Time

Time here is Chile has a very different meaning than it does in the US.  At home time is rather strict.  If I tell someone I will meet them at 1 p.m., I will plan to arrive between 12:55 and 1:05.  In Chile my experience has been that arriving on time has a much looser meaning.

My new Chilean friends smirk at me often because I ask "what time?"  What time ... should I arrive in the lab?  should I be back from lunch?  should I meet you to go out?  To them I seem very attached to my watch.  This difference in understanding of time has caused some growth and laughs throughout the trip.

The timing with which I run my life back at home is also different than the time line here.  Some of this may be a result of my teacher life schedule (up early, to bed early), but some of it is also a cultural difference.  For example, the earliest we start work in the lab is 10 a.m.  We may then work until 4, 5, 6 or 7 p.m.  When eating lunch it is unheard of going before 1 p.m.  When going out at night if we arrive at 8 p.m. for dinner, snacks, or drinks, we are the only people in the restaurant.  Evenings out tend to start around midnight here, a time when I am usually tucked in my bed.

Funny enough, there is this clock at the entrance to Vina done in flowers!