Most of the Congolese appointments on my schedule for the first three weeks that I have lived in the country were 20 minutes to one hour behind the desired meeting time.
This morning, Claudia said she would drop by my hotel to pick me up at 10 a.m. and help me navigate the fruit and vegetable market and the grocery store in Brazza.
57 minutes past 10 a.m., and I am still waiting.
As an American, I have learned to bring a book or magazine everywhere I go, because I'm on Congo-time now, but it's still quite disappointing to my culturally punctual mentality to wait and wait. In my culture, it's a sign of disrespect to keep someone waiting for 59 minutes- soon to be an hour, especially since I left a message on Claudia's voicemail.
Maybe I will take a nap. It rained last night and the air is heavy and ripe for sleeping soundly.
4 comments:
Boy, does that sound familiar? Ipod, "War and Peace", magazine, tax forms, anything to pass the time, right?
Hey, tax forms. Never thought of that one.
I don't think tax forms would create the proper mellow "who cares if she is late" attitude! I believe in always having a great novel in your handbag, so that you are glad when others are late and you can grab a few minutes to read!
A good novel can't be beat.
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