Transportation around the world is always interesting. Traffic can be crazy and most of the countries we have been in seem to have no traffic laws, or if they have them, people don’t follow them. Over the course of the past 11 months, I have grown increasingly thankful for the drivers who have braved these perilous streets. Here are just a few of my favorite drivers:
El Salvador
Alberto
Alberto was our month two contact. He was quite the character and his driving reflected it! However, he got us places safely in the big purple van and we only hit one car over the course of the month! I’m pretty sure his goal was to make us all carsick as we went around the roundabout for the 5th time with Backstreet Boys blaring at us.
Travis
Travis is a squadmate, the only one of us who could drive a stick, so he was elected to drive the pickup truck, usually with two people stuffed up front and six of us riding in the back, wind (and sometimes rain) blowing our hair crazily around us as we sang at the top of our lungs (and by “we,” I mean the other five people!) I actually preferred the truck to the van because I knew I could trust Travis with our lives as he attempted to follow Alberto’s crazy driving.
Nicaragua
Steven
Steven was our Nicaragua contact. I don’t remember much about his driving, so it must not have been too bad. I do remember stuffing at least twelve people into the car that seats seven to go to dinner and Steven running back to the car after dropping us off at the bus stop so he didn’t have to say goodbye.
Cambodia
Allyson, Amanda, and Hayden
The last couple days in Cambodia, we decided to rent mopeds to run around Phnom Penh. Allyson, Amanda, and Hayden were our brave drivers and dodged in and out of traffic on these crowded streets. We did pretty well with only one minor accident in those couple days. This was probably my favorite mode of transportation!
Kenya
Samuel
Favorite. Driver. Ever. Samuel drives for the ministry we worked with, Camp Chemi Chemi. Going anywhere in Kenya takes forever, so we spent lots of quality time in the car with Samuel. Samuel’s favorite color is brown, favorite animal is a cow because it gives you milk, and favorite milk shake is vanilla. This gives a great picture of what Samuel is like. We knew we could count on Samuel and by the end of the month, I’m pretty sure he was sad to see us go!
Kennedy
Kennedy only drove us a couple times, but he quickly became a “big brother,” who was protective of us all at a time when we needed it. In a culture where physical affection is not shown, Kennedy would protectively put an arm around as us he walked us with an umbrella to the van, making sure we were safe and dry.
South Africa
Linden
Linden is a school bus driver who makes driving us around his ministry. He takes us anywhere we want to go for dirt cheap, basically just charging us for gas. He looks out for us and gives us suggestions of places to go, genuinely wanting us to have a great time. More than just a driver, he’s a great friend!
