Time and Space

I think my perception of time and distance has changed since I’ve been here, and I blame it on the buses.

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Not having a car wasn’t an issue at High Sierra or in Sevilla, and only a problem in Azusa when I wanted to go to Albertsons. Why do I complain about it so much here? Of course, Jordi told us at orientation that you were the king of Andorra if you had a car. I guess the rest of us are just ordinary peasants.

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I know that even when you have a car, and even when there isn’t traffic, it still can take awhile to get places. Coming from the states where everything is spread out, I should be used to it. Here it only takes ten minutes to get to a different parish! My whole life I’ve been commuting, living in Lynnwood but having my life take place in Edmonds and going to church in Seattle and Bothell, then going to school in California… you know the drill.

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I think the problem is control. It’s frustrating waiting twenty minutes for a bus that only takes 10 minutes in the end, especially when you can see your destination from your bedroom window. Do you spend 30 minute walking or take the chance you’ll catch a bus in the next ten minutes? You don’t get to decide when you leave or how fast you go or what route you take. With a car it may take the same time in the end, but you have more control (and it’s more convenient if you have to move or go grocery shopping or shopping for a closet or a dresser… things I am suddenly lacking which a suitcase just doesn’t make up for).

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With my life here always seeming out of control, this shouldn’t phase me. But then again, nobody has control over things like time and space, whether they have a car or not.