It's Just Different

Driving in a foreign country can be a difficult task at best. In the states, the steering wheels are on the left side of the car and we drive on the right side of the road. (Well, we are suppose to at any rate.) We recently traveled to Ireland and Great Britain. My husband did the driving and I was grateful. We rented a car with manual transmission, so he not only had to make the adjustment of sitting on the opposite side of the car, driving on the opposite side of the road, but also shifting with his left hand. My task was to remember that the left side of the car was now the passenger side and of course not to gasp inappropriately.

Some of the roads were just wide enough for one car to pass through and had rock walls on either side. Sure made it interesting when another car was approaching. Someone had to be willing to give and hopefully there was a driveway or some little spot to squeeze into so the other could pass. We occasionally had to back up to find such a spot.

Then there was the roundabout. Great idea as long as traffic was at a minimum. No stopping to wait at a light when there were no other vehicles in sight. It was also great if you missed your exit. You could just give it another go and turn off when you came around to it again. The downside, though, if you accidentally took the wrong exit, you had to go a long way before you could find another roundabout to adjust your mistake. They also worked well when everyone was in the correct lane for their exit, otherwise there was a whole lot of random rushing round the ring. During rush hour it became a circular traffic nightmare.

Probably the most difficult aspect of driving in an unfamiliar country is interpreting the road signs. It's a wee bit disconcerting to read a sign and think, "I wonder what that means?" Oh, well, keep driving. We didn't purposely set out to disobey the rules, but we did occasionally get flipped off or honked at. What with the speed cameras every few kilometers in Northern Ireland(or was it miles there?) we will yet find out if we broke the rules if and when we get a ticket in the post (mail). One chap told us there was no need worry about it because we were foreign and if we got a ticket we could disregard it. Not sure about that, Buddy!

I leave you with one of my favorite signs: "Incident Ahead". Yeah, I figured. Such is life!

Who's On Top?

I have just returned from a trip to the British Isles. To use accurate terminology, I have returned from Ireland and the United Kingdom. Since they don't really belong to England, I can't say that I blame Ireland for not wanting to be lumped in with the rest. It can be quite confusing. Ireland is its own country while Northern Ireland and Scotland belong to Great Britain. The later then, are the united part, but are they really? Scotland, while it uses the English pound also still has their own banknotes, though no coinage. Northern Ireland, though it "belongs" to England seems more Irish than English. There isn't even a sign that welcomes you from Ireland to Northern Ireland. If not for our GPS telling us we were driving in measured miles instead of kilometers, we would not have known that we crossed a boundary. No "check point Charlie", no checking of the passports.

We were traveling in Ireland when the U.S. was playing in the World Cup. The U.S. came out ahead of England and Ireland cheered not for their close neighbors, but for us. I find that interesting. While talking to one of our B & B hosts in Scotland he had no desire to wrestle with me over the fact that Scotland belonged to England. He was resigned to it, but none to happy about it. We were inundated with history and who belonged to whom and when. It was hard to keep up and keep it all straight, but here are some of the thoughts I was left with.

1. It's a power thing. Every country (and man) wants control of or power over another, or perhaps many. Our natural state is to be in the position of top dog.
2. No man wants to be ruled by another. Our natural state is to push back when pushed.
3. No man wants to be associated with something they do not believe in. Our natural desire is to be free to decide, to make our own choices.
4. Man will eventually resolve to live within certain confinements, but still deep inside rebel against the restraints.
5. That resolution will eventually dissolve and the rebellion will have it's say.
6. Someone (or some nation) will still have the power and resignation and rebellion will continue to do their dance.