A typical African afternoon…
Today I woke up sick. I had already planned to take the morning to get an eye exam to renew my driver’s license, and I also needed to pick the Beeler kids up from school. I put the eye exam off until the last possible moment so I could sleep in and then do both at once.
It was also my first time driving the Corsa, which will be my primary vehicle this time. I’d driven it once briefly, before I left, and struggled with it; so this time I’ve put it off and built up a little bit of anxiety surrounding it. But today it had to be done.
I sat in the parking lot for ten minutes trying to figure out reverse. It’s in a different place, and nothing I did – pushing down, pulling so hard I thought I was going to break it off – worked. I called Matt but he didn’t answer. I texted Kim, who was in a training somewhere, but then figured it out. I headed on my way, quickly remembering there was no power steering, as I tugged on the wheel with all my might. Apparently what I thought I did to figure out reverse wasn’t what I actually did – because when I inevitably went the wrong direction to the eye place and had to reverse again, I found myself sticking part of the way out of someone’s driveway trying in vain to get back out. I kept shifting into what should have been reverse, then pressing the gas – over and over. Each time I edged a little closer to their fence. There was a security guy in a booth a little bit down the road, so I put on my flashers to indicate car trouble versus burglary.
I spent another ten minutes trying to figure it out – by this point clearly missing the window to get my eyes checked – and found myself in one of those situations where you panic for no good reason. Finally I looked up and realized I was surrounded by monkeys – grown monkeys and baby monkeys, signaling to me that I was among friends and it was going to be okay.
Finally I tried Matt again and he answered, told me what I had accidentally done before without knowing it (slid a little lever thing up before pushing the gear to the side) and I was out and back on my way.
Of course I went the wrong direction again. When I pulled into a petrol station to turn around, I looked both ways and pulled right out into oncoming traffic – because I had reverted back to American driving. I narrowly missed a car, and proceeded back to the Westville hall to decompress a little before still having to pick up the kids (which was a little intimidating now that I was seriously questioning my driving skills in this car).
I finished the task and now I’m back in bed to sleep off whatever delirium I’ve found myself suffering from. But I think I’ve made my peace with the Corsa and will actually enjoy driving it.
Next Comes Africa 