In Africa, it's more important to take time to welcome people than to be on time. So, being late is not offensive. So it was that Nate and Kate had stopped by to visit a local leader and been delayed with coffee and treats. Even though they told their host they needed to retrieve the kids from school, protocol dictated no shortening of the visit until all the coffee had been consumed.
Chris and Maggie rely on the Goodwill ambulance for transportation, which was no where to be found at our pre-arranged 5:30 meeting time. It was much later when Chris was finally able to located their driver who had forgotten our appointment and was happily working away on another project in the ambulance.
These explanations began the story telling. Chris talked about the crippled man who had been given a hand-propelled bicycle by Goodwill. Since he was able to transport himself, he borrowed money from a local man to support himself. When the business failed, the man confiscated the bike in lieu of payment. Chris and his driver have spent most of 3 months trying to arrange for the return of the bicycle. After countless hours of negotiation, a deal was struck that Chris would give the lender $50 cash for the return of the bike and $50 more would either be paid by the borrower or Goodwill in 6 months. Of course, the exchange had to be "official", so a legal document was drawn up. Everyone, including Chris, had to sign this paper and be fingerprinted!
Since everything was negotiated and written in Swahili, Chris had to rely completely on Abdella for guidance. When prsented with the ink pad, Chris got very nervous. Abdella assured him that he had NOT just put up his wife and daughters as collateral for the bike!
Life in Africa has called for many adjustments to the culture, but one thing has been universal. Time spent to cultivate friendship is always worthwhile.
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