What are you doing tomorrow?
What are you doing tomorrow? Well likely if you or I were in the United States more specifically living in our daily lives of academics, work, family, friends and hobbies we would know exactly what our day, week and month looked like. Some of us might be planned down to the hours of the day. “For Americans, time is a commodity. It can be saved, spent, invested and wasted” Meyer wrote in Why Americans Are Obsessed with Time. If you were to answer this question while traveling through Morocco you might have a very different response than you would in Georgia. Why? The Moroccan culture is built on a foundation of community and relationships. While meeting deadlines, structure, productivity are part of life the way in which these elements are accomplished are in a way of community development, caring and sharing with one another. Chtatou comments on the relationship with time in Moroccans and the Notion of Time. He says that Moroccans are fully aware of this timeliness of their actions yet still continue to move slowly and take time to enjoy life while romanticizing tardiness and often even making it a joke and considering it normal.
I start by saying this…. I am very much a planner. It moves with me and follows me each day of my life but what I have learned is much of this way of life is out of necessity—to keep up, to be productive, to be in the culture we live in and to accomplish the expectations I set for myself. In reflection, the plan for this adventure was more of a draft of ideas with specified learning outcomes. We have done and seen so much but not all of it is on the day, in the time or location we may have expected where each person has allowed the grace and space for change. We have been invited to sit, relax and enjoy meals together for lengthy periods of time as opposed to the grab a quick bite for lunch and move to the next task or experience. Time is the experience. This time in our schedule is for us to engage in dialogue that is new whether it be with new people or new in content or to explore a new depth. The ceremony of mint tea and treats each day and multiple times a day is providing us an opportunity to create our own community in a land that respects togetherness. I am excited to see how we remove a comfort layer of control to embrace the layer of uncomfortable.
So what are ways to develop the mix between the rush and go-go mentality of filling time with what feels like the leisure of connection? Perhaps we can have some mint tea and talk about it!
Chtatou, M. (2017). Moroccans and the notion of time. Morocco World News. www.moroccoworldnews.com/2017/10/231857/moroccans-notion-time-morocco
I think that the notion of time is one of the biggest cultural differences I've noticed here. They've cultivated an atmosphere of presence and mindfulness for one another. I've found myself forgetting time even exists, a few hours go by in a blink of an eye! They value relationships and community over timely matters, and because of this, I feel like their strength as a community is incredible, and something that many countries may wish or imagine that they have (when they actually don't). Today, the farmer we got to meet reminded me a lot of the time organization skills that we have back home. He was quick to tell us that we had to get up from tea and go see more things! I thought that was funny because that was the first time something like that has happened here. I started thinking about what made him different, and why! Was it his obvious passion for the farm? Or was he used to carrying out his plans timely, because of his occupation as a surgeon (which isn't the time for leisure)? Or was that just how he is?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very relevant reflection, it reminded me of the terms, polychronic and monochronic societies. Monochronic societies, e.g., the US, focus on setting schedules and making plans, punctuality is a priority (Hall, 1997 as cited by Glover & Lew, 2021, p. 2). As you described, in Morocco, a polychronic society, there is a focus on interpersonal relationships and combining tasks, interruptions are not an issue (Glover & Lew, 2021).
ReplyDeleteSo, the way to develop a mix between the two perspectives starts with being deliberate in engaging with people of different cultures and backgrounds at home. Even though the American way is “time is money”, not all people living in the U.S. have this mindset throughout, there are people living in the US that come from polychronic cultures that still prioritize relationships. You are exposed through interactions. Another way is to get more exposure by traveling to other cultures and experience behaviors like polychronicity.
Glover, A., & Lew, C. (2021). Time-use preference and adaptation in relational exchanges. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 19