for a school class, and you may be locked out of the building. Arriving 30 minutes late for a business meeting and you may be passed over for the next contract, considered too irresponsible. Ten minutes late, and you may have missed your flight, or the subway connection, or the last bus taking you home at night.
In Malawi, however, it is a far different circumstance. Time takes on a new meaning, one that may be of secondary importance or, in some cases, of no importance at all. In the city, in business, commerce, medicine, and government, there is an effort to adhere to Western principles when it comes to time. But once you are outside the city, in village areas, you will find time less important.
When it comes to time, relationships are much more important. When you pass someone on the street or in the trading center, you may stop and visit for some time, often to the detriment of reaching your next appointment on time. No one seems to mind or even realize you are late. It is just expected. Even community or church meetings often fail to begin at the prearranged time. It is not unusual for meetings to begin “late” because of insufficient number of attendance at the prescribed moment the meeting was to begin.
So, when you prepare to visit Malawi, be aware that time will have less and less importance the farther out in the countryside that you travel. Relationships and visiting will take center stage, and there will be time later to reach your next arranged meeting. Put your watch in your suitcase. It will have less importance than at any previous time in your life.
