It’s Fine When I Make Fun Of My Country, But It’s Not Okay When You Do It
Jokes at home and scrutiny abroad
Family lunches have a suggested time of arrival on my mother’s side of the family. One o'clock is the equivalent of two or three o’clock, if that suits someone better.
My mother is the eldest of six siblings, and the family has extended itself to 30 or 40 people at this point. And somehow it ends up that the more people involved, the more it’s okay to arrive a little late (or a lot late). It’s almost as if the tardiness fizzles out if the room is fuller.
Either way, we always laugh about it. How late that one family is. Or how long it takes my mother to leave the house because she remembers last minute that she has three more things that are essential to do before leaving.
It’s all funny until I’m slightly late by accident, and hear a foreigner comment: “classic Portuguese, always late for everything”.
Don’t get me wrong, Portuguese people are notorious for being chronically late for everything. It’s part of our mellow, easy-going, Southern European vibe.
And if I am being honest, I must confess, I both fit and don’t fit into this stereotype. On the one hand, I am quite laid back with time, but on the other, I do make a valiant effort to…
