This week, we've done a lot of running around. Monday was a holiday so R was off work and the kids didn't have preschool, so we ended up taking a short trip to Belgium to check out some furniture for my one of my mothers-in-law. (Both R's parents and my parents have divorced and remarried, making our kids lucky enough to have four sets of grandparents.)
We didn't really find what we were looking for, but it was a pretty drive and I like the rural parts of Belgium. Belgium, God bless that country, has a similar highway layout and road attitude in general that's similar to the US. Wider streets, (gasp) shoulders on the roads, exits that are easy to get on to and off of, and the street layout (so far) makes more sense. And, they speak a version of French there. I understand a lot more than I can actually speak, but it's nice to actually be able to decipher what people are saying.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were full of typical running around. Germany is full of traffic circles, which I surprisingly don't mind because traffic circles really do seem to help traffic flow better. In Germany, it's required by law to signal if you are turning, changing lanes, or in general changing the position of your vehicle on the road. I'm sure that's true in most US states too, but I grew up in NC where the intent to turn was most often indicated by the vehicle actually turning. However, in Germany, my spoiled, pampered self has gotten used to seeing signals actually work the way they are meant to work, and when people don't do this (read: AMERICANS) it can get a little dangerous - especially in those traffic circles where the locals take three inches between vehicles as an indication that they can merge into traffic - indicated, of course, by USING their turn signal. So, today, we are happily driving along and probably not paying as much attention as we should when a car stops in the middle of the road to turn left across traffic but doesn't use their signal. Unusual! Then he started to turn, so he flashed his left signal once and then darted through traffic. I saw this a lot today. I don't know if I've never noticed this before or if it was one signal Friday and no one bothered to tell me, but for whatever reason (perhaps because I'm in a pissy mood this week) it really irked me and I felt the need all day to turn on my signal about half a mile before I actually planned to turn anywhere. My maturity level even astounds me at times (snort). Obviously, this is a sign that I needed to go home and stay there to avoid getting a nice, fat fine for shooting someone the bird, which is actually illegal here. In the States, I'm a chronic flipper off-er, so it's been a true show of restraint for me to keep all my fingers where they belong.
Not that I didn't already kinda know this, but re-reading this post has convinced me that I really might want to consider therapy soon. I can spout off about being a good example for the kids, which is true, and about a million other reasons that therapy might be a good idea, but the bare truth of the matter is that I'm finding drivers as rude as society in general here (again, mostly American related) and I'd really like to leave this country without getting into trouble or teaching the kids some really, really bad habits that will be embarrassing and difficult to explain to say the grandparents or teachers. I'll be sure and keep you posted on how it's going =)
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