and just learned about VAR for this tournament. So, I'm ignorant of how VAR is applied in different leagues.

North American sports which utilize replay have an entrenched culture and knowledge and protocols related to replay which have accumulated and evolved over time. In general, replay seems to work 'okay' for the most part with some mostly valid gripes about missed calls or vague rules which pop up here and there.

Does anyone think that global soccer's less mature understanding of the mechanics of replay and lower numbers of officials who are experienced in replay plays a part in the long wait times and poor application of the rules?

The only North American sport that (I think) gets replay right is NCAA football but even they had to take a few years to refine their process. Does global soccer just need more games to nail their take on replay?