In Praise of the Spanish Siesta
(Page 3 of 3)
January-February 1999
by Joe Robinson, from Escape
"We are an efficiency-oriented society," he says. "It is perhaps the dominant value in this culture. The faster things get done, the better off we're going to be. The idea of efficiency at all costs seems to be all-pervasive. It tends to invade our leisure. Unfortunately, socializing doesn't have a 'yield.' It's hard to develop relationships; those things take time."
RELATED CONTENT
Y2K Information Available in Spanish, Large Print and Braille Web Specials Archives American ...
As recruitment numbers wane, the Pentagon targets young Latinos...
Albert Einstein has become a pop culture icon. But Einstein the man, warts and all, is more interes...
A misplaced prof gets fed up at Texas Tech University, and finds out why easterners don't often end...
The siesta lifestyle is rooted in a culture with values that are anathema to the ascendant economic order, so don't expect the rest of Europe to adopt Spanish hours. A few Spanish firms have begun shortening their siesta time as the eurodollar era approaches. But maybe, being the great taskmasters we are, we could find a way to put one quality-of-life item on the agenda each day. We could even give it a productive rationale: Life expectancy in Spain is two years longer than in the United States. Think of all that extra output.
From Escape (July 1998). Subscriptions: $18/yr. (4 issues) from Box 5159, Santa Monica, CA 90409-5159.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 | 3 |