There are 24 replies in this Thread which was already clicked 215 times. The last Post () by Rice.

Early bird or night owl?

    Your sleep pattern? 5

    1. Awake with the Zorzales (2) 40%
    2. Don’t enjoy waking up early, but have to (1) 20%
    3. Consider noon to be early morning (2) 40%

    When we first arrived in Buenos Aires in 2005, we felt like country rubes in a city where even school children eat supper about the time we were thinking of going to bed.


    Over the years, we adapted to the city’s rhythm and learned to enjoy having a very light breakfast and 2 or 3 pm lunch. Although we’ve never gotten into the late-late night club scene at all, we’ve found that we really enjoy staying up late. Fortunately, when in Argentina we can also sleep late.


    But this pattern has carried over when we aren’t in Argentina also, and we now rarely have lunch before 3, after dragging ourselves out of bed late staying up late the night before. The drawback is that this schedule plays hell with early appointments, flights, etc.


    In short, before Argentina, I’d have answered the poll with #2, but now I find #3 to be understated.

    What about you?

    I like this discussion because it's one thing I've never got quite right in Argentina and I feel like I need to sort it out better. When I'm in the city it doesn't really matter when I want to eat so if I want dinner at 7 pm I can eat dinner at 7 pm. But when I'm in Olivos or Belgrano it's different and I have to push dinner back but I'm virtually banging on the restaurant door to get in before 8 pm! But obviously that's just an "eating out" problem.

    I often stay up late at night but at home. I don't wish to be out late around the traps in Argentina. Of course, you can eat at home whenever you want.

    And then I have UK clients on UK time to throw into the mix when I'm working.

    I've always been an early riser so it doesn't bother me even now when I don't have to. 6 hours sleep does me. What I don't like doing is to get washed and dressed in order to leave the house in the early morning.

    I enjoy having a leisurely two hour breakfast in my jammies browsing the internet before the missus gets out her scratcher....she loves staying in bed especially on a Sunday. Last Sunday I was having my lunch while she had her breakfast!! ^^

    I am not sure what category I fit in. I usually get up between 8 and 9. Which is earl-ish by local standard, and late by European standard. But I have dinner at around 8-30 PM when at home or even 21.30 PM because I have classes until 9 PM in the evening.


    I'd like to get up at 6.30, but I am drowsy by 11 AM and I'd be dead by 9 PM.

    On Friday's I have classes at 8 AM, so I set the alarm at 6:45AM and I hate it. By them time it's 8PM (still in classes), my brain doesn't work well and it costs me a lot to concentrate and retrieve information stored in my brain.

    For the twenty-or-so years before I retired I was working afternoons and evenings and getting up late the next day. Retired now, I still do the same. It means my body clock doesn't really have to adjust to the 3/4 hour time difference and when in Argentina I settle into a normal day without difficulty. Absolutely invaluable during the years when I was making three short trips a year.

    Quote from serafina

    I am not sure what category I fit in. I usually get up between 8 and 9. Which is earl-ish by local standard, and late by European standard. But I have dinner at around 8-30 PM when at home or even 21.30 PM because I have classes until 9 PM in the evening.


    I'd like to get up at 6.30, but I am drowsy by 11 AM and I'd be dead by 9 PM.

    On Friday's I have classes at 8 AM, so I set the alarm at 6:45AM and I hate it. By them time it's 8PM (still in classes), my brain doesn't work well and it costs me a lot to concentrate and retrieve information stored in my brain.

    Most locals I know are early risers especially those with kids that have to start school at some ridiculous early hour of the day. What's that all about?

    I've never been one for staying up into the wee small hours anyway. If I've had a poor sleep and at home I'll have a nap in my chair in the afternoon.

    Quote from UK Man

    Most locals I know are early risers especially those with kids that have to start school at some ridiculous early hour of the day. What's that all about?

    What IS that all about? What time does school start, anyway? We see these kids walking home so late in the afternoon, too. Are these early & late hours because of the 2-hour lunch break? Don’t Argentine schools serve lunches?

    Quote from Rice

    What IS that all about? What time does school start, anyway? We see these kids walking home so late in the afternoon, too. Are these early & late hours because of the 2-hour lunch break? Don’t Argentine schools serve lunches?

    Some primary school kids start at 7am. Seemingly so the schools can operate two shifts as there isn't the room to teach more pupils all at once.

    Quote from UK Man

    Some primary school kids start at 7am. Seemingly so the schools can operate two shifts as there isn't the room to teach more pupils all at once.

    Something the UK should consider. Especially now as so many schools are being forcibly closed.

    School closures: Dozens were at risk of collapse due to risky concrete
    Concrete safety fears have thrown the new term into turmoil at more than 100 schools in England.
    www.bbc.co.uk


    Needless to say, the limitations of the material (RAAC) have been known about for years. If not before then the British government have known about the problem since at least 2018 and they have taken this long to do anything.

    So in Argentina the 2 shifts would be 7:30 until about 1, and 1:30 until 7? Or do students spend even less time in the classroom, perhaps 7:30 until noon and 12:30 until 5? That’s not a lot of time in class. But it’s a LONG day for teachers who presumably have double shifts?

    Quote from Rice

    So in Argentina the 2 shifts would be 7:30 until about 1, and 1:30 until 7? Or do students spend even less time in the classroom, perhaps 7:30 until noon and 12:30 until 5? That’s not a lot of time in class. But it’s a LONG day for teachers who presumably have double shifts?

    I don't think I've ever known the school times for these double-shift schools but I remember writing something in my diary, years and years ago after seeing young kids turning out of class and in to the street at - what was it? Either or nine at night? Children tend to go to bed much later in Argentina than elsewhere so being up at that hour isn't so shocking. Also, the school may be double-shifting but the teachers will be working a normal length day. The classrooms are not the "personal property" of just one teacher - a bit like the way secondary schools work in the UK. Of the bilingual schools I've known (well, just one, actually) the students had a very long day but the teachers did not. The whole Spanish curriculum was taught in the first half of the long day and then it was followed by lessons in the English language taught by the English-speaking staff.

    We overlook a plaza with a playground, where the slides and swings are in full use by toddlers on up, until 9:30 or 10. We are guessing they must then go home for supper before going to bed. That’s a late bedtime for school kids getting up so early, but maybe they are the ones who go in for the second shift.


    bebopalula , thanks for explaining how the shifts work. I was wondering how they could keep teachers if they had a 12-hr work day!

    An acquaintance was commenting that her daughter, a Medicine student at UBA, had exams at 7 AM. I was quite surprised because that's more a time for a kindergarten to open, not for university exams.

    At my private university, morning classes are from 8AM to 1PM and evening classes from 6PM to 11PM. However, for safety reason they always try to and them at 9.30-10PM max.


    We have classes 3 days a week, and it is not always a 5-hour block.

    This is very different from my university days in Italy, where we had classes from 8AM to 6PM 4 days a week.

    Quote from serafina

    An acquaintance was commenting that her daughter, a Medicine student at UBA, had exams at 7 AM. I was quite surprised because that's more a time for a kindergarten to open, not for university exams.

    At my private university, morning classes are from 8AM to 1PM and evening classes from 6PM to 11PM. However, for safety reason they always try to and them at 9.30-10PM max.


    We have classes 3 days a week, and it is not always a 5-hour block.

    This is very different from my university days in Italy, where we had classes from 8AM to 6PM 4 days a week.

    I would even be human at 7 AM, let alone sit an exam!

    As long as I get 7-8 hours kip, I'm fine, no matter what time I get up.

    I am attending a Translation Degree in Italian. This is not an international course, so it is thought for locals (native Spanish speakers) who want to become translators of Italian.


    We have some classes in common with other Translation degrees offered at my university (English and Portuguese). These classes are taught in Spanish - Spanish Grammar, Spanish Language, Philosophy, Etics, Theology, Humanities, etc, (it is a catholic university, so we have these humanities subjects besides the language ones).


    Courses which are specific for the Italian program are taught in Italian. We have a mix of native Italian teachers and local teachers with an outstanding level of Italian.


    One thing that is very different from Translation courses in Europe is that we only study one foreign language for 4 years.

    In Italy, we study a min of 2 foreign languages and the courses are articulated in a 3-year bachelor's degree (for US readers of this forum // undergraduate program, for UK readers) plus a 2-year master's degree (graduate program).