Musings

I knew when coming to Togo that most Africans had a different outlook on time than Americans. Americans hate when people are late, rush to complete errands and view their time as a valuable work component. Togolese, in my experience, operate on ”l’heure africaine" and only show up at meetings once they know you have already arrived, they bike slowly on the road until they notice you passing them (at which point they speed up), they can space out for hours in a long bush taxi ride, and they wake with the sun, not an alarm clock. Despite this, I have learned that they are surprised when I am on time and respect me for it. I have learned that they get impatient when a bush taxi is full yet the driver takes an additional 30 minutes to leave and we form a comradeship over our shared frustrations. I have learned that they don’t like to wait in line and will march to the counter and demand service immediately without thought of the others already waiting. However, when I refuse the instant service offered to me because of the color of my skin and declare that I will wait my turn, their irritation quickly diminishes. I have learned that they will continue with a time-consuming task even after you show them a faster way, purely for the enjoyment of the company they share. Most importantly, I have learned to slow down and take the all that I can during the quickly depleting time I have left here.