"Laissez os bons tempos rouler": Comparing home and Europe- Part 1

With Mardi Gras starting today, the Saints going to the Super Bowl, and celebrating my 26th birthday on Tuesday, I found myself thinking about home a lot.  Not that I miss it, per se, but I am a firm believer that you have to get away from a place for a while to really understand and and to realize what it is you love about it.  One of the things I found surprising was that I find myself saying, "Oh,  this reminds me of the South a lot" or "we do this at home, too."  So, I just thought I'd share some of the similarities between Europe (mostly Libson) and South Louisiana (and New Orleans). 
(below is a vew of the Alfama and the Castle)

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Today's Topic:  Time

1.  The Perception of Time
Everyone's heard of 'Indian' time, 'Hawai'ian' time, 'Mexican' time, etc; basically, some of us just don't strictly abide by the man-made constraints of the little band we wear around our wrists and Portuguese are just the same.  At law school in the US, I am frightened to walk into a class if I am 2 minutes late.  Here, I walk into class 10 minutes late and have to wait another 5 minutes for the professor to show up.  If you want a dinner party to start at 10:00, you should tell everyone 9:15 or 9:30.  It is not seen as rude or disrespectful for peopel to show up late.  Things just happen when people get there and it's not a huge problem.  People stroll along the streets, taking their good ol' time; not the typical powerwalking you see in the states.  I learned really early on to budget myself extra time for checking out, banks, etc. 

(people enjoying coffee in the Largo do Chiado)

Timing is one thing I've had a problem with when moving from Louisiana to California and into the real world.  Let's just say I'm not really known for being punctual.  I remember going to Stanford and noticing that people were not just on time, but early for classes.  At home, we never had a set time for anything, it was always just "I'll meet you there in a little while."  'A little while' ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours.  My dad always said we would have dinner at "dark-thirty"; since he worked outside, our lives revolved around the weather and amount of time he could work outside.   When you check out at a grocery store, you can expect it to take a little while since you may be answering questions like "who's you mama, which bayou are you from, where did you go to school," etc; people are bound to make small talk and you'll probably find out you're related somewhere down the line.  People walking around New Orleans seem to have no place important to go.  Most of the time they don't and that's the best part about it. 

People from Louisiana say "Laisse la bon tems rouler" which means "let the good times roll."  Not, "let's make the good times happen right now", or  "the good times will be at 10:00, if you are 5 minutes late, you'll miss it", just that it will happen on its own.  Some people call us slow-moving or rude, but I just think we are a happy, chill, relaxed kind of people.   While in Lisbon, I'm definitely embracing this part of the culture :)

Oh, and Geaux Saints!!!!