Waiting

Waiting for the race

Sometimes I wonder what percentage of my time here on Clove Island has been spent waiting. Since most times mentioned for events are not exact, I'm often caught waiting.

Like the other day when I went to watch a friend run in a relay race. We were told that the race would be a 9 AM. At 8:00 we were told that it was for sure starting soon, maybe even before 9. So I hurried down to the starting point to watch. Well, it didn't start before 9. Soon we found out that our friend was running the first part of the race, so we moved a little ways away to wait, excited to cheer her on at the relay point.

Waiting for skits to start

Two hours later, we were still waiting and finally they closed the road for the race. Cheers heard, they've started! We waited for the runners but our friend wasn't in the group. No! Her relay point was even earlier than we'd thought and we completely missed watching her run.

Two hours of waiting, and then not even seeing what we came for.

Sometimes it's just the taxi system that causes me to wait. Recently I invited a friend to go up to a mountain village with me for some English students' final exams. We went to road at noon to catch a bus up to the village. And forty minutes later we caught a bus. During that time period we saw lots of busses, but none of them were going where we were going.

Why didn't you just plan your departure time by the bus schedule? you ask. Well, there is no bus schedule. You just try to leave enough time in your schedule to wait.

More waiting

Yes, I plan my waiting. Instagram stories were made for waiting. While I wait I strike up conversations with nearby people, read on my phone, take pictures, and make plans. I also have a flashcard app on my phone that I use to review new island vocabulary.

But sometimes I just get tired of waiting. Seriously, I could be home doing things, and here I am not knowing how long is left in this course of waiting. Does knowing the end goal make it easier? Maybe, maybe not. But I think we're always waiting for something.

What are you waiting for?

Do you ever get tired of waiting too?