I have felt like I am sixteen again the last few weeks as I've been taking "driving lessons" to learn how to drive on our roads around here. Driving here really takes drivers education to a whole new level. I feel like there are certainly levels of learning to drive...my 15 year old neice is experiencing this...you begin with automatic transmission on neighborhood roads, moving up to busier roads and interstate driving. Then you may learn to drive a manual transmission...the test of course being managing shifting on hills. Well...moving to a 3rd world country, you have to learn defensive driving to an extreme on the more public roads-- I haven't gone there yet. But I am learning how to drive "off road" around our house. In this situation, I'm learning how to manage a manual transmission while dodging boulders in the road which could tear the oil pan out of the bottom of the car and avoiding the bulls in the road. The other day, I chased a bull--completely unintentionally...he should have been tied up, but he wasn't & as the truck approached, he took off...oops!! Probably a long day for some young boy who didn't tie him up well enough & then had to search the valley for his rouge bull.
I had not realized how much I had missed driving until we were home for Christmas. It was so nice to be able to get in our van and go somewhere...even if I didn't have anywhere really to go...just to have the freedom to go to the grocery, Target, or out for a cup of coffee on my own is something I have really taken for granted before living here. I have struggled since returning with loosing that independence again. So, however challenging it may be, driving has made me feel slightly less trapped here. Now even though there is really nowhere to go, at least I can just get out of the house & drive for a little bit.
Amazingly, my two youngest always manage to nap on these crazy roads. While our insides are being jostled to no end, it boggles my mind that they can sleep.
I had not realized how much I had missed driving until we were home for Christmas. It was so nice to be able to get in our van and go somewhere...even if I didn't have anywhere really to go...just to have the freedom to go to the grocery, Target, or out for a cup of coffee on my own is something I have really taken for granted before living here. I have struggled since returning with loosing that independence again. So, however challenging it may be, driving has made me feel slightly less trapped here. Now even though there is really nowhere to go, at least I can just get out of the house & drive for a little bit.
Amazingly, my two youngest always manage to nap on these crazy roads. While our insides are being jostled to no end, it boggles my mind that they can sleep.
Here are some common sights along the road around our house:
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| This is a common sight in the town of Carcha, about 1 hour from our house. |
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| The camions pass our house multiple times a day absolutely PACKED with people. This one isn't really all that full. |
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