Last Sunday afternoon, Esther and I had tickets to a Gospel Concert at the local Dodoma Hotel.
The tickets and adverts said that the concert started at 2pm. We had guests at home for lunch, so I took my time and decided that the concert would probably start a bit late- since this is Tanzania and often events start later than actually announced. I congratulated myself on being adpated to this new culture as we said goodbye to our lunch guests and set off late- arriving about 2:30.
However, on arrival at the venue, not a soul was to be seen! The large hall and stage were all set up, but it was starkly empty. Downstairs, by the hotel restaurant, I found a couple of other MAF staff who had arrived dutifully at 2pm and an Australian teacher from Esther's school.
Esther, her school teacher and I sat down in the hotel grounds with a soda and waited for the concert to begin... At 3:30, the Hall eventually started to fill, announcements began and the lively music started! There was all the time in the world: things often seem to get going when the people arrive, rather than the more English approach of the event starting whether or not the people have arrived...
Sounds like we could learn a thing or two in our often stress filled lives here. What better excuse do you need than to relax in a restaurant with a cooling drink while waiting for the concert to begin.Sounds good to me.
ReplyDeleteYour tale reminds me of a clergy conference once, where we had some guests from Central America. At the end, they were to give us their impressions. What they said about us was, "All church services start on time, whether the Spirit moves or not'"
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