Learning to Drive

Because driving in Djibouti is such an ominous task, the guys at the motor pool want to make sure we're up to the challenge before they let us drive one of their vehicles. Without a doubt, it was the most fun I've had since I got here. The classroom portion wasn't exciting, but we finally got through it and on to the practical portion.

The course is a dirt field with cones all around and a big hole, at least 10 ft deep, in the middle. Did I mention the goats? If you hit one, you fail. It's the same as downtown; the locals will try to fleece us if we hit a goat. So the plan is to drive around the course in less than a minute and forty-five seconds. The first leg takes you through a couple of narrow paths marked off by cones, and around a narrow turn. Then you have to slalom through some cones, race up to a parking spot and reverse into another that's 90 degrees from the first. You then come barreling out of the parking spot and head into the hole. If you don't brake before you get to the edge, you're going to crash into the bottom and make some very unhappy people. Finally you climb up the other side and stop on the incline. That's the end of the time, but not the end of the test. You then have to prove you can drive up the hill from a stop. Easy enough for an automatic transmission, but they're not. Fortunately, I have some experience with a standard transmission.



(The beginning!)


(Sliding into the parking spot. The back-in spot is the cones on the left side of the pic)



(This is Brian. The angle is all sideways because I was being tossed about in the backseat!)

In case you were wondering, I passed. 1:38, No cones knocked down.

Drivin' like a maniac,

Marty