Pace

As in many parts of the world, things happen slowly here. I’ve noticed that people walking on the sidewalk move at the slow pace of the person in front of them. I’m still trying to get used to it and usually find myself trying to squeeze through any space I can find in order to walk at my usual speed. Sometimes I try to slow down and follow along with the people around me but it doesn’t take long before I find myself accelerating. My brain knows it makes sense to walk slowly in this heat but my body, strangely enough, hasn’t made that connection yet.

The sidewalk isn’t the only thing that moves slowly. Some people have decided to consider the slow work pace here a problem. The Cebu provincial government is trying to apply productivity pressure on their employees. Three times a day (morning, lunch and home-time) the Provincial Capitol Building sounds a smooth yet startling bomb-raid siren to indicate when people have to be in their offices and when they’re allowed to go out. I wonder how they monitor what people do while they’re in their offices.