Why things take longer here

One of the things I heard over and over after moving to Morocco is that "things take longer here." Of course, when we say "longer," we mean "longer than they take in the United States or, perhaps, Europe."

So what things take longer in Morocco, and why? Let's start with something basic – shopping. As much as I hate Walmart, it represents the convenience of shopping in the United States. You can walk into a Walmart and get virtually everything you need, including eyeglasses, a haircut, prescription medications, clothes and groceries. While the large Marjane stores in Morocco may some day be like that, for now there is no such convenient shopping center in Morocco. Even if Marjane does become like Walmart, I doubt small towns like Ifrane will ever have their own Marjane, and I suspect the costs will remain out of range for the average Moroccan.

Especially because I live in a small town, then, if I have a long shopping list, I have to go to several places, sometimes even several different cities, to attempt to get everything. In fact, I think most foreigners always have a "wish list" in their heads, a list of hard-to-find shopping items that they always keep an eye out for everywhere they go. For someone like me who hates shopping, that list is a constant, irritating presence in the back of my mind.

Much of the shopping we do is focused on feeding our families. There's no such thing as triple-washed bagged baby spinach or organic spring mix here. I don't have a freezer full of frozen pizzas. (I think my oven would be too small for frozen pizza anyway.) We cook with more raw materials here, and the effort required to get them to "edible" is greater. Fruits and vegetables always need a good washing and often need a good sorting. I have found that beans can be particularly labor-intensive because of all the rocks, twigs, and unidentified seeds that are mixed in with them. (I'm not even going to mention the bugs.)

Cleaning and laundry take more time. I think most people in Morocco still hand wash their clothes (or, if they have enough money, they pay a maid to do it). Going to the bank takes more time. (It's a "take a number" situation, and no matter how many bank tellers appear to be working on a given day, they will all be working at the same counter so that only one person is helped at a time.) Medical care often takes more time, especially if you're poor. (A friend's maid, who recently found out that she has breast cancer, spent two days at a doctor's office in Rabat waiting to make an appointment.) Getting your food at a restaurant takes more time. Getting the waiter to notice you and bring you your bill takes more time. Getting something you ordered from Amazon takes more time, and you might feel lucky if it ever arrives at all.

I think I have learned, and probably will continue to learn, a great deal from living in a culture in which many things take more time than they do in the culture from which I come. I can definitely learn from Moroccans how to be more patient. Moroccans are very, very patient people (with the bizarre exception of when they are driving). Moroccans seem much more willing and able to wait at the bank, to wait for medical care, to wait to eat a meal (during Ramadan). While sometimes I feel this waiting springs from social injustice (I'm very convinced that medical care is entirely inadequate here), I also think it is often "character building." I am almost daily forced to consider whether what I think constitutes "an emergency" really does. I am forced to face my own impatience and, yes, sense of entitlement.

I also often think about the fact that Americans always seem to be trying to "save time," but it's not clear to me what it is we want to do with that time. Surf the Internet? "Poke" people on Facebook (whatever that means)? Watch America's Next Top Model? Maybe this is a pipe dream, but when I go back to the United States, I don't want to have to "save time."

I am starting to sort out those American timesavers that are good and useful from those that are silly or unnecessary. Ambulances: good. 911: good. Triple washed spring mix: convenient, but ultimately unnecessary.