As the Latina that I am, I have to say that being and growing up in a Hispanic family is something very different than doing it in an American family.

In Hispanic families everyone tends to be very loud and never on time, making parties or family reunions to always run a little late—you will end up leaving around 3:00 a.m. or worst—while American families usually have early dinners and start reunions in the afternoon—from what my friends in college have told me.

In this article, I will be sharing with you some of the things that being in a Hispanic family means that most of my American friends find weird or odd in comparison to the way they do things.

Hispanic families will always a special place in my heart, since I grew up in one, and is something I wouldn’t change for the world. But, I got to admit that what I thought, and probably what most Hispanics see as usual or normal, might not exactly be for people from different parts of the world.

Eight of the things every Hispanic grew up doing that are unusual for Americans:

1. You always kiss a person on the cheek when saying “Hi” or you will be seen as disrespectful.

2. Dinner parties won’t start until after 7:00 p.m., but you won’t actually be eating dinner until around 9:00 p.m. or even 10:00 p.m.

3. When on a family reunion, get ready to be there for sure after midnight.

4. When your parents say you are leaving, it actually means that we have to start saying goodbye to everyone who is there and will be leaving in an hour.

5. Be prepare to spend New Year’s Eve with your family and not be able to leave until after midnight.

6. When the invitation says that the party starts at 8:00 p.m., it actually means it starts an hour later and everyone will arrive around 9:00-9:30 p.m.

7. You won’t be eating lunch until around 3:00 p.m. and dinner at least until after 7:00 p.m. at home.

8. When going to a party or reunion, expect everyone to be loud, talking at the same time, and having completely different conversations, but at the same time, everyone knows exactly what is going on.