Driving

When I first got here I´d forgotten what a terrifying experience being on the roads here is. Drivers pay absolutely zero attention to traffic lights or who might have right of way. It´s like an endless game of "chicken" to see who will get out of whose way first. However, it´s only taken me about a week and I´ve managed to develop an immediately attainable state of zoned-outness every time I get in a car. I blithely watch the cars whizzing past about 20 centimetres from where I´m sitting and I don´t even flinch. Perfect.

The other thing I´d forgotten was the Venezuelan penchant for keeping the world and his dog up to date on what is going on in their lives by scrawling it across their windscreens. It´s like an extension of the facebook status update. The updates can be anything from celebrations: "my daughter is graduating" or "my grandson is starting school" to more everyday occurences: "we´re going to the beach". The funniest one that Guillermo told me he´d seen said, "At last! My mother-in-law is dead!"