Driving!

Well, it wasn't long after our arrival that we had to jump into the world of driving. We picked up our van the Monday after our arrival and began driving in this crazy world. If you have ever been in a 3rd world country you know what I am talking about because I think they are all pretty much the same. The lanes are really just guidelines of where you might want to drive. All along the roadsides are people--people walking, people talking, kids playing, people going to catch a trike or a Jeepney, people basically not watching for you coming down the road. So we are constantly watching out for people and the multitude of dogs that seem to abound in this country and choose to nap in the middle of the road. If that was our only concerns it would be Ok, but traffic is heavy and as I said lanes are only a guideline.Cars, trucks, trikes, Jeepneys, and motorcycles are constanly swerving, changing lanes, and generally trying to get ahead regardless of what we are doing. The general law in regards to wrecks is that whoever is ahead is not at fault. Which seems crazy since that guy probably pulled over in front of you and tried to get in front of you. I try to drive without flinching and there have only been 2 major incidents when I have actually gasped. Both times Allan was driving. Once was when a semi truck began pulling over into our "lane" and literally came with in centimeters of our mirror and side of the car. I am not joking. I could have touched the side of his truck with out reaching very far. Much closer that what we would consider a close call in the states. The other incident was that same day on the way home. The truck next to us quickly slowed down. Allan began to slow too just in response, when a child darted out from in front of the truck. She was running across a major 6 lane road with outeven looking. This is so common that the truck drivers didn't even seem flustered, surprise, or anything. We on the other hand were shaken and had a nice check of our heart functions (they are working well). Many children (and adults) are killed from crossing the road. They don't even watch for cars. They seemed surprised we're there when we honk at them to watch out. I am not finished telling about driving. I am going to post again about my driving in particular. I will also attach a picture of our van which seems to be a question we are asked alot from the states. Above you can see a picture of a Jeepney and a trike. Both are forms of transportation for hire. A trike is kind of like a really cheap taxi and a Jeepney is like a bus. The Jeepneys are owned by individuals though and the places it travels between are listed on the side.