Getting around has gotten a lot easier now that I’ve passed Koekoes’ driving test and have the keys to the “bucky” aka “pickup.” Yes, it’s a stick shift and YES, I am sitting in the driver’s seat, and NO, I do not drive on the “wrong” side of the road; I drive on the “other” side of the road. I also drive in kilometers instead of miles (!) and do my best to avoid the assortment of traffic also using the road:
- taxis that travel 20-30 kph instead of the posted 60 because they are trying to pick up fares along the way,
- Toyotas. It seems 9 out of every 10 vehicles is a Toyota of some kind.
- goats, chickens, donkeys, cattle
- school children who prefer the even surface of the road to the rocky uneven ground. They are used to the cars, but I am not used to them and am terrified that they will dart out into the road.
- Adult pedestrians in the town. There is a saying in the language of Setswana: “the car can see me,” which translates into fearless walking all over the main road in the busy sections of town. Since the car can supposedly see people, the car is supposed to avoid hitting them--no matter where they are walking!
So, truth be told...driving isn’t very relaxing, but it is nice to be able to go into the office a bit more often to email Bob and get online for the girls math books. (They don’t think that part is so nice!)
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