Insha'allah

Here in the Sandbox they have this word that they use more than any other. It was actually the very first word that I learned in Arabic because we heard it so much. Insha'allah means 'if it is God's will'. And so the people here use that as an answer/excuse for everything. The plumber for our apartment is going to fix the flooded kitchen 'bukra insha'allah' Tomorrow, it is God's will. Loosely translated, he said 'I will make absolutely no effort to come and work, but if it is God's will then I will somehow appear there with my tools and your kitchen will be fixed tomorrow. Needless to say, I don't have my hopes up for the kitchen.

So I used to despise this word because it is just a polite way to say no while saving face and not actually saying no. I got frustrating b/c you could have an entire conversation making plans to do something only to end the conversation with insha'allah. However, I've found that I can use this word to my advantage. Will I be available for a 'meeting' tomorrow at 8am? Insha'allah, meaning, I can maybe make it by 9.