Stick Shift and All that Comes With It

“And do you know how to drive a stick-shift vehicle?”
“Uuumm, no. But I can learn?”

This was the conversation I had with Father Dick, the pastor of St. Peter Claver here in PG, about two weeks before leaving the States. After a sad attempt of a quick lesson with Mom in the parking lot of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and through the back roads of Hamden, I knew I was doomed.

When I arrived in PG I discovered just how necessary it was that I learn to drive stick-shift as a great deal of my work with Socio-Economic Outreach takes place in the field – the field being an hour drive on pot hole filled dirt roads with bridges that get washed away due to the heavy rains – excellent. My first lesson while in Belize, my second lesson in life, was with Bobby (my community mate). The lesson went quite well despite stalling a few times in the middle of town surrounded by 50 or more Mayan villagers as they crossed the road, in what we Americans would call a jaywalking manner, so as to catch their busses back to their respective villages. I also had a little trouble with my first hill. This was no small hill; it was more like straight up into the sky sort of deal. Why Bobby decided to take me up this hill on my first lesson, I still do not know. About halfway up the 1.5 lane mountain of a road I caught sight of a truck coming down the road in the opposite direction. As the oncoming truck came closer, I attempted to make way for the vehicle by pulling off to the side of the very narrow road. Not realizing that all Belizean roads have major trenches to prevent the roads from flooding, I nearly drove straight into it. With a good yelp of fear from Bobby, I swerved back onto the road, preventing what could have turned out to be an awful afternoon.

My following driving lessons took place with Frankie, the handyman for all 40 or so churches in the Toledo district. The “operating” vehicle which I drove was a wonderful white 1980 something Toyota pickup truck with a crack in the windshield (right in my line of vision), a drivers seat that doesn’t move up very far, and manually changing wheels for four wheel drive – it’s a beaut. I would have to say that my most recent lesson with Frankie was the most notable. It consisted of a two hour drive, four hours total, to the Sundaywood Village where Frankie had to go and pick up some tools. This lesson was my first time out on the real Belizean terrain – through the bush (what we call the jungle), over water covered bridges, and avoiding wild animals.

Before leaving town, we picked up a hitchhiker, a teacher that had missed the bus out to the village and was late for school. Not to add any pressure or anything to my driving lesson, but now I had a man in the bed of the pickup truck. About an hour of the way through the drive as we were making our way through one of the villages, a woman flagged us down and approached my window. She asked if we could take her and her three children to the church in the village of Conejo, located right near where we were headed. Then the women looked at us again and said, “One moment, you’ll have to wait for the old lady.” A few moments later, an old Mayan woman emerged from the thatched house, moving veerryy slowly, eventually making her way to the truck and up and into the back of it – with a little help from the teacher and the mother. Let’s take a moment now to take a count of the passengers in the car – myself and Frankie (in the truck), a teacher, a mother, three small children, and a very very old lady – superb. I can’t say it was their most enjoyable ride in the back of a truck as my view of the road was often obstructed by the crack in the windshield, causing me to miss sight of a few pot holes here and there, sending my passengers in back up into the air. The old woman held her own and eventually arrived safely, and hopefully unharmed, to her destination.

At this point in time, I think I’ve mastered the stick-shift vehicle – well, I guess we’ll see when I apply for my Belizean license and have to take my driving test. I am also quite happy that I learned how to drive standard while here in Belize, because Lord knows I would not have these stories to share had I been in the States!

Hope all is well back home (wherever that may be for you)! Keep the comments, emails, and letters a comin’!  Miss you all!