Holding Tightly

The clocks in our apartment all show a different time. I've noticed the same in other people's places. It makes sense. The actual time seems almost irrelevant here. If your boss cares, you'll be planning to get there 40mins earlier anyway. Just in case. You know. Traffic. Every Pinoy nods their head and smiles with empathy.

That's right, they smile! They don't stomp their feet and complain. It's just accepted. If you want to get your kids to school you get up at 5:30am. If you want to meet your friends in the evening you all say 7 and know it wont actually happen until 8...30.

But I've decided there's so much more to elastic time than traffic. There's a shift in priorities. Shower your sweat-drenched bod or leave on time? Shower. Plan multiple detours along the way to make stepping outside worth your while or arrive on time. Detour of course!

In fact anything and everything seems a lot more important than getting places on time. I've found most things have changed order of priority for me here. Healthy eating? Down low. When Olive Oil and Truffle Oil sit next to each other in the gourmet section you grab whatever oil is not! Brown bread - who eats brown bread??

Changing priorities can mess with your head but it does make you fight for what's important. And as I watch once cherished 'needs' slip out of my reach, I wonder what life will be like back in Australia. Some things will never be the same.

Photo credit to Jessica Shin