The "Ecuadorian hour" is quite possibly the most frustrating thing I have experienced while here in Ecuador. If you don't happen to be familiar with the Ecuadorian hour, allow me to briefly explain. It's a perception of time in which deadlines and strict time schedules don't matter as much as they do in highly monochronic cultures such as the U.S. What would be considered very late in American culture (20-30 minutes late) is not considered a big deal in many places in Ecuador. For example, my host brother played two scrimmage soccer games for the University of Cuenca that I have been to so far. This is when two universities unofficially play each other. In the first case, he told me the game was at 3:00 p.m. What time did we leave? 2:58 p.m. We drove a bit and arrived at the stadium at 3:10. I was thinking, "Man, I hope Pablo doesn't get in trouble for being late!" What time did the game start? 3:40 p.m. He was one of the first players there. I was astounded. I was under the perception that for events of this nature punctuality is crucial, but they weren't bothered by it at all. The same "lateness" happened for the other game, too.
One time I was getting ready to walk up to the school. It's about a 35 minute walk, so I give myself 40 minutes to get there. I had an activity at 3:00 p.m. that day, so I would have left at 2:20 p.m. My host brother Pablo offered to drive me to school, since he was going to class as well around the same time. I was grateful to get a ride as I was pretty tired that day. I was ready at 15 minutes before 3:00, just like he said, but he was not ready. I went to find him and he was... in the shower. So I wait. He gets done, it's about 5 'til now, so I'm ready to go. He goes outside with me to the garage. Turns out my host sister Verónica and host mother Mery are already in the car waiting. I get in the backseat of the SUV with Pablo. We don't go anywhere. As it turns out, the entire family was coming. So we wait even longer until my host dad Fernando makes his way out with the grandkids, Thomás and Mateo. By now, I'm about 15 minutes late, and we haven't even left. We back up and start driving. We start getting close to the school, and then change directions!! I mention I have to get to school, and they say they know. They're just going to pick up a few things. So we stop at a roadside store. Verónica gets out and buys some groceries. She comes back and we continue driving. At a red light, Pablo gets out and starts shopping, too, while we're in traffic! Then apparently, he walks to class, because we drive off without him when it turned green. Then we finally drive to Fundación Amauta. I get out of the vehicle, completely confounded. I could not understand how driving could possibly make me more late than walking to school! This inversion of what should have happened didn't compute in my head. How could I have been driven to school and end up an hour late?!? It makes absolutely no sense to me. The icing on the cake: in a house that has 3 floors, only 2 clocks I can see work. The one on the 1st floor is 23 minutes fast, and the other on the 3rd floor (mine in my bedroom), is correct. This perception of time reflects the polychronic nature of many Ecuadorians. If we're there on time... if we're not there on time... *shrugs* "No me importa" (It's no big deal). And you know what? Sometimes this is OK!
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