04/01/2025
One of the things I didn’t learn easily when I started living abroad was understanding time. Weird, right? Let me break it down.
On my first day at work, since the job required a lot of documentation, I had to note the time for certain things. It was afternoon, and I wrote down 2:20. My colleague saw it and said my time wasn’t correct. I was confused—how could it be wrong? I was sure it was 2:20. Then she explained that they use the 24-hour clock, not the 12-hour format. I still didn’t get it until she showed me that I should write 14:20 instead. In my mind, I was like, Nawa ooo.
Though it seemed simple enough, I kept forgetting and needing corrections until it finally stuck.
Then came the next hurdle: telling time in phrases like “quarter to 8” (7:45), “ten past 11” (11:10), “half past 12” (12:30), and “quarter past 3” (3:15). Even now, I have to pause, think, or say it in my mind before speaking confidently. Sometimes, a patient will ask me what the time is, and if I answer in the traditional way, like 8:30, some of them won’t understand until I say “half past 8.”
Adjusting to these little cultural differences wasn’t easy at first, but it’s been a learning process. Every day brings a new twist, and I just laugh at myself and keep going.
