I then went home for a family gathering and made my brother and then my brother-in-law take me around town. My brother-in-law is from India and learned stick shift by just buying one and lurching off the lot. A brilliant metallurgic engineer, I would not point to driving skill as his top quality. (See here for a related anecdote.) But with a minimal amount of yelling and a couple of stalls, everyone survived. And we stopped for really good Mexican food. I was all set to borrow my Dad’s car and just drive it back to New Haven, learning as I went. My Mom nixed this idea citing her own nerve-wracking learning experience and, while I hesitate to admit it, she was probably right. But then...I broke my ankle. And could not drive (or walk really) at. all.
So I arrived to Managua, city of a thousand traffic circles, without having mastered the manual transmission. Two weeks in, my colleague took me for a driving test in a diesel truck. The official evaluation was that I had trouble with hills and did not understand how traffic circles work but with a week of supervised driving I should be all set. What I didn’t realize that driving a light car would be totally different. Jeeps, like I practiced on in the States, and trucks (particularly diesel) are very forgiving. On the Yaris (a lovely Toyota specimen), however, the point between sitting still on purpose (for example, at a stoplight) and sitting still by accident (stalling) is very very fine. I was very lucky to have two CouchSurfers staying with me, one of whom was also learning to drive stick and could empathize when I would arrive home and need to cry before doing anything else.
I stalled all around Managua until finally my colleague told me that I would need to get remedial lessons. Evidently because we have a car with official plates it is very bad form to be driving poorly. He said that someone could mention it to the police or even the government and it could come back to hurt the agency. Well color me penitent. Enter Douglas (pronounced Doog-las) of La Escuela de Manejo Llave de Progreso. One of the first things he asked me was if we would have trouble communicating to which I responded with a resounding, “What?”
Our first lesson was unremarkable except for the fact that we drove around the city for two hours with the windows down. A colleague had just finished telling me that driving with the windows down was a surefire route to getting mugged... in addition to sunburned. I arrived at work having sweat through my clothes, with one conspicuously red shoulder, and, luckily, my wallet intact. The second lesson was on Saturday morning so I asked to drive to El Malecon, which google translate tells me means jetty but I don’t know what jetty means in English. Anyhoo, we drove to the shores of Lake Managua where the old city center was. Think of your average small town and you can imagine the village green or plaza with its church and municipal buildings. In a city that area would probably be the “downtown.” Managua was no different. The Malecon houses the National Cathedral, the People’s House, and the National Museum. However, it is not the bustling center of activity that one might expect. In 1972, a huge earthquake destroyed 90% of the city and killed more than 19,000 people (sez Wikipedia). The city was rebuilt haphazardly and largely sprawling away from the center. The cathedral, while still standing, is a shell of a building scarred by gunfire. Efforts have been made to revitalize the area with a new waterfront and government buildings but it is largely empty of people and cars... except newbie drivers and their instructors. There were lots of those. We waved to Daniel Ortega and then continued on our merry way to tour the rest of the lakes in town, one of which was used as a spot to “disappear” political dissidents and revolutionaries.
The next morning Dooglas suggested that I drive as if I know Managua and he’d correct me if I got lost...that lasted all of five minutes. He quizzes me on which highways and rotundas we took to get to a certain place and I always get it wrong. In fact when I asked for a progress assessment he said he is not concerned about my driving skills but by the fact that I never have any idea of where we’re going. Guys, have you seen a map of Managua?
Anyhoo, I was supposed to blindly find my way to the markets. I wanted to see where I could buy fresh and cheap veggies because the grocery store is a little ridiculous and not very fun. So an hour later, I was explaining to Dooglas the concept of “Baptism by fire” as I backed up the wrong way through narrow market stalls to avoid being squashed by a bus.
I asked Dooglas if he didn’t find his job stressful and he answered that he really enjoyed it. However, I did notice that after our first lesson he brought a Bible. Maybe I should try that...cuz I sweat right through all my clothes and feel an intense need for a drink post-lessons. Three more hours of lessons to go!
