A nice thing happened at St. Fidelis this past week. Thanks to a generous grant from Missio, a Catholic aid agency from Europe, the seminary was able to replace one of its aging vehicles.
Brought up from Lae, PNG’s second largest city, six hours east of Madang, a brand-spanking new Mazda pickup was waiting for Br. Jim at the Archdiocese Headquarters this Saturday morning.
I suspect that Br. Jim had a great time bringing it back to the school, trying out the radio and other gadgets. No doubt riding in a vehicle with that “new car smell” and lacking any rattles is a rarity in PNG.
I look forward to getting behind the wheel. I’m all legal now as Nate and I both got our PNG driving licenses last week. Apparently having an Oklahoma license is a golden ticket here. No questions or tests were needed to get the PNG one.
Like most former British territories, traffic drives on the left side of the road. It really takes some getting used to because all the traffic seems to be in the wrong place and I don’t trust my reflexes to move in the correct direction should something happen.
Say some prayers for us as I practice my new mantra: “Drive Left, Drive Left, Drive Left … ”
One thing I remembered from my linguistics classes is how to say “roundabout” in Swahili: kipilefti. Hopefully, that will be a good reminder to you to “Keep Left”. 🙂
And I see that you are using some Britglish now with Driving Licen(c)e! 🙂 As far as your Oklahoma Golden Ticket: it’s an American driving licence, and therefore, that implies you know how to drive. It must be good enough for them. 😉
Thanks for the update, Steve! 🙂
There probably aren’t any but should you meet up with a traffic circle (or rotary, don’t know what they call them in your neck of the woods) think COUNTER CLOCKWISE 🙂
Wow, shoot some video of you driving the new car! How cool! I’d never trust myself to drive on the left, I’m bad enough on the right!
Scuba Steve, it’s amazing how much different you look having been in PNG for over a month now. You’ve grown a beard, lost weight, and gotten a bit shorter.
Wow, what a nice gift!
Don’t forget to look right before crossing the street!
Oh, that’s right. Who was that who almost got smashed in Dublin? Or was that London?
Dear Steve,
Drive left.
Love,
Your Friends Back Home Who Like You Alive
Thanks for the reminder! 🙂