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Thoughts on the Subject of Time and the Nature of Change |
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In the name of change there is much work to be done and, as it is with the nature of change, much of the work will not be done on time. The concepts of time are as vast and varied as are the concepts of right and wrong, life and death, or any other set of parallels one would care to entertain. This being the case, meanings and degrees of importance among individual values are prone to vary greatly from one culture to another. I knew this coming in from preparatory readings, conversations, briefings, expectations and jokes. So noted are the differences in ideologies between the American and African concepts of time that within my first week in Benin I was made privy to the African expression that holds: "In Africa we have time. In America you have a watch." This expression may spark a variety of responses in the American psyche, which could range from contempt for a seemingly idle attitude to a reverent longing for a simpler way of life. As an American, I am bound in the go, go, take, take, turn and burn mentality that has propelled the growth of our nation to the extremes of hedonistic proclamations in advertising such as "Thirty minutes or it's free." Further as a hyperactive American I am bound to faster, more personal notions about how things are transformed from ideas to accomplishment, from goals to realities that propel future ideas and goals, and on and on, may it never end. It is from this cultural mindset and personal vantage that I enter this challenge of time and change. It is from this active arena that I enter a society bound in a very different concept of time within which I must live and work towards the change I am seeking to evoke. In laying a personal foundation for adapting to these differing concepts of time and the nature of change I see immediacy as my best access to the assimilation of my expectations. During this, the technical, cultural, language and physical training period of my service, I have begun to initiate projects that will most realistically be discontinued at the end of my training and the effects of which may benefit no one but myself. In my time here so far I have established a weekly English class and a basketball team. In both of these endeavors I have begun to expose myself to the difficulties I will be sure to encounter again and again due to our differing concepts of time. For instance, when I say that basketball practice starts at 5:00, I can be sure that most of my players won't be there before 5:30. This, of course, doesn't mean I, too, can show up at 5:30, but it does mean I should bring something with me to do while I wait. These early experiences will soon be the foundation I use to devise my plans and organize my time. END | ||||