Last Minute Culture

Life overseas is so different than the life I used to know in the US.  Culture changes everything and you learn to go with it.  So sometimes you forget how much you have adjusted to a new reality in certain areas.  But this week I've been thinking a lot about how much I've adapted while in Brazil to go with the flow in an area that is hard for us Americans...the area of planning ahead.

Us Americans?  We love planning and value it.  Our calendars fill up several weeks or even months in advance.  Not so with Brazilians.  Let me give you a few practical examples:

- In Brazil, people don't schedule things more than a week or so in advance.  At all.  I mean super rarely will you have something planned and nailed down for more than just the next 7 days.

- As a result, people don't use calendars/planners, since it's not a problem to remember what you're supposed to do just this week, why write it down?

- Planners are commonly used here as scrap paper.  I'm completely serious.  They must go unbought in stores in the beginning of the year and get sold super cheap.  Because it's very common to see people using a planner as just a scratch notebook, just ignoring the dates and all.

- If you do have something far in advance (say a doctor's appointment) you just jot a note and leave it on your fridge or desk.  But again this is rare, since it's really easy to get an appointment the week-of since no one schedules in advance

- If something is scheduled in advance (or even not) it's VERY common for things to get canceled and its no big deal at all if you cancel on anyone else.  This happened to me 3 times this week.  I was getting all ready for something and thought I would check in with the person I was supposed to pick up/meet, and I just figured I'd call to confirm before I walked out the door.  (I decided to confirm simply because I know canceling is so common.)  All 3 times, the person had something else come up last minute and had to cancel.

- That leads me to another point...things come up very suddenly.  Since people don't schedule more than a week or so in advance, it could be Sunday night and my calendar looks clear.  Suddenly I'll get a call asking me to help with a church ministry for the next three mornings in a row.  I have no reason to not go (lack of mental preparation is not so valid :), I go and my week is suddenly full.

- When there is a weekly or say bi-weekly meeting, even when it's already scheduled it always seems to be a question mark up till the last minute if it's still a go.  The day of, we communicate back and forth to see if everyone is still on.  I guess this goes with the canceling things.  It's normal for things to come up and things to get canceled, so it's always good to make sure something, even something regularly scheduled, is still on.  Why do things get canceled so much?  Because all scheduling is last minute, so you never know when something is going to change original plans.

- Sometimes we get invites to go to someone's house for dinner as we're already eating dinner at home! We've even gotten invites for dinner after Elijah's already in bed for the night.

Honestly I hope this doesn't come across as negative at all!  I don't feel that way...it's just different.  I mean there are some frustrating parts of being in a last minute culture, and there are some frustrating parts of being in a plan ahead culture.  But let me tell you a few perks about this culture...

- You never know what fun social events might pop up.  You think your weekend is going to be boring and suddenly you're eating Brazilian bbq with friends!

- People in general are very flexible and understanding when you do have to cancel something

- You can invite people over last minute and they will make time for you

Don't worry though, when we come to the US, we'll swing back the other way.  We won't cancel on you or invite you for pizza after you're already eaten :)  It's just very weird to be part of both worlds