On the Road Again

One of the things I feared most about moving here was the driving.  And it was mostly two things.  First, there is the driving on the "other side."  Lets just call it right-hand drive, since by no means is left-hand drive the only way other countries handle traffic.

I went about 5 days without driving.  Each time we've come to visit, I have to orient myself just to getting in on the right side.  "Feel like driving today?" my husband would ask with a chuckle, as I automatically walked to the right-hand side.  "Ha ha ha," we both would grin.

My easy-entry into the world of driving on the right was shot to bits when we bought a car.  Someone had to drive one of the cars home.  I thought about letting Seth do it, but then grudgingly accepted that maybe 7 is too young to try it out, no matter how proficient he was when I first got my iPhone (he had it up and running and watching Lego Star Wars videos on You-Tube within 1 minute of being in his hot and sticky hand while I didn't even know how to answer a call).

Driving home was a 30-minute, white-knuckled journey of terror on the motorway. "These lanes are the Clip-Ons," my husband helpfully instructed as we drove along some outer lanes. "They were added to the original bridge and we all used to say, never ride on the Clip-Ons, they might fall into the bay! Hahaha!" Yes. Ha ha ha. Spontaneously start sweating. Visions of me plunging my two children into the icy waters below as the Clip-On crumbles away from the main bridge plague the entire drive over the bridge.

View from a clip-on, while I was a passenger of course

I used to be a somewhat rational person. 

Anyhow, I made it home without incident.  I've made friends with my GPS system - how did we ever exist before without GPS?  I have named my GPS system Karen, so I can sing "Oh My Karen" when I'm feeling particularly fond of her. 

Parking lots are worse than driving on real streets wtih real cars.  In parking lots, I feel the most vulnerable, and it is easiest to slip into the old driving-on-the-left ways.  Additionally, for some reason, actually parking the car in a space feels tough.  I think the combination of new car and new driving orientation throws me off. 

The second thing to fear is the dreaded roundabouts.  I get them and they are quite handy little traffic flow facilitators.  However, the right of way  rules combined with signalling perplex me.  I know I'm supposed to signal - but when?  On and off?  And why was that jackass behind me blowing his horn when I was clearly yielding to my right?  Howya like my bird, a**h*le!  This is how we do it back ho. . . oh, excuse me.  I got a little carried away by this roundabout.

So in any case, I have mastered most of the driving.  I will get these roundabouts figured out. I only head to the right-hand side of the car as the driver about 2 times a day. 

And I almost never turn on the wipers instead of the blinker anymore.