Happy Hour

This post was originally written the week before Christmas. 

I'm not sure exactly what it is.  Perhaps its the fact that working with kids can spur strong desire for a grown-up drink after a day screaming, coloring and incessant questions (example: "Miss Brittany, do you have a boyfriend," for the third time this week.  But I digress...)  Or perhaps its the fact that the popular saying "it's five o'clock somewhere" lives on, even though its not yet noon here.  Or perhaps it's the same difference in work ethic I observed in Argentina.  Let me draw a parallel:

On the first day of my internship in Buenos Aires I asked my boss what my hours were, specifically what time I needed to arrive each day.  She shrugged, said that most people come in around 10:30 or 11, but that the decision was really up to me.  But of course this was not just said flat out.  It was intertwined with the romanticism and laxidasical attitude that is truly Argentine: "No se, lo que vos quieras esta bien.  Podes entrar a las 10:30 o 11 como los otros, o lo que quieras.  Pero no te preocupes sobre este tema, quedate tranquila.  Podes chequear tu e-mail!"  Looking back, this should have never been said to me, because I took this literally.  I began the semester arriving promptly at 10:30 each day.  However, over the course of the semester I found it harder and harder to get out of the bed, and by the end, I found myself slyly strolling in around 11:45 or 12.  But no one gave this a second look, as people would come and go all hours of the day, sometimes with shopping bags, other times unexplained, all while rocking skinny jeans and converse sneakers.  But I digress again.  My point is that the work environment was very different, because it was very laid back.  One time the president of the Argentina office sped through the office on a segway.  Another time, large rubber balls went bouncing off the walls in the office (don't ask for an explanation, I'm still not certain about this one)  People unabashedly had facebook and windows messenger up most of the time.  So its no surprise that I adjusted to the laid back Argentine work culture.

But all this is just to give some background on what just happened today at work.  It's the holidays, and with less than a week to go, everyone's feeling a bit of the holiday spirit.  So when one of the teacher's came around with traditional Spanish holiday treats, I was very excited.  But when the director of the school asked me if I had ever tried "alquitara, un licor guindas" I was a bit taken aback.  After all, alcohol just isn't something that you really talk about in a professional environment...or is it?  He pulled out a bottle and and plastic shot cups and poured a "chupita."  Of course it was only a matter of time before the other teachers caught wind and headed over to indulge in a little mid-morning happy hour.  They said it was to warm their bones, since the heat was out today.

I can't help but think, this wouldn't happen at an elementary school at home!  Cultural differences are always an adventure, this one being a rather entertaining one!