It's About Time February 19, 2014
One of our endearing, albeit confusing, experiences in Spain relates to the very different perceptions of time.
We first encountered this upon our landing in Madrid last month. The plane from the USA landed at 8 AM, and we were surprised that it was still dark outside. Sure, it was January and a dark time of year but we didn't expect it to be still dark at that point in the day. I wondered if our westerly position in the European Time Zone accounts for this. It does stay light until after 6 - on the other end of the day.
cooking dinner late in the evening with Andrea and Angel
We later learned that this phenomenon is fairly recent and originated during the Franco years when the generalissimo, a right wing dictator and ally of the Nazis, changed the time zone to coincide with Germany - as a show of support. The problem, of course, is that Spain is far to the west of Germany and naturally falls in a very different time zone - thus the mismatch between time and daylight hours.
There is a very different pace of life in Spain - especially in our little village. People seem to wake around 8 and head off to work or school around 8:30 or 9 after a continental breakfast of toast and coffee. There is a snack break around 10-11, lunch around 2:30 or 3, followed by a siesta time. Siesta doesn't mean actually sleeping but this time is reserved for the big meal of the day and a time for relaxing with family and friends. I doubt that anyone eats standing up or at their desks. Everyone goes back to work or school around 4 or 5 - a snack is taken at 7 and dinner is never before 9 in the evening.
friends enjoying a morning snack
It's not easy for us "early to bed, early to rise" Puritans but we are gradually getting into the swing of things - rising at 8 and staying up until 11 pm or midnight.
We are still puzzled about the opening times of various enterprises because it seems to vary according to a schedule that we don't always understand. Most shops are open around 9 in the morning, close at 2 for lunch but then reopen from 5 to 8. Some shops are open while others seem to be shuttered with no seeming pattern. Some of the bars and clubs in town, so we are told, are only open after midnight.
Our favorite meat shop, all closed up for lunch
We wonder if the schedule here is connected to the intensity of the heat during the summer when temps are often above 100 degrees. The bulk of the work gets done in the morning followed by a big lunch and downtime until temperatures moderate. The cooler evenings are a time when people socialize by visiting, walking, meeting in a cafe and dinner around 9 or 10.
It's all very civilized and slow paced but it is certainly different from the schedule that we follow at home. One needs patience here just to conduct daily business. For example, buying chicken at the small meat market could be a half hour process that involves listening to the stories of the other customers, the responses from the clerk, the telling of jokes, updates on relatives etc.. There is an observation by the English residents here - that the first three letters of the country's name (Espana) coincide with the Spanish verb esperar - to wait and hope.
We are beginning to appreciate this slower pace of life and recognize the richness inherent in a less stressful lifestyle. We are learning to set aside our culturally driven expectations about pace, service, and time while trying to embrace this different view of life. There is a wonderful article in the New York Times that describes the Spanish Time system. See the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/world/europe/spain-land-of-10-pm-dinners-ponders-a-more-standard-time.html
One of our endearing, albeit confusing, experiences in Spain relates to the very different perceptions of time.
We first encountered this upon our landing in Madrid last month. The plane from the USA landed at 8 AM, and we were surprised that it was still dark outside. Sure, it was January and a dark time of year but we didn't expect it to be still dark at that point in the day. I wondered if our westerly position in the European Time Zone accounts for this. It does stay light until after 6 - on the other end of the day.
We later learned that this phenomenon is fairly recent and originated during the Franco years when the generalissimo, a right wing dictator and ally of the Nazis, changed the time zone to coincide with Germany - as a show of support. The problem, of course, is that Spain is far to the west of Germany and naturally falls in a very different time zone - thus the mismatch between time and daylight hours.
There is a very different pace of life in Spain - especially in our little village. People seem to wake around 8 and head off to work or school around 8:30 or 9 after a continental breakfast of toast and coffee. There is a snack break around 10-11, lunch around 2:30 or 3, followed by a siesta time. Siesta doesn't mean actually sleeping but this time is reserved for the big meal of the day and a time for relaxing with family and friends. I doubt that anyone eats standing up or at their desks. Everyone goes back to work or school around 4 or 5 - a snack is taken at 7 and dinner is never before 9 in the evening.
It's not easy for us "early to bed, early to rise" Puritans but we are gradually getting into the swing of things - rising at 8 and staying up until 11 pm or midnight.
We are still puzzled about the opening times of various enterprises because it seems to vary according to a schedule that we don't always understand. Most shops are open around 9 in the morning, close at 2 for lunch but then reopen from 5 to 8. Some shops are open while others seem to be shuttered with no seeming pattern. Some of the bars and clubs in town, so we are told, are only open after midnight.
We wonder if the schedule here is connected to the intensity of the heat during the summer when temps are often above 100 degrees. The bulk of the work gets done in the morning followed by a big lunch and downtime until temperatures moderate. The cooler evenings are a time when people socialize by visiting, walking, meeting in a cafe and dinner around 9 or 10.
It's all very civilized and slow paced but it is certainly different from the schedule that we follow at home. One needs patience here just to conduct daily business. For example, buying chicken at the small meat market could be a half hour process that involves listening to the stories of the other customers, the responses from the clerk, the telling of jokes, updates on relatives etc.. There is an observation by the English residents here - that the first three letters of the country's name (Espana) coincide with the Spanish verb esperar - to wait and hope.
We are beginning to appreciate this slower pace of life and recognize the richness inherent in a less stressful lifestyle. We are learning to set aside our culturally driven expectations about pace, service, and time while trying to embrace this different view of life. There is a wonderful article in the New York Times that describes the Spanish Time system. See the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/world/europe/spain-land-of-10-pm-dinners-ponders-a-more-standard-time.html
No comments:
Post a Comment