Sitting and watching

How many times have I written about hos sitting is a major occupation for me here? Just sitting. It is a completely different pace of life. I am often sitting on my front porch watching things. I find I can pass hours at a time just watching the kittens nursing, playing, talking with their mama, sleeping. And I'm just sitting here looking at them. That's what life here does to you. And I can't say I'm bored, because there are million things I coudl do if I wanted to--I have all my art supplies, write letters, go for a run, visit and talk with friends. All these thigns tht could and would occupy my time at home in the states. But here, time is often passed by doing nothing but sitting and wathcing. I'm not sure why that is--is it really that the pace of life here rubs off on you? That because that's what everyone else does, I fall into that rhythm as well? That there just seems to be so much time sometimes, no 9-5 job, no rushing from one thing to the next, more living, so days run into days and hours to hours, and what day of the week it is rarely matters except to inform which market it is. So here I am, more than I ever thought I would be, just sittinga nd watching--looking at things, my garden, trails of ants, leila, kittens, clouds. And as odd as that seems to me, and as much as I remind myself how I had intended to spend all the "Peace Corps down time," writing essays, books, reading, drawing, exercicing, stretching, and general "self-improvement" I am oddly ok with the sitting, although it still amazes me. And still I manage to garner expressions of "You work so much, you do so much, you're always going here, there, you're never at home!" from all my neighbors and friends. Goes to show you the contrast of American way fo life and that here. And currently I am right int he middle. Imagine what my friends in village would think, if they witnessed first hand our frenetic pace of life in the States, where here they think I'm over-occupied if I have one activity a day. It's true that while the developed world might be rich in money, goods, availability and facility of life, the undeveloped world is rich in time. So we in the developed world, do we throw away those riches by trading them in for time, selling ourselves short, never having enough time, enough life to live? Time flies in America. Here too, sometimes it flies. But mostly it crawls. Or rather, it doesn't really exist, until after, after years and years have passed.