Time

Hi Everyone! I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. I am sorry to have neglected you all. Though it brings me to the theme of this post: Time. One thing I've had to get used to in Tanzania is that time works differently here. I have never been so aware of how 'human' and therefore cultural the concept of time is. Time is relative. Time is abstract. And in Tanzania time is slow.

Living in the United States all my life, particularly in the Northeast region, time is fast. Phrases like "In a New York Minute" or "Time is Money" or "I'll get it done yesterday" are mantras I grew up with. Then I got here and suddenly time slowed down. When I am given a project people are surprised if it is done quickly. When I request maintenance on the house (for example the oven electrical circuit was not working) if it gets fixed within 2 weeks that is considered extremely prompt. It has been a lesson in both detachment and patience.

However this does not mean that life is not busy here or that people are not productive. It just means that there is a different level of accountability and a different set of priorities. Work does not always come first the way it does in our work-aholic society. Or rather, paid work to an employer does not come first. Instead people work for the family, for their friends, and for their house. Despite time moving 'slower' here, there still does not seem to be enough of it which is why I have been neglecting the blog. Instead I have been spending my time taking my Junior Youth class on field trips and hikes, I have been teaching Geography and Religion classes, I have been deepening on the Kitab-i-Iqan as well as letters from Shoghi Effendi, and have been teaching a book study class. And cooking and cleaning! Mom and Dad you would be proud. I am going to come back a chef and you won't have to worry about my having a messy room ever again ;)