Tarde

One of the aggravating things for many Americans about Mexico is the less-than-punctual nature of the Mexican way of life. As Cuautli (Fernando's older brother) said to me regarding some of his building projects, "es listo quando es listo", which means "it's ready when it's ready". I share that philosophy when making complicated software products, but for other things it doesn't necessarily work so well.

Today I had a semi-private yoga class (for 75 pesos, or $5!). Our teacher Librata, myself, and one other woman who works at the gym were the only people there, so obviously it's a great deal. The class was at 10:30, but she started 15 minutes late. I had planned to go to the kid's school afterwards and give them an hour of computer help, but this threw off my schedule, so I had to skip my shower and dash out to get my ride to school with Rocio, the administrator. However, when I called Rocio, she was running 30 minutes late, and so I got lunch and then waited for her. She was still another 30 minutes late, so finally I had to call her and postpone until next week. Arrrrgh!

It actually worked out well, since I had some business in the USA to take care of over the phone. And the American who was supposed to call me at 12:30 called at 1:30 instead, so I guess it's not just a Mexican thing.

Nevertheless, Sue and I were at the bus stop to pick up the kids right on time, and Antonio was there waiting for us with a ride, as he always is.

For the rest of the day, we didn't have to be anywhere at any particular time. We went to Parque Juarez, called Sam and Ann and they joined us for a cocktail and chips, and then went out to dinner when the kids got hungry. No schedules, no deadlines. It was great.