Intercultural Communication

Respect Time
Punctuality and the respect for time are in First World countries much more important than in Latin American countries, and is a crucial issue in order to understand how the different cultures work.
On a social level, punctuality separates the two cultures’ way of interacting with friends and establishing relationships. People in Latin America dedicate more time to socializing than people in First World countries. Friends who meet on the street or in a shop often keep chatting for a long time and no one ever seems to be in a hurry, while in First World countries it’s common just to greet each others and then keep on with whatever they have to do. Even the time of organized encounters is treated differently in the two cultures. In First World countries it is seen as rude to arrive late at a party and it’s absolutely not accepted to show up late for a date, while in Latin America it is normal to show up late at a party, as no one expects you to come at the appointed time. As for dates it isn’t the end of the world if you are a bit late, although it might irritate people slightly. People in Latin America seem to have more, “less valuable” time as they don’t care wasting several hours a week just waiting for someone to show up. It does though affect productivity, which is another reason why it’s not accepted in First World countries, as productivity is very important for society to work.

A good way of using time efficiently is to organize your time using an agenda, which can help you to plan your day and remind you of important appointments. The use of agendas is a lot more common in First World countries and can sometimes lead to extreme chases when people have to check their agenda for a time to have coffee with friends. It is easy to become obsessed with time and begin to over schedule, which can lead to worse results than not planning at all, as it is probable to lead to health issues such as stress and insomnia.
Organization is a lot more efficient in First World countries than in Latin America, which is the reason why everything from public transports to bureaucracy works so much smoother there. Take for example the bus schedules. In a First World country a bus stop may have a schedule showing the exact time for a certain bus to pass, and the bus passes at that given time, with at most a few minutes delay. In Latin America on the other hand the bus will stop whenever it happens to pass, without respecting any time schedule at all, and in the evening many of the circulating busses are ‘out of service’ and won’t stop at all. Because of this it is more difficult to be on time in Latin America, even if it oughtn’t to be an excuse.
In Latin America it is common to be more concerned about the present than the future and people might not think as much of the future consequences of their present acts. A common thought in Latin America is to do whatever task later, thinking that there is always a better time to do it, which often leads to delays, while most people in First World countries prefer to get the task done as fast as possible, leaving more time in the future. It is impossible to say that one way is better than the other, as they both have their pros and cons. First World countries are certainly more organized and work better as a society, and the people take more advantage of their time, but Latin America has a huge advantage when it comes to socializing and interacting with people.