About a week ago (after some delays for repairs and paperwork) I drove home with my new used car. It’s been a life changing experience, for better and for worse. Before going into the details of how my life has changed, here are the details on the car. It is a 1995 Toyota wagon (see photo), with moderately high mileage and a cracked windshield. Cracked windshields seem to be more the norm than the exception here. The car is easy to drive, and has a slightly wimpy (but operating!) air conditioner.
Although I am getting gradually more relaxed, driving here is an anxiety producing experience. People drive on the left side of the road, so I have to get used to things being backwards on the road and in the car. I shift with my left hand and operate the turn signals with the right (at first I kept turning on the wipers when I was making a turn). I also have had to learn again how to center my car in the lane, which feels different with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. This is particularly important because the road shoulders can have steep drop offs as the pavement ends, or can be crowded with pedestrians. Also people drive relatively quickly, but yet slow down significantly for potholes and speed bumps. I am trying to get used to this uneven pace, but often have ended up driving too slowly overall (this is where my brothers cringe when reading this post). I also have had to get used to driving through roundabouts and figuring out who yields for whom. If making a right turn (3/4 of the way around), should I enter the roundabout in the left lane (where people might be expecting me to turn off sooner) or the right lane (where I have to cross traffic to make my exit)? Advice on this matter is appreciated.
The freedom of having a car, however, has been wonderful already. I have been able to make more spontaneous visits to our school projects, and I haven’t had to worry about getting home before dark. It also is easier to schedule multiple appointments for a day without worrying about how to get from point A to point B in time. I can also buy a bunch of groceries and not have to hire a taxi. While I probably will end up spending more money on gasoline (here it’s petrol) than I did on buses and taxis combined, I always felt offended by the high prices that the taxi drivers asked of me. I usually tried to bargain a bit, but sometimes I was too weary for the fight.
While not walking as much could be bad for my waistline, having the car has increased my options of when and how I exercise. Last Saturday morning I had a great time walking in the country alongside a friend riding a slow horse. It was beautiful (see picture). I’ve also tried out a new swimming pool and been to the fancy gym at the Taj Pomodzi hotel with a couple of friends.
I do think that I am seen differently in a car than I am on foot. I am no longer the rare and novel walking white person. Also some of the problems (that I have mentioned before) with people seeing me as a source of money are worse now. When stopped at the traffic lights in a bus, only occasionally did someone tap on the window to try to sell me something or request a few kwacha. Now this happens more often. I also (having gotten my car pretty dirty in the countryside last Saturday) have been asked by countless security guards and gardeners if I wanted my car washed. I was hoping for some rain, but ended up washing the car myself in the end.
Although I am getting gradually more relaxed, driving here is an anxiety producing experience. People drive on the left side of the road, so I have to get used to things being backwards on the road and in the car. I shift with my left hand and operate the turn signals with the right (at first I kept turning on the wipers when I was making a turn). I also have had to learn again how to center my car in the lane, which feels different with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. This is particularly important because the road shoulders can have steep drop offs as the pavement ends, or can be crowded with pedestrians. Also people drive relatively quickly, but yet slow down significantly for potholes and speed bumps. I am trying to get used to this uneven pace, but often have ended up driving too slowly overall (this is where my brothers cringe when reading this post). I also have had to get used to driving through roundabouts and figuring out who yields for whom. If making a right turn (3/4 of the way around), should I enter the roundabout in the left lane (where people might be expecting me to turn off sooner) or the right lane (where I have to cross traffic to make my exit)? Advice on this matter is appreciated.
The freedom of having a car, however, has been wonderful already. I have been able to make more spontaneous visits to our school projects, and I haven’t had to worry about getting home before dark. It also is easier to schedule multiple appointments for a day without worrying about how to get from point A to point B in time. I can also buy a bunch of groceries and not have to hire a taxi. While I probably will end up spending more money on gasoline (here it’s petrol) than I did on buses and taxis combined, I always felt offended by the high prices that the taxi drivers asked of me. I usually tried to bargain a bit, but sometimes I was too weary for the fight.
While not walking as much could be bad for my waistline, having the car has increased my options of when and how I exercise. Last Saturday morning I had a great time walking in the country alongside a friend riding a slow horse. It was beautiful (see picture). I’ve also tried out a new swimming pool and been to the fancy gym at the Taj Pomodzi hotel with a couple of friends.
I do think that I am seen differently in a car than I am on foot. I am no longer the rare and novel walking white person. Also some of the problems (that I have mentioned before) with people seeing me as a source of money are worse now. When stopped at the traffic lights in a bus, only occasionally did someone tap on the window to try to sell me something or request a few kwacha. Now this happens more often. I also (having gotten my car pretty dirty in the countryside last Saturday) have been asked by countless security guards and gardeners if I wanted my car washed. I was hoping for some rain, but ended up washing the car myself in the end.
2 comments:
Heidi,
Wow, you have a car! So brave! Well, hope the traffic is alwayse nice there. :-) Vickie
Hi, Heidi. I am eager to read the advice of someone who has driven on the left, used the roundabouts, etc. Sounds like you are learning as fast as you can. In the U.S., too, there is a huge gap between folks who have cars and those who don't, but perhaps the numbers are reversed and there are so many folks with cars that we don't often "see" the challenges faced by people who are solely dependent upon public transportation. Love to you. Mom
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