Ten years ago, I was driving through Cork, Ireland, in a rented Opal, diesel, standard shift, six-speed, on the left side of the road, driving from the right side of the car, with the help of a lovely Irish lass, with a beautiful voice and accent in the onboard GPS, and a lovely American lass, sitting in the seat next to me. My lovely Irish navigator said, “Take the next left.” My lovely American navigator said, “You missed it. Turn here.” So, I turned left and drove into a parking garage with a string of cars behind me, impatiently waiting for me to get a ticket and go through the gate. We got a ticket, drove up a few floors until we saw an exit sign, and came back out into the street.
Driving in Ireland is a harrowing experience. I realized that I have been driving most of my life with my subconscious mind. We drive from the left side of the car on the right side of the road, so our brains are wired to pull as close as we can to objects on the left. We always know how close we are to anything on the left side. In Ireland, I was driving from the right side of the car on the left side of the road, but my brain was still trying to pull the car as close as possible to objects on the left, but I couldn’t judge the distance as well. It’s not so bad on the main highways, which are quite nice, but on the narrow city streets with cars parked on the side, it can be stressful – mostly for my lovely American navigator who saw a possible crash coming every moment.
I hope that person in Ireland got his mirror replaced.
If you want to subject your relationship to a stress test, take a driving tour through Ireland. If you survive that, you’re set for life!
haha. been there. got it. i would not sit in the passenger seat. more terrifying. i think i may have a driving story for every foreign country i've driven in! never a dull moment!