we interweave time and place too in english (or rather in western/european culture)
my daughter lives 20 minutes away (a more realist expression than 5 miles.
5 miles on a country road with little traffic could be 20 minutes too, (if the road is narrow and winding)
5 miles could be 30 or more minutes awawy in a small town, riddled with stops signs.
20 minutes is a much better description of the distance than 5 miles ever could be--
and in my lifetime, the world has shrunk..
at a child, on 4 engine prop, ireland was a full 12 hours away. (the flight originated in NY, but stopped at boston, before heading out to shannon, where you had to change planes to get to dublin airport.
now, with non stop jets direct from JFK airport, dublin is just 6 or so hours away.. (it's half the distance it used to be!)
We might drive miles, but we often measure distance in time.
