Back to where life takes time
July 6, 2011
I’ve decided that it’s nice to be back in a place where the motions of life take more time than back in America. Half of my reasoning for that decision is that there are aspects of this sort of slower life that I really like and appreciate. The other half is the fact that I’d better like it or I’ll end up getting a bit frustrated for the next year.
This morning I’ve been doing a bit of laundry. It hasn’t been too hard to get back into the swing of things, spending about 15 minutes to clean five shirts, another 10 to do my underwear. Not like America where you can stick it in a machine and leave it.
Yesterday and the day before I walked 20 minutes each way to buy some groceries and cleaning supplies at a nice big store in the Village Across the Street. I suppose back in the States it might take that long to drive to the store and back, but the difference here is the lugging whatever you buy back home with you on your back and in your hands, moving on your feet. Four pounds of potatoes, two pounds of onions, two pounds of green bell peppers, a three-pound melon, a few pounds of dish detergent plus other odds and ends and two new buckets. One nice man sitting at the bus stop asked me why I wasn’t on my bike as I passed him. I said it was good to walk, and also I’m not sure I’d be very good at balancing buckets and bags on the handlebars of my bike. Better just to walk.
This morning I also got half of a bucket bath, just to wash my hair and a few other things. Again, that takes more time than in America. Gotta heat up a tea kettle of water on the gas stove, mix cold water with the hot in a small bucket to get the right temperature, and then pour it over yourself in the tiled bathroom. Lots more time for reflection and thought all around.
