Time and Speed: Tiempo, hora, y ritmo (Monday, February 14--Day 92)

In all of my anthropology classes, we always studied the way that different cultures conceptualize time. Time is a social construction, and if you can understand how a people view and value time, then you can better understand the society they live in. It´s rather easy to generalize the concept of time in South American countries. Linquistically, the word tiempo means both time and weather. From that perspective, one can assume that the daily, monthly, and yearly schedules correspond with climate and weather. As a farmer, your life revolves not around what the calendar and clock say, but around what your fields and animals need. Your pace of life is different from the clock-centered societies built up around factories and office work. So while outsiders view people in the South as slow and lacluster, they are actually moving in tune with nature. In order to live effectively, they conserve energy when possible, work every possible daylight hour, and basically learn to continue to maintain a constant level of energy. Think of this as the difference between a marathon runner and a short distance sprinter. So all of those stereotypes--you know, the ones that refer to Mexicans as lazy and joke about the way people put things off until mañana--are grounded in some concept of reality. However, it is just important to know why that reality looks so different from yours. That being said, it is still impossible to say that all South American countries function with this generalized concept of time. Each country in South America is distinct, and their different histories and current international roles impact the way their citizens function, especially in terms of time. 

In Argentia, my world moved in slow motion. Tranquilo and mañana became commonplace terms. I learned to love this pace because it gave me the opportunity to slow down and appreciate things I may not have noticed otherwise. But it was not easy to adapt to at first. I remember when I first arrived to the farm in San Juan, I worked constantly. I woke up early to run, I always cut my siesta hours short, and I would work right up to the time that dinner was ready. I wasn`t used to sitting still, so I never did. But the work was demanding and the desert weather was brutal. It didn`t take long for me to become worn out. I got sick and my body told me that I had to slow down. So I addapted. I learned that the people in Argentina manage to work effectively and efficiently by slowing down their working pace and savoring their precious breaks. That`s how they were able to maintain energy from morning to VERY late at night. In fact, Argentina is so hot and so sunny that most people actually function more during the night. These are not morning people, unless by morning you mean 3am. That also took some getting used to, and I will admit that the 76 year old lady inside me never quite adapted to that schedule. But people in Argentina learn to listen to their needs and their concerns, and they adapt their schedule to their desires. They`ll arrive late not because they are rude, but because they are used to working with a schedule that conveniences only themselves. It`s rather self-centered, but I don`t think the slowspeed lifestyle would work any other way. 

In many regards, Chile is completely different. If Argentina is an 80 year old man running a marathon in six hours, Chile is a thirteen year old at his first track meet running sprints in front of a group of girls he thinks are cute. People in Chile will move slowly for hours, so slowly that they may do nothing at all. But then, all of a sudden, without any warning at all, they will burst into life and start working at an almost chaotic speed. And if you cannot see that change coming, then you are left completely in the dust. For me, this has been even harder to adjust to than the lifestyle in Argentina. Generally speaking, I move pretty slowly and I hate to be rushed. Even in the States, I will wake up hours earlier so that I can work at my own pace without feeling stressed to get something done. But here, I find myself unable to make that speedy transition. I cannot quite read the social cues to predict when the change will come, so I am constantly left catching up and very often trying to understand demands being shouted at a speed I cannot comprehend. It is tough. If I were an outside observer, I think I would find it interesting. But because I am right in the middle, I struggle to find secure footing. But, just like I adapted to Argentina, I will adapt to Chile. It will take a little more than a week, but I`ll get there. The key is that I have to drop my own agenda, be flexible and open, and realize that I cannot expect to work on a fixed schedule. There is no schedule. There is only tiempo.