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Driving Ambition
Jul. 30th, 2006 12:23 amBerkeley confuses me. Even though I've now been here for a total of about two months in my life, I'm still not entirely sure how it all fits together. I can find my way around on foot as far as the supermarket or video store, but it's the Circle and tunnel at the bottom of Whitney's road that I'm most worried about. Go around from the Circle once and you arrive at the tunnel underneath it. Go around again, following the same route, and you're back at the circle. It's like a giant Möbius strip, but you can't see the curve.
And today, for the first time, I was driving on American roads. I was being taught my Malcolm in his MGB - quite a step up as I hadn't driven any car but a Ford Fiesta before - and he wasn't nearly as terrified as I thought he would be. I, however, was - particularly as I can't help but feel something life-threatening has happened to me at least once every time that I've been driven out of Mariposa Avenue.
I thought that the only difficult thing would be the move to the right hand side of the road, but it really does feel like learning to drive all over again. The gear lever is what I had the most problems with, as there's a total of about two square inches of space for the four gears. And having the handbrake on the right is awkward as well - I kept on pawing at the doorhandle when stopped at traffic lights. Which don't follow the same order as in Britain, incidentally.
After driving round an abandoned car park for a while, I sort of accidentally turned on to a road, and eventually found that the best way to drive without hitting anything was to stay as close to the central line as possible, using it as a reference rather than keeping close to my side of the road as I would in Britain. With the sensitivity of the accelerator, I didn't feel so much as if I was driving as steering a guided missile, veering it continually away from impact and the resulting huge fireball.
After the wide roads and getting used to the continual Stop signs (and I'm still certain that someone is going to plough straight into the side of me at every junction), we headed back on the road to the house. This was the best bit, as all that I needed to do was steer the car and avoid any stray buses or old women. And when we reached the Circle, I was proud to be one of the few drivers on the road that understood it, with roundabouts being landmarks rather than simple road devices in California. It was just like the Haudagain, but backwards.
I think getting the car back in the same shape as it left is quite an achievement. I may even be able to drive it away from our wedding in a week.
And today, for the first time, I was driving on American roads. I was being taught my Malcolm in his MGB - quite a step up as I hadn't driven any car but a Ford Fiesta before - and he wasn't nearly as terrified as I thought he would be. I, however, was - particularly as I can't help but feel something life-threatening has happened to me at least once every time that I've been driven out of Mariposa Avenue.
I thought that the only difficult thing would be the move to the right hand side of the road, but it really does feel like learning to drive all over again. The gear lever is what I had the most problems with, as there's a total of about two square inches of space for the four gears. And having the handbrake on the right is awkward as well - I kept on pawing at the doorhandle when stopped at traffic lights. Which don't follow the same order as in Britain, incidentally.
After driving round an abandoned car park for a while, I sort of accidentally turned on to a road, and eventually found that the best way to drive without hitting anything was to stay as close to the central line as possible, using it as a reference rather than keeping close to my side of the road as I would in Britain. With the sensitivity of the accelerator, I didn't feel so much as if I was driving as steering a guided missile, veering it continually away from impact and the resulting huge fireball.
After the wide roads and getting used to the continual Stop signs (and I'm still certain that someone is going to plough straight into the side of me at every junction), we headed back on the road to the house. This was the best bit, as all that I needed to do was steer the car and avoid any stray buses or old women. And when we reached the Circle, I was proud to be one of the few drivers on the road that understood it, with roundabouts being landmarks rather than simple road devices in California. It was just like the Haudagain, but backwards.
I think getting the car back in the same shape as it left is quite an achievement. I may even be able to drive it away from our wedding in a week.
