We were here for a few days and knew that we needed a car. We got a rental car for a few days until we could decide what we wanted to do. We shipped our mini-van from the States, but that won’t get here until mid-August. So, we illegally pile four girls in the back of a small 4 door Peagut (I know that’s not spelled right) and go around town.
Josh is very confident in his driving over here, because he’s done it during some of his travels in the past. Plus, he’s just confident about everything! Me, not so much. I was a terrible passenger.. I just knew that we were going to drive all up on the sidewalk or sideswipe the cars on the left. Sitting in the left side passenger seat is just not a good thing..you feel like you should be driving on that side, and you feel like the car is going to take out a rearview mirrow on a parked car. I say that to preface Josh being a passenger for my first driving experience.
I knew I needed to do it, but I was so nervous, my stomach hurt. I started by telling Josh to please not raise his voice at me, it would make me even more nervous. Just calmly tell me what to do. So, we get started and come to my first round-about...there are about 1 every 1/2 mile over here, I swear. You have to yield to who is coming to you on your right and you have the right of the way of the people coming to your left. Just doesn’t feel natural. So, I”m driving a long with my hands grasped very tightly to the wheel. Oh, did I mention that it’s a standard transmission, so the gear stick is on the left. Haven’t driven one of those since Genny was a baby, so I’m navigating a left handed gear stick, round-abouts everywhere and driving on the left side of the road, but on the right side of the car. MIND BLOWN.
Josh, bless his heart, is trying to be calm. Ever so often, he shouts “get over”...”move over”....”wait your turn”... and finally “IS THERE A REASON YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO THIS CURB???????” I was a nervous wreck by the time we got home. But, I tried again, and I”m slowly but surely getting better. I’m fine on the gear shift (it actually is nice because I’m left handed), and I’m pretty good on the round-abouts, but what drives me insane is that people PARK ON THE SIDE OF A TWO LANE ROAD like it’s a freakin parking lot (or car park, as they say over here). For instance, if you live in Greensboro and you are driving down Cornwallis (which is a busy two lane road) and you decide you want to stop at a house on that street, you just pull over and park. So, now people traveling in that lane have to go into the oncoming lane of traffic to pass your parked car or pull behind you and wait for oncoming traffic to pass. It’s everywhere here...and some people don’t wait their turns...and roads are narrow. It makes me hold my breath and squeeze the streering wheel. If I ever get an audience with the queen while I”m here, I will beg her to outlaw parking wherever you want!!
So, we decide to buy a British car for me to drive around town. Josh can drive the minivan to work. It will be easier for me to navigate the narrow roads with cars parked all over them with a smaller car. We knew our budget and kindof what we wanted. We go to a small, family owned used car dealership that came highly recommended by other US people here. You get good cars, good service and they will buy your car back when you leave. So, off we go. We walk in the lobby, and there are 3 young boys that look like they belong in a boy band (so does every teenager or 20 something boy over here) and they are the owner’s sons. One of them takes us out to the lot, shows us some cars in our price range. We see one, test drive it, decide we like it. We go back inside to tell Boy Band that we will take it. They have already decided to pay the first years tax on it, so that cuts the price down some-we didn’t even have to negotiate with them, they just did that on their own. We hand them our sky miles credit card (the Boy Band #1 says that credit card companies usually charge them 2%, but that’s okay, Josh could go buy a round of beers at their fathers bachelor party he was getting ready to have...seriously, not kidding..that is what he said). So, he charges our credit card, and out we go with a car....45 minutes have passed since we pulled in the lot. Have you ever in your American life bought a car that fast? Never...ever. It took us about 8 hours to buy our van. Anyway, it’s a 4 door hatchback Ford Fiesta and I love it! After driving a mini van for 13 years, I love driving around in the little car! It’s great. I’m figuring out how to handle all the parked cars and how to navigate around them.
When you are a teenager and learning to drive over here, I’ve noticed that you have a magnet sticker on your car with the letter L on it..I’m guessing for “learner”. Leah says the other day, “Mommy, you should have one of those on your car so people will know you are new to driving over here”. Josh just chuckles and says, “Oh, I think they already know that”. Ha Ha
My 2007 Ford Fiesta!!!
Josh took this picture to show the scale of how small the car is! It actually looks like a mini version of our van that’s coming soon! They will look so precious parked next to each other!!
