Dis-orientation

Fall weather arrived last week, as did Daylight Savings Time. I’m completely disoriented. It doesn’t help that I’ve been having a hard time since we got here with my Buenos días, Buenos tardes and Buenos noches.

Adolfo says that I was sleeping in Spanish class the day they taught us how to use the previous three greetings. I maintain that I was taught that you could say “Buenos días” to someone at any time of the day. That is not the case here in Mexico.

Buenos días is strictly a morning greeting, not so much “Good day” as “Good morning.” Buenos tardes is implemented just after the clock passes noon and sometime around dusk, you can begin greeting people with Buenos noches. This is another struggle in my head. It is difficult to walk up to someone and say “Good night!” It just seems more like a closing rather than an opening line.

Then, last week the weather changed dramatically. One day, warm and sunny, over night windstorm, next day blustery, windy Fall day. I think the temperature dropped 30 degrees. Fall weather here is very different from Fall weather in most of the US. Neither the houses, nor the offices, have heating or air conditioning. So the temperature outside is nearly the temperature inside. We’ve broken out the sweaters.

Then we “Fell back.” Changing the hour back is usually good for people and it gives everyone and hour of more sleep. I woke up this morning in a funk. Disoriented and cold. Monday, hrmph.