
