In Seville, time is elastic
I guess this also happens in other parts of Spain. I have only lived in Seville, so this applies to Seville.
Meeting friends does not happen at a certain hour. You just dont say five at such café. The correct (yes, not "usual": correct) way of making arrangements is to make a half-hour bracket. Ill see you at seven to seven thirty. I can make it at six thirty to seven. No one blinks. Spanish good manners say that unpunctuality starts ten to fifteen minutes after the appointed time, so if you said youd be there at seven-to-seven thirty, no one can complain if you get to the place at 7.40. The fifteen-minute rule does not mean that Spaniards are unpunctual as a rule: people are as much or as little as everyone else in the rest of the world, but it is rude to give latecomers less than a fifteen-minute wait.
That means that when a group of people is going to meet in a public place, everyone who will arrive on their own will try to be there as late as possible without being rude, so that they will not have to be just waiting there, alone. Im a reasonably punctual person; if I say Ill meet you at five to five thirty you wont see me there before 5:10. We only do this when meeting socially in situations where we dont mind waiting. For example, if one friend and I are going out for dinner, well be punctual because making someone else wait alone isnt nice. The only remotely similar thing Ive ever seen is the very relaxed attitude some Scottish people have when they go to pubs. Ive gone out in groups in which some people, especially the men, said well be at the pub at four, not expecting anyone else to say at what hour theyd be there. They got there early and got a table for the group, and didnt care much how long theyd have to wait for the others.
Having said that, I don't think Spaniards are impunctual. In Scotland, Ireland, Spain and and the US I have met big communities of international people (mostly students). The only person I have ever met who made a point of strict punctuality was German.
Meeting friends does not happen at a certain hour. You just dont say five at such café. The correct (yes, not "usual": correct) way of making arrangements is to make a half-hour bracket. Ill see you at seven to seven thirty. I can make it at six thirty to seven. No one blinks. Spanish good manners say that unpunctuality starts ten to fifteen minutes after the appointed time, so if you said youd be there at seven-to-seven thirty, no one can complain if you get to the place at 7.40. The fifteen-minute rule does not mean that Spaniards are unpunctual as a rule: people are as much or as little as everyone else in the rest of the world, but it is rude to give latecomers less than a fifteen-minute wait.
That means that when a group of people is going to meet in a public place, everyone who will arrive on their own will try to be there as late as possible without being rude, so that they will not have to be just waiting there, alone. Im a reasonably punctual person; if I say Ill meet you at five to five thirty you wont see me there before 5:10. We only do this when meeting socially in situations where we dont mind waiting. For example, if one friend and I are going out for dinner, well be punctual because making someone else wait alone isnt nice. The only remotely similar thing Ive ever seen is the very relaxed attitude some Scottish people have when they go to pubs. Ive gone out in groups in which some people, especially the men, said well be at the pub at four, not expecting anyone else to say at what hour theyd be there. They got there early and got a table for the group, and didnt care much how long theyd have to wait for the others.
Having said that, I don't think Spaniards are impunctual. In Scotland, Ireland, Spain and and the US I have met big communities of international people (mostly students). The only person I have ever met who made a point of strict punctuality was German.
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bolo -
un saludo y feliz fin de semana