Tales of Repatriation

America 101 - Life in the Middle

Nairobi sits squarely on the equator — more or less. I never thought about what that would mean until I lived there and the sun came up at 630AM and set at 630PM. 12 hours up and 12 hours down — every day. There is no magic hour — it's more like a magic 7 minutes. Soon after moving to Kenya, I could, within reason, estimate the time simply by looking outside. It was an odd and unique experience.

Singapore, also sits very near the equator and when I shifted into the city/state, my brain and my body remained in sync give or take 15 minutes.

My brain liked living the 12/12 lifestyle. I always knew what time it was no matter where I was in either country and the days flowed.

I am absolutely not on the equator any longer. Not only is the sun up at a different time every day but it also sets for what feels like 3 hours. Every filmmaker longs for "magic hour" — that period of time when the sun sets and the light remains perfect for filming. I haven't lived with a magic hour for a very long time and it's a bit strange to now live in one that lingers for what feels like eternity.

I have absolutely no idea what time it is — ever — and my body is unhappy. My sleep remains confused 8 days after arriving.

I set alarms for 7AM, 5PM, 7PM, and 10PM so that I wake up at a reasonable hour (not 4AM or 8AM), remember to start thinking about dinner, eat dinner, and go to bed. Without these reminders, I am losing all sense of time and find myself looking up at the clock only to discover that it's 9PM and dinner will be a cup of soup.

There is an island resort in the very south of Kenya who developed their own time zone because they could not get workers to show up on time. Rather than try to change the culture, they changed the time by an hour and everyone is on time.

In Cairo, you'd never show up to dinner on time — you had to be at least one hour late. If you actually showed up on time, the host knew it was an American at the door and you sat in the living room while they got ready for the party. In Kenya, unless I was working on a film set or meeting film people, showing up within the agreed hour was on time.

My former ad agency boss and mentor from the early days at FCB, Linda Arett, once told me, "If you're early you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, you're fired" when I showed up for a 9AM meeting at 9AM. I've never forgotten her lesson and shared it with colleagues over the years with mixed results. It is a wholly American trait to be obsessed with time and it's difficult to introduce into new cultures where few have ever worn a watch.

I've gone from being early to being on time and now I know I am going to be late until my body and brain accept this deceptive, new sun.

I may not survive Daylight Savings Time.