He may arrive in the morning, or he may not. You ll get used to it, and if you don t, then Mexico is not for you. For most of us who have moved here, the manana attitude has entered our thinking too, and often when we return to the States we have to snap to and get back into the routine of punctuality. Mexicans live and work in the here and now, not for tomorrow or the day afterwhich is the distant future for most of them. The exceptions are flights and buses.
Flights always depart on time, and buses almost always depart on time.
In social situations, this tardiness is usually learned the hard way by foreigners. Or they may not arrive at all. We have learned to do this same thing. On occasion when invited to a party at a Mexican s home we have accepted graciously, so as not to insult them, and then not shown up. Expatriates who go to the trouble of learning the history and customs of their adopted country will be able to put the seemingly strange actions of its people into perspective, and hopefully they will develop a more tolerant and accepting attitude, and a sense of humor about them.