rockit.

"No time concept"

"You have no time concept!" is something often scolded at me by my mother, when I'm at home, of course. But how can anyone have no concept of time? I dared not ever challenge her choice of words, or lack thereof, as I knew that in reality I don't have good time management skills.

It's a funny thing here in South America, the concept of time. In Argentina, at least, I've felt like I've been dreaming this whole time, everything that's happened was one whole adventure, and it definitely has not yet ended.

That's because the days just never end.

But contrary to what should've happened, the days being extremely long here has actually improved my time mgt. There's so much lack thereof that I can't stand wasting my time away, just like everyone else. There's so much time to do everything and anything you want that somehow my productivity level just shoots right up. This entire city generally being so inefficient has made me much more so in a way.

Maybe it's 'cause there's so much to do in this city, so full of people and work, there's always something or someone to help out, to work with, to catch up on... not just personally but with everyone else, maybe it's because everyone procrastinates, no idea... but time is just a different meaning here, really...

For example, before going to a meeting with Unilever one would hope to arrive at least 15 minutes before the meeting... right? No... apparently I'm crazy because sipping on coffee 3 minutes before entering the building alright to mr MC VP ER and PBoX OCP... "Chill out Irene, we have 3 minutes" - but the red tape to go upstairs! there's a lineup to get a pass at the reception! - no, don't worry... I swear, I thought Mexico was in North America... in the end we got in the office at 10:23.

Another example: arriving early at someone's house is rude. They have better things to do rather than host you before you're supposed to arrive, and you're expected to arrive late...

EG: Saying "yes" to go somewhere usually means "maybe"... and if you actually do arrive, you're about 2-3 hours late. Some Argentinians got a shock when a fellow Canadian hosted a goodbye party - a few of "us" (including me) arrive around 10, when it started at 9 - ok cool, but a bunch of others arrived around 3 to find everyone else either gone or cleaning up... haha...

EG: Clubs. Boliches. Going out means pre-gaming at 12/1 and arriving at 2. Party 'til the morning and have breakfast at 8. Work at 9.

Rambles, rambles, but there are a million stories I can tell about my experiences with time here...

posted by Irene @ 12:50:00 PM