Could I get a Stop Sign please??

Do you ever feel like things you've done earlier in life, have come back to prove very useful for you in the present? Almost like that was the way it was supposed to work out?

Well, I'm pretty sure my learning to drive a manual car from day 1 (which was not so pretty--right Alex! Thanks mom!) lead me to have a pretty uneventful and fun drive yesterday alone in the family car! It was my first time driving, it was dark and one more thing...Norwegians don't believe in stop signs and traffic lights! Instead, I found myself looking at a lot of yield signs and roundabouts (2 laners!)

Ever wonder what Norwegian traffic signs look like? Click on this link!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Norway

Now, let's go over this car I was driving (I don't have pictures, sorry!)-- an old, little car with sticky and tricky gears, wonky doors and very little inside-the-car detailing. Just my kind of car! If you know anything about manuals, the reverse gear is to the left side of first gear...I accidentally put the car in reverse a couple times when trying to put it in first!

Because of my extensive stick driving, I had no reservations about the actual shifting part, however, following the Norwegian traffic signs (and lack there of!) was a little bit tricky. There is one important reason for roads to have stop signs...to be able to take a couple seconds to stop and think to yourself "now where am I going?", without them (such as in Norway), everyone is making split second decisions. This is how it is in Norway-- act first, think later. There were a couple times when I thought (out loud) "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" 

However, I made it to all my destinations (gym, guitar class) on time and without much incident, which I am proud of. I'm not so sure though, if I would have taken a wrong turn on the interstate, that I would have been able to find my way back again. So, thank god I didn't take a wrong turn!

Oh and if you're wondering about the guitar class, I had my first class yesterday--my fingers hurt from holding the strings down, and it was a little difficult because I don't know guitar words in Norwegian, but I managed to learn how to play the Johnny Cash song "Folsom Prison Blues", which is pretty cool!