Time

i have never been to a wedding at our church that started on time. it is always 1 1/2 hours late.i have never been to a program that has started on time.i no longer wear a watch so if a program is going late i don't know and then cannot get angry.i find that when a ghanaian says a time (like we will be finished in 10 minutes) i double it. it usually works out.think of how you feel when someone is late. i am not talking about 5 minutes, i am talking about an hour or even 2 hours. you would understandably get upset. but somehow, and i don't quite know how yet, being late works here. not works in the sense of "let's keep doing it, it is such a great way of doing things" but works because nearly everyone is late and so understands nothing will start on time--unless you are a foreigner.people like myself born in a country where "time is money" don't really realize how that plays out in every day life until you are in a part of the world where that does not ring true. there is a part of you that has time locked inside. you always look at a clock. you figure out when you need to leave to get there on time. you schedule out programs so they run a certain length. time is so normal for us. even someone who lived in ghana for 30+ years still would rush out the door and hurry her roommate because "we don't want to be late". (uh, it takes a lot to be late here.) all that to say time is deeply rooted inside of us and the anger that comes out when one doesn't follow "my rules of time" is ...inevitable. even with so much time spent in ghana, this is one area that gets me so angry.i have planned a program or activity and because of lateness it gets cut short or i can't do all that was planned and end up wondering why i even did it in the first place! when i forget or don't know when something will really start and i am waiting and waiting you would be amazed at the frustration. if i was prepared i could be doing something. i could be preparing a lesson or planning a craft. i could be using my time wisely instead of just being a bump on a log. now you ask, "if this happens a lot why don't you prepare yourself?" and that is when you have just underestimated the "time sense" inside of you. we assume time. sometimes i should think about it more, that would help me to be less angry but because it is so entwined inside of me i don't think about it. and i think the time thing is always hopeful that it will be according to time.there is no way to fix it. i have lived here 8 years. i know ghanaians, and when a program is 1 1/2 hours late, they will also complain but usually nothing is said when the program starts. it is like "well, it started, let's just forget about it". and i know myself, in one situation, since everyone is a 1/2 hour late i am now too. but since everyone is late then it seems like it can work and you just make do with the time you have or keep people later to finish.so my solution? where ever you go bring a book, bring work of some sort, or go find children to play with.