i haven't crashed. yet.

after weeks of being a passenger, i finally purchased a car.  i am disappointed in it's normal-ness.  it's a honda and it has a super boring name.  sm-x.  i was really hoping to score a "fairlady z" or even an "every."   it feels like i'm driving a mini-van because it sits so high up.  i thought about rocking a mini-van so this is the next best thing.  except, it's a three door.  two doors on the passenger side, and one on the driver's side.  super random.  my only complaint is that it smells like cigarette smoke.  whenever i turn on the heat or a/c, i get a nice whiff of smoke.  i need to febreeze the vents or take up smoking.

my pride and joy.  until i get my apartment.  i need to name her.  suggestions?


driving on the left side of the road has had me all worked up since i got here.  however, it hasn't been that scary or unnatural.  i think being a passenger for several weeks helped me to acclimate to the driving situation.  i do turn on my windshield wipers pretty regularly when i am attempting to turn my turn signal on or off.  i have not turned into oncoming traffic (knock on wood) but i have gone over a few curbs in my attempt to stay as far away from other cars as possible.

driving here is interesting.  the fastest speed limit i've seen so far is 60 kph (about 45 mph).  a lot of times it is 40 kph (about 25 mph) so it takes a while to get anywhere.  it's against the law to talk on cell phones while driving so people will just pull over where ever they are to answer their phones.  they put on their hazards and chat it up.  motorcycles can go in between the lanes so they are always zipping around, especially at red lights.  they go to the front of the line.  it's a bit terrifying.  people don't really seem to have road rage here.  they just smile as people cut them off or suddenly stop in the middle of the raod.  it's nice but i'm sure the slowness of it all will eventually drive me crazy. right now, i'm grateful that i'm not the only one driving under the speed limit.  speeding tickets are crazy expensive, like in the thousands, so that is another motivator to drive the speed limit.  they have speed cams and if they catch you, you get a hefty ticket in the mail.  parking tickets are upwards of $200.  american owned vehicles have "y" license plates and they sometimes target those plates because americans are rich.  it's a fact.

the road system is chaos.  my coworker accurately described it as "someone took a bunch of noodles, threw them on a piece of paper, and said 'this is how we should build our roads.'"  however, the nice thing about living on a small island is that you can't get that lost.  and there are so many military bases here that if you get lost, you just ask where the nearest base is and go there.


i could write 50 posts about the driving here.  it's a bit ridiculous, sometimes hilarious, and always a little bit unsettling.