Hilux - No Car Satisfies Me But This!

 Cars…. what a wonderful thing.  The better part of my day would be spent walking to work if it weren't for these wonderful vehicles that we get to use here!  But, as much as I appreciate my truck, I still need to take a minute to explain it's ghetto-ness.

--Ghetto feature #1: Steering wheel naturally points about 10 degrees left.

--Ghetto feature #2: Radio tunes to one channel only… I turned it off.

Ghetto feature #3: Dust… while not really the fault of the vehicle, there is dust everywhere, in an out. It makes it hard to see out of the windows at night...

--Ghetto feature #4: Fuzzy Pink Dice. I suppose I could get rid of them, but it helps me ID my vehicle in a se of small Toyota Hillux trucks.

--Ghetto feature #5: Front left rear well is either bent or busted, but whenever I make a moderately tight turn (i.e., to pull into a parking spot), the wheel scrapes the well, causing a terrible sound that I first thought was my joint getting ready to fall apart.

--Ghetto feature #6: Normally I would call the front left the front driver side, but in this case, it's the passenger side… yes, my steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car (weird!).  And before you ask, no, we don't drive on the wrong side of the road. The only thing I can think is it was easier for the Afghans to import the vehicles direct from Japan without modification.

--Ghetto feature #7: Along with the steering wheel, everything is backwards (except the gas/brake/clutch!  Thankfully), yes it has a clutch and the shifter is on the left; the blinker is on the right, the windshield wiper (which looks the same as the blinker) is on the left so I've turned my wipers on several times intending to turn the blinker on… Lots of weird things there.

Ghetto feature #8: Wipers… they're used more for clearing dust than water… actually they probably almost never get used for water.

Miraculously I've learned to drive this (small) beast and haven't run into anything or anyone, despite people's tendency to walk directly in front of you.  

On a more serious note, thanks for your support and prayers!  One thing that's on my mind right now is just getting settled into a 'battle rhythm'. In other words, figuring out how to fit in scripture, prayer, school, gym, meals, and relaxation time into my week. And included in that list, but probably my biggest struggle, is figuring out a regular time to Skype with Anna.  Seems that our schedules are not melding well.  It might end up being a different time everyday, which isn't as easy to ensure I'll be able to step out of the office and she'll be at the computer when I call.