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jetlag

Jetlag or whatever

This isn’t Yorkshire. The Pacific Ocean.
August 2019.

It’s five am and I guess I should be in bed, sleeping

Between the intercontinental flight and the bright light outside my bedroom, my body has become confused. Other than the building lights and the street lamps, it’s dark. The birds seem as confused as me as there is a lot of tweeting that I can hear from my bedroom. If I hadn’t heard the tweeting birds, I would have stayed in bed. I got up and had a cup of tea, dehydration is a perfect excuse for not staying in bed any longer.

They drink Celong tea here

Wandering up and down the supermarket aisles, I searched for coffee. It took me a while to find as there is a tiny selection, unless you are a fan of instant of which there’s plenty, meanwhile, I came across the tea aisle. Row after row of shelves stacked deep with boxes and bags, brand after brand, of Celong tea. Beside which, there was a small selection of Twinnings fruit and herbal teas, in tiny boxes that presumably contain only five teabags each, and a decent selection of options for Argentinian Mate, a drink DeepThought tells me is made from the leaves of a plant in the holly family.

I bought a bag of Celong tea leaves and I’m doing my best to develop a love for it by consuming a mug full every few hours. It’s no Lapsang, but it will suffice. I also bought a bag of ground coffee.

My mad plan is to go for a run as soon as it begins to get light

If you’re reading this, it’s because I actually went for a run rather than chickening out. The route I’m planning on taking is easy. I’m going to head straight down the coastline. I saw people taking this route yesterday when I was sitting on the balcony watching the sunset. Because I can sit on my balcony and watch the sunset across the Pacific Ocean. Isn’t that madness? I’m like an odd, off-season tourist in my temporary accommodation. It’s not clear how many people are in the apartment block, other than the doorman, but the answer is not many. There are a few cars parked in the carpark, but most of the spaces are empty.

Talking of madness, we do have dogs

And by we, I think I mean the entire city. The dog situation is one that I’m going to have to learn about further. There are many dogs about, which when you first look, you imagine must be strays, but most look like healthy, friendly strays. They are abandoned. The cars drive slow, I think because of the dogs, which wander around in silence and chase the tractors on the beach. Their coats have a healthy shine associated more with house pets than street animals, and yet, like cats in England, they wander free.

My body remains perplexed, but it will adjust

It’s winter here. A time of coats and jackets, but walking home from the supermarket with my tea, also for taking off my jumper and feeling the sun’s heat on my arms. I’m told there is a drought – is there ever not a drought when you live on the edge of a desert? As the rain didn’t visit for nine months, and then, when it did come, was little more than a mist. More rain is hoped for.