Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 8 degrees, chilly, damp, wet, and rainy the whole day.
In the morning, it was raining heavily; I had to go out and take a urine sample to my mother’s doctor for testing. I also took the opportunity to do a little shopping at the butcher’s and the local supermarket.
For the rest of the day, I taught classes until late afternoon and evening. My last class was at 10:00 p.m. and finished at 10:45. It would be impossible or even unthinkable to consider giving a class at 10:00 p.m. if I were in Brazil, but the question is, why is it acceptable to do this in England?
Knowing that there is a three-hour time difference, with Brazil being three hours behind, I have no choice but to accept it in order to work and keep my pupils; otherwise, I would lose them.
Is this a question of adaptation, of adjusting to my new environment and reality?
Is it a different mindset? Knowing that coming to England would require changes in my schedule? Or is it that, as a professional, my mindset has shifted because of all the changes and adjustments I’ve been making in my life over the past few years?
Admittedly, I was a little tired before the last class at 10:00 p.m., but I never once thought about cancelling it. If I were in Brazil, I would have considered postponing the class for another day. The very idea of teaching at 10:00 p.m. would be unthinkable in Brazil, but here it is acceptable.
OK, there is the time difference factor. There is also the possibility that I may be more focused and responsible in my duties as a teacher, as all that I have studied and the changes I have implemented in my life have culminated in who I am and what I do today.
Or, is it also that my body is three hours behind English GMT, so my body is working on Brazilian time, not English time, even though I’m in England? It is also difficult for me to get up early like I have always done in Brazil. The best I can do in England is to get up between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., which is the time I usually get up in Brazil, between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m., considering the time difference.
I have no problem eating only after 2 or 3 p.m. in England, which is also the time I usually have lunch in Brazil, around midday to 1:00 p.m. My last classes are all late, so I’m going to bed at 11:00 p.m. or, at the latest, midnight, which is three hours later than the time I usually go to bed in Brazil, between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m.
It’s interesting that, although I am physically in England, living and working, a significant portion of my schedule is still determined by my Brazilian time and its associated reality and demands. Is it also because I have lived in Brazil for so long that my body and soul are attuned to this time frame? And whether this time frame or even all the time zones around the world have some interaction with each other?
I’m working stupidly late at night, giving classes due to the time difference between England and Brazil. Still, it has seemed physically and mentally normal to me, which I find quite supportive and endearing. Two parallel time zones that you can adapt to both consciously and unconsciously.
I’m not sure if everything I have written makes sense and isn’t just a lot of nonsense, and if others haven’t noticed this relationship with being in one place. Still, your body clock, even after a period like three months in my case, functions as if it were still elsewhere.
Again, I apologise if my observation seems stupid and childish; that’s it. I finished off the night with a glass of wine and was in bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
