Blog 169:
Get
set, GO!
Flag
a tricycle
Ride
out to the main road
Pay
the Php7.00 fare
Take
a bus or a jeepney
Pay
another Php12.00 fare
Head
to the SSS Office
Queue
at the makeshift ‘Forms Assistance Desk’
Sign
up for the specific form
Head
to the ‘Service Waiting Room’
After
picking up yet a queuing number …
Get
yet another of culture shock!
What? I’m number 312?
Do
I stay, or try again tomorrow, only earlier?
It’s
only 1:20 PM; I should stick it out
It
is a test of real-to-goodness patience, I tell myself.
I
fidget … I look in my Messenger style bag …
What
do you know; lucky me!
I
have stashed in my bulky bag a magazine to read.
For
now … I’m A-OK; no privileges here (I remind me!)
Three
hundred eleven people are before me
Who
am I to complain?
I
muse at thoughts between printed words …
“I
might not make it back into this culture
If
I decide to really come home … for good!
After
many experiences of quick or self-service …
After
many years of instant gratification and ‘no-waiting’ …
After
many years of ‘I need this, so serve me now!”
In
far North Carolina
I
just am not sure …
I
don’t really think that I could make it …
Singing,
breathing, living
In
the midst of bureaucracy
In
the unending red tape
In
the ways of goings and comings
Here
and there –
Wrapped
in Manila
No comments:
Post a Comment