Once Upon a Chadian Time

Moving from my life in Canada, where:

Things are measured to the second

Time can not be wasted,

We are always in a hurry,

and rushing to get everything done.

This past year in Chad has been a welcome change. Before arriving I was a little nervous, because I had quite liked the culture of planning a million things into my day so that I was always on the verge of being stressed.

Being On time/Late

But time in Chad is different. While things may have a start time, it is unlikely that they will actually start at that time, or if they do, few people will be present at the start. Concerts will advertise that they begin at 3pm, but they will actually start at least a half hour late, and the majority of people will show up an hour late. Even church which starts at 8:15 often has a mere 30 people at the start and by the end there are over 800 people in the pews.

While I do enjoy being on time, this year has taught me not to be anxious if I am late, as even if I arrive 15 minutes late, I very well may be the first person at a meeting or event. It can be frustrating for planning purposes but time is more fluid here and people arrive when they can.

Chadians often joke that they may be saying that ‘they are arriving’ when in reality they are at home, and still have to prepare a meal, shower and get ready. Well, just to prove that I have become a real Chadian, I needed to keep time like a Chadian. One day, I texted a student at ISETAER (the agriculture school that uses the same building as CENTRAM) to tell her I would be at school from 8:30-10:30 if she wanted to take my memory stick to print pictures. So I showered and was starting to get ready when the power came on at home. I decided to do a little marking of my midterms when suddenly at 8:38am I got a phone call asking where I was. Well I told her, “Je suis en route.” I am already on my way! Well in reality I had to get dressed, brush my hair, back my bag, and bike the 12 minutes to CENTRAM. I arrived and was informed that I was indeed following Chadian time!

Visits

In Canada we expect that if people are coming over to our house, they will tell us a few days before hand or at the very least call, or text to inform us they are stopping by. In Chad this is not the case. You are free to stop by at any time to visit and if there is food or tea ready, it will be offered to you. My favourite time for visitors is at 6am! I get up around 6:15am and sometimes there is someone outside to greet as I make my way to the bathroom. Would you welcome someone with a smile if they showed up at your house unannounced at 6am?!