Working in Morocco is a strange and unfamiliar proposition. It is characterized mainly by doing things that I wouldn't normally characterize as work. Drinking tea is a fantastic example of this phenomenon. I am almost embarrassed at times to admit how much of my work day is spent drinking tea and shooting the breeze. It's not something that registers from my working life in America. I'm fairly certain that if the Moroccan work force were held to the same time management standards as the American work force is, this ritual alone would render the vast majority of them unemployed.
This is, of course, a completely unfair characterization for several reasons. First off is that here nothing gets done if there's no tea. Tea is not just tea in Morocco; it is a social barometer and vehicle for countless shades of social nuance. For example, if the tea served to you in a Moroccan home is cold something is wrong. It could be something as serious as the prelude to you being declared persona non grata, or it could simply mean that you were later than you told them you were going to be and now they are expressing their displeasure. It could be that there is a family emergency and the best that could be done under the circumstances is cold tea. Whatever the case may be cold tea is the first indicator that you need to step carefully.
In a workplace situation finding hot tea waiting for you at a business meeting, such as the ones I've had in the local commune, is a promising sign. It can say a lot of things, but the basic underlying message is that "we have made your visit a top priority in our office; you are being taken seriously and will be listened to." It makes the greetings and handshakes typical of an American business meeting seem crude and obtuse in comparison.
