One bizarre goal I had for the World Race was to drive in every country we work in. I am proud to say that I have been meeting that goal.
I love driving and there is a lot to be learned through how other cultures use (and abuse) vehicles in their civilization. Road infrastructure is relatively new in developing countries, and many locals are first generation drivers who never grew up seeing older family members behind the wheel. All of this culminates to chaos on the streets and a barbaric driving system like nobody in the states would imagine.
I was overjoyed last month to discover our group had a van at our disposal. When our contact asked us on the first day who liked to drive a stick, my hand shot up like it was on fire. Surprisingly, I was the only one.
For the whole month I was the self-appointed chauffeur and school bus driver, transporting everyone into town, the jungle, specific ministries, and wherever else needed to be driven. I even made a few hospital runs, including an intense and exceedingly bloody one when our contact slipped and gouged his wrist open on a bamboo fence. (He’s okay now and has a nice scar to show for it.) Everyday I drove anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours, and I accumulated a couple hundred miles in two of the jankiest diesel vans I’ve ever seen.
(Note: Legally, you can drive in the Philippines on a visa with an American license. But I don’t think the police care too much either way. One time I passed a police van without my lights on and they didn’t even bat an eye, which would never happen in a college town back home. I wanted to get a Filipino driver’s license too, just for the heck of it, but that didn't work out.)
Anyway, I felt inspired to start making videos again, so here is a snapshot of what it’s like to drive in the Philippines. This video is dedicated to my dad, who used to be a driver’s education instructor and will probably have trouble watching it. Love you, Dad. 🙂
(Thanks to help from Alex Compton, Liz Monroe, Ben Fulton, Meredith Cockman, and Imelda Perez.)
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Also, here are a few observations from driving in other countries:
SOUTH AFRICA:
I only drove once here, but the context was difficult, after one of our contacts got robbed during their brothel ministry and didn’t feel like driving. This was my first time driving on the left side of the road (and the right side of the car), which tripped me out at first. Aside from right turns being scary, the weirdest things for me to get used to were: (a) seeing oncoming traffic on the right side, (b) shifting with my left hand, and (c) having long legs so my gas/brake foot jammed into the car door instead of resting comfortably in the middle of the car.
Culturally, I learned how to shoulder drive in South Africa. Most highways have shoulders that drivers will cruise in so the road is more passable and unofficially a three-laned road. Also, I learned about crappy road infrastructure through driving over some of the biggest potholes in Mpumalanga with a pygmy Mazda sedan.
SWAZILAND:
Here I drove a massive Land Rover a few times, which was awesome. Culturally, I learned a bizarre form of unwritten sign language that Swazi drivers use to signal to hitchhikers. Lots of people try to bum rides in Swaziland, and when drivers can’t pick them up they will motion a confusing pattern of hand signals to justify not filling their car with strangers.
Example: Point and wave your hand to the side to show that you are turning soon and aren’t staying on the highway for very long. (We found most of the time drivers stretch the truth on this one, because they want to save face and not pull over to have random strangers pile in their car.)
CHINA:
I knew chances to drive in China would be slim, but I was overjoyed to discover our ministry had an electric tricycle for volunteers to use. It only went 10-20 miles an hour (20 on a full charge, downhill, with no passengers), but it gave us a chance to experience Chinese roads and learn that crossing uncontrolled intersections is like playing a real life game of Frogger.
In China, I learned that there is an unspoken hierarchy of vehicles, a sort of food chain or pecking order of who has the right of way. Trucks and buses rule the road and can do whatever they please, and then taxis come second. Taxi drivers don’t care about getting banged up, so they take more chances and gamble their cabs to bring passengers through the city for maximum profit. Regular cars come third and gas powered motorcycles fourth. Finally, last place is shared by anything that uses electricity or has legs.
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Like I learned with bicycles in month two, there is a lot you can learn culturally with driving. While it may not seem like it at first, changing the way you drive in a foreign culture is a lot like changing the way you act in public or pursue relationships. Adjustments like this are just as important to realize and consider so you don’t get frustrated or crash in a new environment, when you are able to join what seems like disorder and grow to understand it.
A lot changes in new cultural contexts that you have to become aware of before engaging them in the right way. This is very important to learn, whether you’re a missionary, an ambassador, a tourist, or just a driver. Here’s to more permissible driving opportunities, so I can learn even more about other cultures.
Photo taken by Alex Compton
