Second day in a row of sun! With temps in the mid 60s (felt like 70), I was in a good mood despite a horrible night's rest. R and I camped out on the sectional couch again. The window frames and windows we had stained and lacquered in the master bedroom upstairs were still not dry yet.
Busy busy day. R and I volunteered at the local chapter of Croix Rouge Francais (Red Cross). We met the branch President Janine a few weeks ago through Helene, sister of one of our neighbors. Today R and I helped stock the branch's epicerie, a little grocery store where clients can buy groceries at a huge discount.
The food had just been delivered by other volunteers from Bourg-en-Bresse where the Red Cross' food bank is located. Janine and the delivery guys had already unloaded items for the refrigerated and freezer sections. There were hundreds of boxes of milk, zucchini, turnips, celeraic, croissants, cheese, quiche, yogurt!! So what was left? We helped her stock the shelves (and I say so myself, we left that epicerie looking awesome!) I unpacked "Holland Style" rice and potatoes, chocolate dessert while R stocked the shelves with canned peas, green beans, sauerkraut, carrots, baby food, etc, etc. Due to the large Muslim clientele, he had to organize the items so as to separate items containing pork from other items. Then Janine and I unpacked huge sacks of carrots and potatoes and repackaged them into 1kg bags of each while another older sweet man repackaged bananas into 1kg bags. It was fun...and I felt good and useful, even if for 2 hours. Tomorrow, we've been invited to help out at Resto du Coeur (restaurant of the heart).
Most things are priced/valued at 1 or 2 Euros. But that isn't the price that the client pays. E.g., if something is priced at 1Euro, the client pays 10%, or .10 Euro cents. Depending on family size and circumstances, a family of 2 may be able to purchase up to 50 Euro of food, but in the end they will only pay 5 Euros. There were some French clients, but most were spoke little French (and were Muslim). I felt for them..as I too am a foreigner and it's hard learning a new language as an adult.
Made 2 discoveries today:
1. Found Farine de ble - type 65 at Leader Price (a discount grocery store..think small Costco)! David Lebowitz (Chez Panisse's patisserie chef who now resides in Paris) says this is as close as you can get to All Purpose Flour. I hope to make chocolate chunk cookies tomorrow..and I hope to have a better result than the last batch I made using Type 45 flour.
2. As it was a gorgeous warm day, I drove up Le Plateau du Retord for a hike and maybe to find some mushrooms. We had a great view of the valley basin..but the cold windy weather up there chased us away. Seeking warmer pastures, we descended to Billiat and found a nice country road with absolutely gorgeous views of the Juras, the Vuache, the Parmelan mountain, and a crystal clear view of the Alps and the Mont Blanc. But the best part? After a bit of walking, while I was busy looking for mushrooms, we happened upon a field of white looking root vegetable resembling a carrot. It smelled like a radish, so I took a small bite and it tasted like a daikon, but as I've never seen a daikon with its greens on, I wasn't 100% sure. I picked a young one and HUGE one - I just Googled it now and it's confirmed. They are daikons! I knew you could eat the roots (my mom uses it a lot in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking), but I learned today you can also eat the greens. What shall I do with the daikons? I fancy some daikon radish cakes.
A photo of the daikon "cake" I made using above recipe and served with spicy hoisin sauce. So yum.
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
I DRIVE!!!!
Feeling triumphant tonight! One of the things on my bucket list for a while has been learning how to drive stick shift...amongst others like skydiving (not sure when that will ever happen as I'm AFRAID of heights), living abroad, learning to speak another language fluently, etc.
Tonight I drove down to auto école and grocery shopping all by myself! Woohoo.
Maybe I'll drive part of the way to the Netherlands in a few weeks...anyway, R and I went to Lyon last Tuesday and had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant at Institut Vatel (a world-renown hotel management school).
Menu:
Aperitif (only R, as I don't really drink alcohol)
Amuse bouche
Entree
Plat Principal
Cheese plate (with choice of 25 different cheeses), or fromage blanc with creme and sugar on top
Followed by a chariot of desserts (but it was more like 3 chariots of desserts and another table).
By the time the chariots came out (2.5 hours into dinner), I was so full. But I couldn't resist and tried 3 different tortes. I was laughing so hard at seeing the desserts because the choice and quantity was RIDICULOUS.
Tonight I drove down to auto école and grocery shopping all by myself! Woohoo.
Maybe I'll drive part of the way to the Netherlands in a few weeks...anyway, R and I went to Lyon last Tuesday and had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant at Institut Vatel (a world-renown hotel management school).
Menu:
Aperitif (only R, as I don't really drink alcohol)
Amuse bouche
Entree
Plat Principal
Cheese plate (with choice of 25 different cheeses), or fromage blanc with creme and sugar on top
Followed by a chariot of desserts (but it was more like 3 chariots of desserts and another table).
By the time the chariots came out (2.5 hours into dinner), I was so full. But I couldn't resist and tried 3 different tortes. I was laughing so hard at seeing the desserts because the choice and quantity was RIDICULOUS.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sunny days
The full moon is two days from now, on the 26th of June. For the past two nights, I've fallen asleep to moonlight streaming into our bedroom and woken up to blue skies and sun. Thank goodness because it's about time the sun decided to come out.
For the past two weeks, it's been raining steadily with only some slivers of sunshine. Some days I was even wearing my down jacket and sweaters, in the middle of June! I stayed out of the rain and worked on my French conjugations, did some driving lessons, and baked. David Lebovitz's supernatural brownies came over so well that I can hardly keep them from being eaten. Yesterday I drove on a real road within a business zone so there weren't that many cars around, but I had to navigate rotaries, stop and restart, and then reverse. I'm used to the clutch and the gear box, so it's getting easier and I hardly stall the car anymore. Yay for that!
R and I finished working on the former bedroom...it's now a reading room with some outdoor/indoor deck furniture. It's next to the guest bedroom which is next on our DIY list.
Real summer is here now to stay until September or so and my vegetable garden and I are happy for that. Because the days are longer here, I'm hoping the cherry, quince, and plum trees will be ready for picking in a few weeks. In the vegetable garden, the 9 tomato plants are doing well, and are slowly climbing up their spiral stakes. The 12 lettuces and single zucchini plant are growing fast as well. When I checked yesterday, two large yellow zucchini flowers had bloomed, and under them were two three-inch zucchinis. About five other zucchini flowers were just starting to bud. As for the three eggplants, they're surviving, but no flowers yet. The seeds I planted for melons, beets, and leeks may have sprouted but they're difficult to pick out because there's also a lot of weeds in the mix. But good news on the herb front: the coriander, basil, ciboulette, and mint are all doing well. When they're full grown, I won't have to buy any of these until late fall. If I have too much, I'll dry or freeze some in ice cube trays so I can use them way past the harvest season.
Today, R and I walked down to the farmer's market—tomorrow is R's birthday and I still need some fresh berries and nectarines to top the fruit tart I'm making. We didn't find berries but we got some fresh baguette and smoked salmon—and had that for lunch in the park by the river.
Tonight, we're going to Geneva again for a World Cup party—the Netherlands vs Cameroon. R's Dutch friend is hosting again so we were encouraged to wear Orange, the Dutch color for the Royal house of Orange. R is not only wearing orange, but he's decided to bring his giant Dutch flag to the party.
What's your favorite thing to do in the summer time? For those of you with green thumbs...how does your garden grow? Are you watching the World Cup and who are you cheering for?
For the past two weeks, it's been raining steadily with only some slivers of sunshine. Some days I was even wearing my down jacket and sweaters, in the middle of June! I stayed out of the rain and worked on my French conjugations, did some driving lessons, and baked. David Lebovitz's supernatural brownies came over so well that I can hardly keep them from being eaten. Yesterday I drove on a real road within a business zone so there weren't that many cars around, but I had to navigate rotaries, stop and restart, and then reverse. I'm used to the clutch and the gear box, so it's getting easier and I hardly stall the car anymore. Yay for that!
R and I finished working on the former bedroom...it's now a reading room with some outdoor/indoor deck furniture. It's next to the guest bedroom which is next on our DIY list.
Real summer is here now to stay until September or so and my vegetable garden and I are happy for that. Because the days are longer here, I'm hoping the cherry, quince, and plum trees will be ready for picking in a few weeks. In the vegetable garden, the 9 tomato plants are doing well, and are slowly climbing up their spiral stakes. The 12 lettuces and single zucchini plant are growing fast as well. When I checked yesterday, two large yellow zucchini flowers had bloomed, and under them were two three-inch zucchinis. About five other zucchini flowers were just starting to bud. As for the three eggplants, they're surviving, but no flowers yet. The seeds I planted for melons, beets, and leeks may have sprouted but they're difficult to pick out because there's also a lot of weeds in the mix. But good news on the herb front: the coriander, basil, ciboulette, and mint are all doing well. When they're full grown, I won't have to buy any of these until late fall. If I have too much, I'll dry or freeze some in ice cube trays so I can use them way past the harvest season.
Today, R and I walked down to the farmer's market—tomorrow is R's birthday and I still need some fresh berries and nectarines to top the fruit tart I'm making. We didn't find berries but we got some fresh baguette and smoked salmon—and had that for lunch in the park by the river.
Tonight, we're going to Geneva again for a World Cup party—the Netherlands vs Cameroon. R's Dutch friend is hosting again so we were encouraged to wear Orange, the Dutch color for the Royal house of Orange. R is not only wearing orange, but he's decided to bring his giant Dutch flag to the party.
What's your favorite thing to do in the summer time? For those of you with green thumbs...how does your garden grow? Are you watching the World Cup and who are you cheering for?
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Fêtes galore
This weekend marks the beginning of summer here. R and I have been seeing signs pop up along the roads like mushrooms, advertising local fêtes planned in the vicinity. At Gamme Vert and other garden stores, I see a steady stream of customers.
Our little town sits in the center of our valley and even though the town center is not big, there always seems to be things happening here. Today we had a very busy day visiting a number of events in town and Saint Claude.
Gastronomical tasting event. There was wine and food from local farmers and businesses. We tried dried saucisson from the farmer who keeps highland cattle a few kilometers from where we live. And I nibbled on crusty bread with different olive tapenades. We bought three pain au chocolate for 2€— formidable.
Palais Oriental. In France oriental usually means Middle Eastern (and North African). There were tables set up with food, tea, and drinks but the highlight of the day was the Turkish, Morroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian dancing shows scheduled for later in the evening.
Fort L'Ecluse nearby has a free Via Ferrata. I am a bit terrified of heights, so I'll happily watch from terra firma. But unfortunately we messed up on the dates and would have to return tomorrow to see the demonstrations on the actual date of the fête. Perhaps a thin metal wire will keep me tethered, but I'm not looking forward to walking a plank or traversing a tight rope with nothing below but tons of air!
Fête d'oiseau is located in another small town close to Geneva. Does this fête have anything to do with les oiseaux or birds? Pas de tout. It's just a small town carnival complete with rides and games. Again we were too early as they were just setting up the different stands.
DRIVING UPDATE
Driving lesson #7. I can pretty much start the car now without stalling. My shifting is still too slow but at least I'm not really thinking about the clutch anymore. We were in a small parking lot, with lots of turns, so I practiced turning and reversing. I want to practice again on the empty road and parking lot close to our house tomorrow.
After the driving lesson R and I visited the Asian market in Ferney-Voltaire. I hit the jackpot! The store is small but has a pretty good selection and reasonable French prices. I zoom in on big jars of sambal olek, tamarind paste, rice paper, vermicelli, ginger, fresh mangosteen, big bottles of fish sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, miso paste, nori, wasabi paste, Thai holy basil, fresh mint, fresh coriander, dried yellow mung beans, dried red beans, and tapioca pearls. They even have baking powder and baking soda, though I doubt I'll need such huge containers of them.
Leaving with my goodies, we journey to Saint-Claude stopping at le chapeau de gendarme, a rock formation created millions of years ago when layers of the earth pushed up, and split, revealing each distinct layer inside. The rock formation is so called because it resembles the triangular shape of a French gendarme's hat.
Saint-Claude is a small town home to a large abbey and some 11,000 people. I was feeling very queasy from the twisty climb up and down to Saint-Claude, so we sat outside at a cafe for a while and hung out with the locals before walking through town.
From what I could see the two main industries were devoted to smoking pipes and eyeglass frames. On our walk we stumbled upon a carnival three times bigger than the one we had initially planned on going to. We watch some teenage boys play a shooting game where they can win things like women's thongs and sexy fur handcuffs. Amused we left to find ourselves a snack and settled on doner kebabs. I got a regular kebab sandwich while R got le Americain which is a steak sandwich topped with fries. One odd thing I spotted is something called Reglisse Americain, American Licorice. The French seem to think it's very long strands of colorful, sweetly flavored licorice. I'm not a fan of licorice..so I walk on.
On our drive back I managed to stay awake (quite a feat for me, as I often get drowsy when I'm a passenger in the car). When we returned to town, we checked out the two festivals near the market square that we had visited earlier. The gastronome event was still going strong, as was the Palais Oriental.
Down the street we followed the rhythmic percussion of Arabic music and joined hundreds of people singing and dancing to the dance demonstrations. There are children dancing close to the front of the stage. And friends and families sitting together, talking and drinking out in the open. R notes that everyone's still well-behaved and there's no bawdy drunkenness. R and I find a place to sit near the front, listening and rocking out to the drums and an instrument that sounds a bit like a bagpipe. A long fine day in France.
Our little town sits in the center of our valley and even though the town center is not big, there always seems to be things happening here. Today we had a very busy day visiting a number of events in town and Saint Claude.
Gastronomical tasting event. There was wine and food from local farmers and businesses. We tried dried saucisson from the farmer who keeps highland cattle a few kilometers from where we live. And I nibbled on crusty bread with different olive tapenades. We bought three pain au chocolate for 2€— formidable.
Palais Oriental. In France oriental usually means Middle Eastern (and North African). There were tables set up with food, tea, and drinks but the highlight of the day was the Turkish, Morroccan, Algerian, and Tunisian dancing shows scheduled for later in the evening.
Fort L'Ecluse nearby has a free Via Ferrata. I am a bit terrified of heights, so I'll happily watch from terra firma. But unfortunately we messed up on the dates and would have to return tomorrow to see the demonstrations on the actual date of the fête. Perhaps a thin metal wire will keep me tethered, but I'm not looking forward to walking a plank or traversing a tight rope with nothing below but tons of air!
Fête d'oiseau is located in another small town close to Geneva. Does this fête have anything to do with les oiseaux or birds? Pas de tout. It's just a small town carnival complete with rides and games. Again we were too early as they were just setting up the different stands.
DRIVING UPDATE
Driving lesson #7. I can pretty much start the car now without stalling. My shifting is still too slow but at least I'm not really thinking about the clutch anymore. We were in a small parking lot, with lots of turns, so I practiced turning and reversing. I want to practice again on the empty road and parking lot close to our house tomorrow.
After the driving lesson R and I visited the Asian market in Ferney-Voltaire. I hit the jackpot! The store is small but has a pretty good selection and reasonable French prices. I zoom in on big jars of sambal olek, tamarind paste, rice paper, vermicelli, ginger, fresh mangosteen, big bottles of fish sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, miso paste, nori, wasabi paste, Thai holy basil, fresh mint, fresh coriander, dried yellow mung beans, dried red beans, and tapioca pearls. They even have baking powder and baking soda, though I doubt I'll need such huge containers of them.
Leaving with my goodies, we journey to Saint-Claude stopping at le chapeau de gendarme, a rock formation created millions of years ago when layers of the earth pushed up, and split, revealing each distinct layer inside. The rock formation is so called because it resembles the triangular shape of a French gendarme's hat.
Saint-Claude is a small town home to a large abbey and some 11,000 people. I was feeling very queasy from the twisty climb up and down to Saint-Claude, so we sat outside at a cafe for a while and hung out with the locals before walking through town.
From what I could see the two main industries were devoted to smoking pipes and eyeglass frames. On our walk we stumbled upon a carnival three times bigger than the one we had initially planned on going to. We watch some teenage boys play a shooting game where they can win things like women's thongs and sexy fur handcuffs. Amused we left to find ourselves a snack and settled on doner kebabs. I got a regular kebab sandwich while R got le Americain which is a steak sandwich topped with fries. One odd thing I spotted is something called Reglisse Americain, American Licorice. The French seem to think it's very long strands of colorful, sweetly flavored licorice. I'm not a fan of licorice..so I walk on.
On our drive back I managed to stay awake (quite a feat for me, as I often get drowsy when I'm a passenger in the car). When we returned to town, we checked out the two festivals near the market square that we had visited earlier. The gastronome event was still going strong, as was the Palais Oriental.
Down the street we followed the rhythmic percussion of Arabic music and joined hundreds of people singing and dancing to the dance demonstrations. There are children dancing close to the front of the stage. And friends and families sitting together, talking and drinking out in the open. R notes that everyone's still well-behaved and there's no bawdy drunkenness. R and I find a place to sit near the front, listening and rocking out to the drums and an instrument that sounds a bit like a bagpipe. A long fine day in France.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Crazy French drivers and market day
Thursdays are Market days in our little valley. Yesterday R and I hiked down to town and then back up home after our errands. It was a 2 hour roundtrip. We made two stops, first at La Poste for stamps. It costs .58€ to send domestic mail up to 20 grams and .87€ for international mail up to the same amount. Then a quick stop at the Turkish bakery for baklava and sweets shaped like a mini-eggroll. At the bakery, the daughter of the shopkeeper served us—she was quite young (maybe 9 years old) and barely reached over the tall counter. She was adorably pudgy and super polite. We'll be returning soon because the baklava was great.
This morning R and I planned to walk down again and take the market bus back up to our house, but we were too late. The market bus picks up the residents in our little village at 9am and drives them back up around 12pm. We drove down instead and it was an adventure—luckily we and the car made it down (and up) in 1 piece.
The roads in our area are narrow and seriously hilly with some blind spots where the road curves sharply. From what I've experienced so far, the French drivers here are seriously crazy drivers!! They claim their side of the road as well as part of ours, and they do not yield, instead continue doing what they're doing and hope you move out of their way.
As we were driving down to the farmer's market today, a car came flying up the hill, narrowly missing us by inches. Then the market bus (the one we had planned on taking earlier) drove up at top speed even though he saw us and should have seen that there was not enough room for him to pass us. The bus driver continued ahead anyways, and R had to quickly drive over the curb to avert a collision. Then bus driver just continued, not stopping to see if we were okay. I was pissed—and tomorrow, we're going to stop by the Mairie to lodge a complaint because this has happened way too many times and it's just not safe.
Anyway, we and the car are ok—so we head to the market which is already in full swing with many more vendors this week than the past month. R says it gets bigger in the warmer months as farmers bring more vegetables to sell. Today we spent 20€ for 2 pineapples, 2 kgs of tomatoes, whole wheat baguette, 2 fresh garlic heads (purple in color with tops on them), 5 apples, 2 pears, 4 peaches, 4 nectarines, 5 kinds of cheese (total price 7€), 4 avocados, and a dozen free-range chicken eggs.
Back at home, we had a nice lunch: salad with beets and tomatoes, cow's cheese with nectarines, peaches, and pear. And on the side, some pork terrine, smoked sausage, and pâté de canard.
For dinner I made a Vietnamese tamarind fish soup with prawns (heads still on). My mother makes a great version, and I tried to recreate hers tonight using jumbo prawns (which I purchased earlier today, 3€ for 300 grams which seemed like a great deal to me). I briefly looked at the recipe here and then used what was available in my fridge and pantry. I only used half of the prawns tonight, so maybe prawns for lunch tomorrow.
Last thing, the tail pipe is now fixed. Today I did much better driving the car, only stalling twice. R says I need to shift more smoothly and quicker. Still driving on an empty road, but hey, I am driving and on my way to mastering the clutch and gearbox!
This morning R and I planned to walk down again and take the market bus back up to our house, but we were too late. The market bus picks up the residents in our little village at 9am and drives them back up around 12pm. We drove down instead and it was an adventure—luckily we and the car made it down (and up) in 1 piece.
The roads in our area are narrow and seriously hilly with some blind spots where the road curves sharply. From what I've experienced so far, the French drivers here are seriously crazy drivers!! They claim their side of the road as well as part of ours, and they do not yield, instead continue doing what they're doing and hope you move out of their way.
As we were driving down to the farmer's market today, a car came flying up the hill, narrowly missing us by inches. Then the market bus (the one we had planned on taking earlier) drove up at top speed even though he saw us and should have seen that there was not enough room for him to pass us. The bus driver continued ahead anyways, and R had to quickly drive over the curb to avert a collision. Then bus driver just continued, not stopping to see if we were okay. I was pissed—and tomorrow, we're going to stop by the Mairie to lodge a complaint because this has happened way too many times and it's just not safe.
Anyway, we and the car are ok—so we head to the market which is already in full swing with many more vendors this week than the past month. R says it gets bigger in the warmer months as farmers bring more vegetables to sell. Today we spent 20€ for 2 pineapples, 2 kgs of tomatoes, whole wheat baguette, 2 fresh garlic heads (purple in color with tops on them), 5 apples, 2 pears, 4 peaches, 4 nectarines, 5 kinds of cheese (total price 7€), 4 avocados, and a dozen free-range chicken eggs.
Back at home, we had a nice lunch: salad with beets and tomatoes, cow's cheese with nectarines, peaches, and pear. And on the side, some pork terrine, smoked sausage, and pâté de canard.
For dinner I made a Vietnamese tamarind fish soup with prawns (heads still on). My mother makes a great version, and I tried to recreate hers tonight using jumbo prawns (which I purchased earlier today, 3€ for 300 grams which seemed like a great deal to me). I briefly looked at the recipe here and then used what was available in my fridge and pantry. I only used half of the prawns tonight, so maybe prawns for lunch tomorrow.
Last thing, the tail pipe is now fixed. Today I did much better driving the car, only stalling twice. R says I need to shift more smoothly and quicker. Still driving on an empty road, but hey, I am driving and on my way to mastering the clutch and gearbox!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
One week anniversary and a broken tail pipe
Bonne anniversaire to me! I arrived one week ago and have been busy acclimating. One of things I need to get is my French driver's license since my MA license isn't recognized here. More practically, our sole car has a manual transmission, not an automatic one. I'm used to having a gas pedal and a brake—so the introduction of a gear box and a clutch totally unsettles me.
Back in February, R started me on my driving lessons in an empty parking lot nearby. I got lucky a few times at first, but mostly I tried unsuccessfully to get it into first gear. Learning how to drive after driving for almost twenty years is truly frustrating!! R goes through a detailed explanation and says I should listen to the car. I think I understand what I need to do, but my feet just don't get it. Time and time again, the engine stalls and the car jerks violently, causing poor R's head to knock back and forth against the headrest. Then of course I get super nervous and lose concentration, causing the car to stall again. So frustrating. Why don't they teach kids to drive stick shift in the U.S.? I wish I had learned when I was young.
Last night, after visiting R's Dutch friend and his Brazilian wife (who are moving back to Brazil), we went to an empty parking lot for my third driving lesson. I was tired and hungry and after 30 minutes, I gave up trying because I just didn't get it. The lesson was also over because after many violent jerks, the tail pipe broke. It didn't come off exactly but it was hanging low. This sucks. I feel bad but R says it was old anyway, and probably would have broken soon.
This morning, we brought it to the mechanic's (think Midas, not mom and pop repair shop). They are ordering the parts today and we have to bring it back in tomorrow afternoon. Service and parts will cost 309€, but at least the car will still drive.
The mechanic said the tail pipe wouldn't fall off, so we figured we'll do one more lesson today. R brought us to an area where they are building an office park. Roads are paved, but there aren't any buildings yet, so it's a great empty area to practice on. The terrain was a bit hilly and that made it easier to get it into first gear without stalling the car.
I did much better today, and even took the car from first to fourth gear. I'm still shifting way too slow. A few times, I mistook fifth for third gear, and the R groaned in response. R says I'm good at reversing the car uphill—which he says is a difficult thing to do.
Anyway, I drove today!!!! Albeit on a road where no other cars were driving...but still I was super happy. Of course I stalled many times too, but much less than before. Now I have a bit more confidence in myself and I'm hoping that during my next lesson, I won't stall more than a few times. What was it like when you learned how to drive a manual transmission car....did you just "get it" one day?
Back in February, R started me on my driving lessons in an empty parking lot nearby. I got lucky a few times at first, but mostly I tried unsuccessfully to get it into first gear. Learning how to drive after driving for almost twenty years is truly frustrating!! R goes through a detailed explanation and says I should listen to the car. I think I understand what I need to do, but my feet just don't get it. Time and time again, the engine stalls and the car jerks violently, causing poor R's head to knock back and forth against the headrest. Then of course I get super nervous and lose concentration, causing the car to stall again. So frustrating. Why don't they teach kids to drive stick shift in the U.S.? I wish I had learned when I was young.
Last night, after visiting R's Dutch friend and his Brazilian wife (who are moving back to Brazil), we went to an empty parking lot for my third driving lesson. I was tired and hungry and after 30 minutes, I gave up trying because I just didn't get it. The lesson was also over because after many violent jerks, the tail pipe broke. It didn't come off exactly but it was hanging low. This sucks. I feel bad but R says it was old anyway, and probably would have broken soon.
This morning, we brought it to the mechanic's (think Midas, not mom and pop repair shop). They are ordering the parts today and we have to bring it back in tomorrow afternoon. Service and parts will cost 309€, but at least the car will still drive.
The mechanic said the tail pipe wouldn't fall off, so we figured we'll do one more lesson today. R brought us to an area where they are building an office park. Roads are paved, but there aren't any buildings yet, so it's a great empty area to practice on. The terrain was a bit hilly and that made it easier to get it into first gear without stalling the car.
I did much better today, and even took the car from first to fourth gear. I'm still shifting way too slow. A few times, I mistook fifth for third gear, and the R groaned in response. R says I'm good at reversing the car uphill—which he says is a difficult thing to do.
Anyway, I drove today!!!! Albeit on a road where no other cars were driving...but still I was super happy. Of course I stalled many times too, but much less than before. Now I have a bit more confidence in myself and I'm hoping that during my next lesson, I won't stall more than a few times. What was it like when you learned how to drive a manual transmission car....did you just "get it" one day?
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