A horn is a wonderful thing. Now that I think about it, I didn’t use mine nearly enough when I was driving in the United States. Really only to honk at friends passing by. Oh boy, did I miss out.
After a few months of being here, I think that I’ve finally gotten the hang of the different beeps here in Honduras. So in case you ever come to visit me and have to drive, here is a short lesson.
One short beep = Hey person in front of me. I am now going to pass you even though we are going up hill at 90 kph and there are some sharp curves in the road. I know that I am putting all the passengers in our cars at risk but at least I’m giving you fair warning.
Two short beeps = Hey person stopped in the middle of the road. I don’t know if you realize this, but you are stalled in the middle of the street. So I’m just going to beep and let you know that you’re blocking traffic. Oh, it’s the gringa. Maybe she doesn’t know the rules of the road…maybe we should double beep again.
One medium beep = Hey gringa driving the 15-passenger van full of kids. I know that you’re learning to drive stick and that you’re car says Jericho Ministries so I’m trying to be patient with the fact that you’re stalling every 3 feet. But I’ve got things to do and places to be, so hurry it up a bit or I’m going to have to go around you and make three lanes in this street instead of two and that’s not going to be pretty.
One long beep = This is a good time to close the windows, lock the doors and not look in the rear-view mirror because now all the “semi-patient” drivers are annoyed because you’ve cut them off, or broken a traffic rule that only you have to follow because you’re the newbie. It is also a good time to switch drivers.
Ok, so maybe I have a tendency to exaggerate a little. But sometimes I do honestly believe that these are the thoughts going through the heads of my fellow drivers. One will never know.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Stick to It
I’m learning to drive stick. In a 15 passenger van. In the mountains. In Spanish. In a country where the rules of the road don’t really have to be followed.
Raise your hand if you think I’m crazy. (It’s ok, I’m raising mine too.)
Hae Young thought it would be a good idea for me to learn how to drive stick so that I could help her out with driving, running errands, etc. It does really make sense. Since no one else here at the Villa has a license, I was the first in line to learn…even though I had never driven stick before. My first lesson was on the highway from the Villa to Danli (the closest city)…in Spanish. Just Hae Young, myself and Karl (our loyal dog) on the way to the vet.
It actually went as good as a first lesson can go. Hae Young is a fantastic teacher and so patient and tranquil. We made it to Danli with only some minor stalling and a little shrieking on my part. Since then I have gotten a lot more experience with the kids in the car. The kids are always encouraging me, saying things like “I wasn’t as scared this time when you drove” and “we didn’t pray nearly as much this trip as the last one”. Thanks kids!
But honestly, I don’t know how it is possible to drive in Honduras (on this mountainous terrain where very few follow the driving laws) and not believe that an all-loving God is watching out for us. There were a few incidents where I would see a pick-up truck coming straight at me as it passed another car…and yet they always made it back to their lane right in the nick of time. What’s even more remarkable is the fact that these incidents don’t even seem to bother me at all...thank you Lord for peace!
Learning to drive stick has also been incredibly good for my humility. I can’t think of many other things that are more humbling than stalling a car multiple times in front of a ton of strangers. Or friends for that matter. Often I would get the “I thought you could drive” remark. Yeah I can drive. A little VW Golf that is automatic and half the size of this van. One day I stalled 3 times trying to get to the gas pump. The attendant merely looked at Hae Young and say “keep teaching her”.
On Saturday, I completed my first trip alone to Danli without another driver in the car. When Hae Young asked me to do it I fought the urge to blurt out “what are you crazy? You want me to do WHAT!?” I took the girls with me to be my prayer warriors and we went to the farmer’s market, the supermarket, the agriculture store, back to the farmer’s market, and then to get coffee. What a trip around a city full of cars getting ready for Mother’s Day! But we made it…thank God and I learned that this “jump in with both feet” attitude isn’t so bad.
I always said that a missionary should know how to drive stick…and play the guitar. I think the second one’s going to be a bit easier!
Raise your hand if you think I’m crazy. (It’s ok, I’m raising mine too.)
Hae Young thought it would be a good idea for me to learn how to drive stick so that I could help her out with driving, running errands, etc. It does really make sense. Since no one else here at the Villa has a license, I was the first in line to learn…even though I had never driven stick before. My first lesson was on the highway from the Villa to Danli (the closest city)…in Spanish. Just Hae Young, myself and Karl (our loyal dog) on the way to the vet.
It actually went as good as a first lesson can go. Hae Young is a fantastic teacher and so patient and tranquil. We made it to Danli with only some minor stalling and a little shrieking on my part. Since then I have gotten a lot more experience with the kids in the car. The kids are always encouraging me, saying things like “I wasn’t as scared this time when you drove” and “we didn’t pray nearly as much this trip as the last one”. Thanks kids!
But honestly, I don’t know how it is possible to drive in Honduras (on this mountainous terrain where very few follow the driving laws) and not believe that an all-loving God is watching out for us. There were a few incidents where I would see a pick-up truck coming straight at me as it passed another car…and yet they always made it back to their lane right in the nick of time. What’s even more remarkable is the fact that these incidents don’t even seem to bother me at all...thank you Lord for peace!
Learning to drive stick has also been incredibly good for my humility. I can’t think of many other things that are more humbling than stalling a car multiple times in front of a ton of strangers. Or friends for that matter. Often I would get the “I thought you could drive” remark. Yeah I can drive. A little VW Golf that is automatic and half the size of this van. One day I stalled 3 times trying to get to the gas pump. The attendant merely looked at Hae Young and say “keep teaching her”.
On Saturday, I completed my first trip alone to Danli without another driver in the car. When Hae Young asked me to do it I fought the urge to blurt out “what are you crazy? You want me to do WHAT!?” I took the girls with me to be my prayer warriors and we went to the farmer’s market, the supermarket, the agriculture store, back to the farmer’s market, and then to get coffee. What a trip around a city full of cars getting ready for Mother’s Day! But we made it…thank God and I learned that this “jump in with both feet” attitude isn’t so bad.
I always said that a missionary should know how to drive stick…and play the guitar. I think the second one’s going to be a bit easier!
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