Kai - Timing is Everything

"We're late, but it's ok, we're on Malagasy time now."

-Various members of Team Madagascar.

This sounds like an excuse for being late, or maybe a sideways jab at the non-puntual Malagasy people, but there's a lot of truth to the phrase "Malagasy time." There's a saying we've heard a few times in our orientation process that goes something like "Americans have watches, but Africans have time" and we are learning that more and more over the last 3 weeks. The pace of life is so much slower, and not feeling busy all the time has actually taken some getting used to. We've noticed more and more that time and schedule have little meaning here.

If we say we're going to meet someone "Amin'ny Efatra Sy Sasany" (Malagasy for "at four thirty") then normally, we would expect to show up at or around 4:30, and then they would be there either directly before or directly after us. In "Malagasy time" this isn't always how it works. If we get somewhere on time, we may end up waiting hours for the other party to actually show up. In fact, it's usually considered acceptable to wait a few minutes, wander off, then check back later. If we never actually catch each other, we'll just try again tomorrow.

The same goes for food at restaurants. In America, we order our food, then we expect it to all come out to us at the same time, all of it hot. Here in Manakara, however, we have been to restaurants where almost an hour has passed between the delivery of the first meal and the last meal. At first, we tried to be polite and wait to eat until everyone had their food, but after a while, we agreed that we will each eat when our food comes. Otherwise we can have a long wait ending in cold, fly-covered food.

I say all this not to complain, but to highlight the fact that despite the fact that it's sometimes annoying when trying to get something done, life here is just slower. We joke about adjusting to a slower pace as laziness or lowering of expectations, but the alternative could be far worse. If we are constantly expecting punctuality and schedules, we would go crazy when it doesn't work out the way we want.

Speaking of time, most of ours so far has been spent getting to know the environment and language. We've been going to the market every day for groceries and supplies, speaking as much Malagasy as possible with the vendors, learning how to live life in a VERY different culture. Overall, our experience so far has been very enjoyable. In fact, sometimes we need to step back and remember that we aren't here to enjoy ourselves. Fortunately, starting tomorrow, we are going to have the opportunity to begin going out into town to ramp up into our ministry goal here: working with the Antimoro people. Please keep us in your prayers, as we will be breaking new ground personally, and for the ministry. Like anything here in Madagascar, we are starting slow, but as we establish a strong base, we are praying that we will be able to launch a strong, stable ministry here.