March/April

Work has consumed me in the last month which has been a bummer. I was talking with a friend and concluded that work could be described as “character building.” That is one way to look at it! In the chaos of work, I had to learning how to drive Buster and the first week of driving I thought I was doomed! I stalled at basically every stop light/ stop sign and even trying to get the car to start and move! The thought that I made the worst decision in buying a car I couldn’t even drive crossed my mind, but with the help of my co-workers Varun and Helena, I was independent and driving on my own within 2 weeks. It only took 2 weeks yet felt so much longer! I can now proudly say I am driving on the left hand side, not stalling or rolling on hills, and can impress the guys if I ever go back to the states with my ability to drive stick and look cool in revving and screeching the wheels (that part is thanks to doing all the things you SHOULDN”T be doing before doing it right haha.) While learning, I took my first big trip by driving to Cape of Good Hope which is about 1 ½ hours away. The place was stunning in views, and I finally was able to see wild baboons! There was a huge family that we saw just chillin in the middle of the road and one was even sitting on top of a car that kept driving. As they would say in S. Africa it was “hectic” but amazing experience. It just brought back sweet memories of my time when I volunteered at the zoo in Reno while in high school. I was blessed with the opportunity to work with wild animals that most people don’t get to even after years of working at a large zoo. We had a group of 10-15 baboons at the zoo and a beautiful alpha male named Alphie…he was aggressive yet so sweet. Great memories for sure back at the zoo and on this trip to the point. Next adventure is going to Kruger Park and doing a 4 day/3night safari next week!

Meet Buster

I finally got a car on March 14th. His name is Buster and he is a 2007 Opel Corsa. This is my first manual/stick shift car in addition to the steering wheel being on the right. Here is my story of my first night with Buster. Since I didn't know how to drive stick yet after purchasing the car, the dealer said that he could drive it to my work. He was supposed to have arrived at 6pm and didn't come until 8:30pm. He came with his co-worker and my friend Varun and I were trying to inspect the car in THE DARK. Nice way to purchase the car huh? He then tells me he registered the wrong car under my name with the wrong license plates, presents the doc for the other car that is in the lot, and told me that he will come back the following week with the correct documents. If that isn’t funny enough here is the kicker....ready.....we were testing out everything before taking the car and of course checked the lights. The back right light was blinking at different speeds than the left… they had put in the wrong bulb! The guy then all of a sudden walks to the car he had driven in which luckily was a corsa, opens the trunk, removes the light fixture from the car and replaces it with my broken lights...then looks at me and smiles and says all fixed. HAHAHAHAHA. I am still laughing about it....cause that is MY LIFE in Africa!