Ya Mismo

There is a term here in Ecuador, “ya mismo,” which is simultaneously great and the bane of my existence. Literally translated, it means “already the same.”*  In reality, though, it is used to express an indefinite amount of time, anywhere from minutes to days. It can also be used as a sort of polite way to brush someone off. For example:

“When will the food be ready?”

“Ya mismo.”

Inerpretation - Anywhere between a couple of minutes and a couple of hours.

“When will you be arriving to the party that started two and a half hours ago?”

“Ya mismo.”

Interpretation: - They’ll probably show up by the time everyone else was just considering leaving.  Usually this is really annoying, but if the party is dying because it has run out of food/drink, and the latecomer brings more, this could be a good thing**

“When are you free to come over for dinner?”

“Ya mismo.”

Interpretation – I’m too polite and nonconfrontational to say no outright, but I don’t really want to.  Think of one person saying “we should get coffee some time,” and the other person politely agreeing but specifically avoiding making an actually plan to do so.

I like to think*** that “ya mismo” harkens back to a time before most people here had a clock in their home. When people arose early to tend to their crops before the heat became oppressive, and afternoons were spent trying to stay in the shade, perhaps in a hammock, and that the days sort of blended together. Couple this with a lack of energy from what probably was an inadequate diet, and it really was all the same if some things happened immediately, or in a few hours (days?), or in some cases, didn’t happen at all.

I hope you all have enjoyed reading this entry. I’ll be sure to write again. You know, “ya mismo.”

* The word “mismo” means “same”. The word “ya” can either mean “already” or “soon” or “about to.” How the same word can mean something that is about to happen or has recently happened is beyond me,

** The latecomer never actually brings anything, but hypothetically, I suppose it’s possible.

*** I like to come up with completely unsubstantiated, romanticized theories of how certain aspects of Ecuadorian culture developed.  I realize that this is incredibly patronizing and borderline racist.