More Goa...

Time issues.....

After a swift, fresh break in the Far East, a shot of cool winter weather, cosy-ing up in newly acquired jeans and jackets, stocking up on modern goods and exotic snacks, enjoying some light healthy food –as opposed to spice infused and heavily fried meals- and throwing in a bit of love, I left the Chinese hotpot behind to warm up, while I made my way back to Goa, reluctantly at first.
As much as I love the freedom India gives you, being a speck of dust amongst a crowd of unknown faces, the relaxing beauty of living near the sea and the indulgence of daily yoga sessions, I also knew the holiday was truly over I was heading back into work mode. Real work. As in less beachtime, less me-time and more 'e-time'. But I do think I have a fairly healthy balance right now. Just enough work, just enough yoga and just enough free time to be, do, see, live. The funny thing about Goa – and most of India- is that no matter how efficient you try to be, you know that its never going to be the same as back home.

Things take time – everything does, from shopping to fixing a dodgy internet connection, to getting the plumber to mend the water pump, to eating, moving around – just every minute aspect of life here is at least 30% slower than in the west. As a matter of fact, visiting Hong Kong straight after India was quite a shock – from constant waiting and slowness to utter stress, speed and impatience: pressing the elevator button ten times in the hope it might come faster is something I found a worryingly usual practice. Surely the elevator doesn’t register the number of clicks of the button, and even if it did, how many seconds would one really have saved? A couple, or perhaps even enough time to check the phone for any missed calls? Glimpses of a hurried lifestyle.

So ‘what to do?’ as the Indians say so well…. Just adapt and work with them– or rather work around them: understanding how Indians think and operate does help.
For instance, I had to help Joanne (the boss) sort out a big cock up at the local printers last week; they had to print out twenty 400 page-long manuals for an upcoming teacher training course. On the very first day of the course, we hear that the last few chapters are missing – and these were key parts of the manual. So there we are at the printers, with over 20kg worth of paper, looking overly angry (you have to sometimes) and requesting that they print out the extra 80 pages and rebind the books by the end of the day –and in time for the next class. Of course, that’s an impossible task says the boss, too much work, not enough staff today, the books can be ready by tomorrow evening….
‘Nononono’
‘They have to be ready tonight so the students can have them in class by the morning’.
‘But I tell you we don’t have enough staff, they won’t be able to do it by then’.
‘But you messed up, we’ve paid you for an unfinished job, it’s your responsibility to sort it. Find extra staff if you have to.’
And so the discussion goes on for another half hour. Joanne’s voice goes up but she never looses her cool. She’s a small lady but if front of a big bellied Indian man, she definitely stood her ground. Even more than that – she successfully haggled the timing down to the next morning; so instead of having to wait 24 hours, we waited for 12. Haggling is everything over here – even time has to be bargained for.
The downside of this is that you actually waste time having to haggle for time! Does that make any sense? Sometimes I wonder why some aspects of Indian life are so inefficient – they may be charming but not to everyone’s taste. I see many westerners getting frustrated by that, which essentially is just as ridiculous: reacting badly is yet another time and energy waster. Phew. What to do? Practicing patience would be a good option perhaps?

So now I’m off to the market town nearby – by bus. More time involved, more waiting on the side of road, not knowing when the next bus will come. It could be round the corner, it could be half an hour away. Once again it’s out of my control, but that, I simply just don’t mind.

More time consuming blog posts to come…..