Culture Shock: All About Time and Getting Around

The Time Factor

Mexico operates on a different temporal dimension than what most foreigners are used to. While punctuality is not frowned upon, it is certainly not encouraged, except perhaps in business circles (albeit inconsistently). The standard practice is to arrive an hour or two late to a dinner party, or to not even show up at all. On the other hand, one should also not be taken aback by being invited to a dinner party at the last minute.

Appointments in household and/or business matters can also be broken without as much as a phone call. Thus one should never plan a rigid daily schedule that relies on the prompt and punctual completion of appointments. Temporal parameters simply cannot be set around any appointment or meeting. In Mexico time is at the mercy of the people, not vice versa, despite the common use of expressions like se me hizo tarde (I was made late) when people defer the blame for their impunctuality towards a vague third party.

Getting Around

Of course, such a phrase as se me hizo tarde is not too far out of the ballpark, considering the traffic one has to contend with in Mexico—especially in the capital. Getting out into traffic can be a real shock, whether you do it as a driver or as a passenger. As a driver, you have to beware of a few things. Firstly, expect anything. Expect cars to speed through red lights, expect a car to suddenly make a turn without giving a signal, expect cars to come the wrong way down a one-way street. Expect vehicles to suddenly stop and start, reversing for no apparent reason, expect doors to fly open from parked cars as you're passing them by, expect traffic lights to be down or traffic signs to be missing.

Expect dogs to saunter around on the road, expect a giant pothole to suddenly appear out of nowhere, expect maintenance workers and garbage trucks at mid-day. Expect it all. However, despite all, Mexico has an extensive road system, both urban and interstate, and very good public transportation—especially the metro. To read more, have a look at our transportation page. 

Further Reading

We can suggest some further reading to help you deal with culture shock. The book Culture Shock: Mexico by Mark Cramer may be a good start. To gain a background in Mexican history and culture, we suggest Octavio Paz's masterpiece The Labyrinth Of Solitude, and also The Buried Mirror by another great Mexican writer, Carlos Fuentes. For additional introductions to Mexican culture, try The Mexicans: A Personal Portrait Of A People by Patrick Oster, There's A Word For It In Mexico by Boye Lafayette, and NTC's Dictionary Of Cultural Code Words.

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