Living in Zimbabwe is a clash of cultures, a paradox at times. I like to be efficient, to work quickly and well and do the best job I can do. Zimbabweans don’t think of time in the same way that we do. It is not uncommon for someone to be late for a meeting because they met someone they knew on the road and got talking for half an hour or more. To them, the person they met and that relationship is more important than the hands on a clock. This is a different perspective than we North Americans generally have. We would likely go past the person on the path with a quick greeting and get to the meeting at the correct time because being punctual is more important than that person. Of course we could argue that the person left waiting should be shown respect and courtesy as well, but that sort of argument will just keep going in a circle.
What’s important to learn is that relationships are more important to the Shona people than a schedule or time. In the West we are in such a busy hurry that our relationships suffer. I am trying to discover a balance between the two perspectives. I am trying to be patient with the man who wants to ask me for a job, or to buy his bricks but is talking for half an hour about his family, the weather, politics and whatever else before he gets to the reason he came to see me. I am learning to take time with people.
