Thursday, July 30, 2009

I'm Surprised I'm Not Dead...Yet

In response to some complaints, okay one complaint, I now provide the following entry.

Here are some things to note about Rome:

1) The drivers here are insane! The rules of the road are mere suggestions no one takes. Weaving in and out of traffic is the norm and signal lights are rarely used. Nuns are no better than the rest. Sr. Pat, although I love her dearly, is a prime example. She weaves in and out of traffic with the best of them. "What do you want?" she shouts at a driver she just cut off. "I have the right of way," she shouts to a pedestrian. On approaching an intersection where she needs to make a left turn Sr. Pat does not wait patiently at the red light behind the driver that arrived first, instead she swerves around him into the intersection and waits in the middle of the to make the turn. Another driver follows her example. The driver we cut honks to make his displeasure known. Sr. Pat takes no notice. She also takes no notice of 'Stop' signs. She brakes slightly but it is barely perceptible. Again these signs are mere suggestions to Romans. When asked if the police pull anyone over for traffic violations she responds "Yes, of course." I am not convinced.

2) Parking. All Romans do what is convenient for them. If this means parking in the center median, so be it. If this means double parking and completely blocking a lane, no problem, everyone will go around. Parking in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic is done with ease. Completely blocking a street to wait for someone with tons of cars behind you honking because they cannot get through is yawn-worthy.

3) Crossing a Roman street is not for the meek of heart. I have yet to truly master this art. The best way to cross a street here is to simply jut out into traffic boldly. Cars and motorcycles will slow down automatically but if you hesitate they will continue on their way or simply give you a dirty expression for wasting their few precious seconds with your indecisiveness.

The above may explain why manual cars are largely preferred by Romans as I am told that with a manual car one has more control and braking is much easier. Although, the aforementioned is without a doubt crazy and chaotic (at least to a foreigner), I will admit it is a kind of organized chaos and I have not seen one traffic accident during my time here, although, I have heard the ambulances around here many times but I'm not sure what that means.

That is all for today's post. I will continue next time with my observations and complaints about the Italian way of housekeeping.

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