Of Time and Fowl

Rain has been falling almost all afternoon. I got home from lunch around 1:30 and shortly thereafter a series of thunderstorms rolled through, followed by this lingering “just hard enough to get you wet if you try to walk anywhere” rain. Annoying, yes, but at least it was a viable excuse to avoid the 3pm meeting. I was to be but a casual observer, so skipping out on it should not result in any negative repercussions.

That’s one of the interesting things I’ve noticed down here: there is this casual approach to life and few things seem to be taken seriously to the extreme as they are in the States. At home, if a meeting is supposed to start at 9am, it starts at 9am. Sharp. Here…well, if it is scheduled for 9am, it might begin at 9:30. Or even later. Apparently no real hurry as long as things are done. Perhaps due to my Germanic heritage that revels in this obsession for order and punctuality, this approach to time vexed me to no end the first few occurrences, but now it’s an expectation, simply a part of the cultural adventure down here. Of course, I would not try this back home.

Even if it were not for the lingering “just hard enough to get you wet if you try to walk anywhere” rain, there are very few places of interest within safe walking distance of the university, save for a bakery, a convenience store (of sorts), the university outdoor café on campus, and a little street corner restaurant all located on this block. To go anywhere else requires public transportation, either a bus or taxi. I have taken a taxi on several occasions and they seem pretty reliable and inexpensive. The only disagreeable experience thus far was the taxi we took Sunday morning. Not really disagreeable, more along the lines of interesting. The taxi smelled of poultry and scattered on the back seat were a few feathers. Though one may be inclined to speculate as to the event resulting in poultry odor and feathers, I will refrain from such and merely just chalk it up as being part of the adventure of Central American travel.