Tomorrow

A few days ago, we went to C-Town, a mainstream Jordanian grocery store that also stocks other items…such as clothes hangers. I needed some clothes hangers; more specifically, I needed skirt hangers.

C-Town’s skirt hangers were not marked with a price. That is nothing unusual in this part of the world. But when I took them to the checkout and asked for a price, the guy disappeared for a few minutes, then reappeared – not with a price – but with instruction: “Bukra.” Tomorrow.

After a bit more communication, we got the message. “Come back tomorrow. Maybe then we will have a price for you.”

Really?!?! Really.

As you might guess, we did not return to C-Town “bukra” – tomorrow. I was not that desperate for skirt hangers to make a special trip to C-Town. My skirts will manage just fine on the regular, thin hangers that have been doing the trick for a while already. After all, what is a crease in a skirt when “bukra” might turn into another “bukra,” then another, then another…

Here in Jordan, small tasks often evolve into several-day projects. It might take a week to check off all the items on a simple shopping list. But it’s all good! Things have a way of getting done, even if it takes substantially longer than it would in the States. We were not expecting this to be America, so - hangers or no hangers – we are doing our best to be patient and go with the flow...bukra or no bukra!