I love Nicaragua, love it love it love it. But- there is one thing I absolutely and entirely whole-heartedly hate- one thing that would make it absolutely impossible for me to live/work here long term- one thing that literally drives me insane on a daily basis here; what is that, you ask? Time. More specifically- the complete lack of respect for time, timelines, deadlines, schedules, etc. I have been raised to believe that your respect for other people's time says a lot about you as an individual. If I have a job interview at 5:00 PM, I will be there by 4:45 PM. If class starts at 9:00 I will be in my seat by 8:50. If an Application is due by Friday at 5:00 PM I most likely will have it turned in a week ahead of time. And if I tell someone I'll meet them at a certain time, pick them up at a certain time, go to lunch with them at a certain time- well then, I will do just that. I don't ever show up to things late, and I never miss commitments. I personally believe that this is a good quality, and I think that most people who I have encountered (at least in the states) hold to it (for the most part). When I was in Spain we joked around about "Spain Time"- which was basically that teachers would always start class 15 mins late- but even that, they did start later than the scheduled time- but it was consistently 15 mins late every time- so really it was just an altered schedule--now it's time for me to tell you about a phenomenon called 'Nicaragua time'....
Nicaragua time is some sort of time-warp fourth dimension non-existant phenomenon that is a combination of infuriating and hilarious (because of the sheer incapacity to do anything about it). Nicaragua time means that if you set a meeting time, it doesn't really matter what time you come, so long as it is after said time. This is why my ride picking me up from the airport was 2.5 hours late. This is why the board meeting I attended started 2 hours late- this is why everytime I go somewhere during the weekend, that it doesnt matter what my agreed pick up time was, I will be leaving late afternoon. This is why people just don't show up to job interviews at the elderly home, this is why the residents are hungry waiting for their meals to arrive sometimes. This is why I spend hours upon hours just sitting and waiting. (Can we rewind and reflect on how magnificent it is that Mario taught me about 'watching, listening, and being silent'...?-- I really put that to use on a daily basis).
My work day in Managua should be the following schedule: arrive between 7:30-8:00 AM to work until 5:00. Due to delays, traffic, and just a late start from the person giving me a ride, yesterday I arrived at work at 8:50 today I arrived at 8:30. Yesterday I left at 4:45, the day before at 4:15...I hate that- I know that it reflects poorly on me, and I have no control over being able to get where I need to get and leaving when I need to, due to the fact that I am being driven everywhere. I was deeply apologetic and texted my coworkers to inform them I would be late both times- but I still just feel awfully guilty. I'm definitely looking forward to going back to a place where I can count on people to be places when they say they will (or at least within a small delay- not hours of delay) and to have control once again over myself and getting myself to everything on time. That is definitely going to relieve a lot of stress when I get back to Wake. Ooh I can't wait to get my hands on an agenda and a desk calender- and my to-do lists- my life lacks organization right now, and its making me slightly crazy!!! (more so than my normal threshhold of crazy)
Until next time-un abrazo,
Rachel
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