More Adventures at the Wheel

Now, don’t panic. I don’t plan to bore you with all of my driving escapades (that alone could fill a book), but as an addendum to Sunday's post, I thought it only appropriate to share my most recent near death experience.

It all starts when I notice that the gas gauge has dropped below the empty mark. After putting it off as long as possible (after all, gas is roughly five dollars a gallon!), I eventually drive to the Shell station. However the last time I tried to get gas, there was some sort of problem taking my debit card. On this occasion I don’t have cash, so before they start to fill me up I ask about the card situation. Apparently, the problem is - they just don’t take cards. Well, not my cards anyway. Not Visa, not Mastercard, not even the debit card from my bank right here in Africa. Nothing. I need a “garage card.” I want to throw a fit about how everything is easier in America, but instead, I just smile and tell the gas station attendant that I’ll be right back.

I make my way to the ATM successfully; it’s driving back that becomes a problem. As soon as I miss my turn, I know I’m in trouble. I remain calm though. I will simply make a U-turn…just as soon as I find a traffic light with a green right arrow.

I’m still looking for the elusive arrow, when I see that the cars up ahead are stopped. Lot of flashing lights, but no, it’s not an accident; it’s a road block. I’ve seen them before, but never been stopped. I’m not even sure what it is that they’re looking for. Drugs? Refugees? Dead bodies? Unlicensed American drivers? Terrified, I slowly proceed through the cars and pray that no one will ask me to pull over. What would I do? Give them my Georgia drivers’ license and hope that’s okay? Fortunately, I am waived through. Based on the drivers of the cars that have been stopped, I strongly suspect that this has something to do with my skin color.

But now I have another problem. I don’t want to make a U-turn and have to go back through the road block. Based on recent evidence, I don’t think I’d be stopped, but it’s a risk I’m not willing to take. So, I keep driving. I just need to turn somewhere, anywhere. Suddenly I realize that I haven't seen a traffic light in a while. The road seems to be getting wider and is sort of curving upward towards an overpass as if… it’s almost like… Oh God, am I getting on the highway? My heart is pounding and I start to sweat. It’s just like that scene in Clueless - “Not the freeway!” My eyes wide, I realize that I have to do something and fast. I see a break in the median that clearly states No U-Turn, but what other choice do I have? The sharp curve of the road may not lend itself to being the safest spot for a U-turn, but if I keep going, I feel sure that death is imminent. By attempting the U-turn, I at least have a shot at survival. I take a deep breath and go for it.

My eyes tear with relief when I realize that I’ve made it, but I’m not out of the woods just yet. I still have to turn off the main road before I get back to the road block. I take the next left. Then right at the dead end. Then what? Where to go? Now thoroughly turned around, I have no idea which way could possibly be the general direction of my neighborhood. That’s when I hear the engine sputter, or I think I do. I glance at the gas gauge. I didn’t know it could go lower than it already was, but clearly I was wrong. I turn off the air conditioner to save gas, but I’m still sweating with fear so I roll down the window.

What will I do when I run out of gas? Who will help me? Driving in circles, I begin to develop the worst case scenario. It involves me walking aimlessly though the streets, eventually joining up with a street vendor and hawking plastic hangers at a major intersection until someone eventually recognizes me and takes me back to my home. I’m trying to get comfortable with this image (at least it will make a good story, I think), when it occurs to me that I have a cell phone. I can call for help before I resort to hiking through the nameless streets. Of course, this country doesn’t seem to believe in street signs, so I’m not sure how I will tell anyone where I am…But the cell phone comforts me anyway.

I finally see a street name printed on the curb (I'm serious about the lack of street signs). I’m relieved to know that I can accurately report my location once I run out of gas. It then occurs to me that I have a map in the glove box, and by a true miracle of God, my car is still running on fumes. I pull over and get out the map. In my panicked state it's amazing that I remember how to use it, but somehow, I do. And I only have to pull over and refer to it two more times before I start to recognize where I am. I find my way back to the gas station and fill up the tank, vowing never to let the gauge go that low again.

So I’m learning…learning to drive, learning my way around, learning to keep the tank full. It’s always an adventure though – every time I get behind the wheel I am faced with an unknown journey.

And here, you thought my African adventures would involve lions and elephants…