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| Andalusian Garden doors |
Since we moved here, several people have told us, "What you need is a car! Things would be so much better/easier/more fun/more convenient/etc. for you if you had a car!" I was not so sure. Soon after moving here, I decided I would never drive in Morocco. I have virtually no experience driving stick shift cars, and those are really the only option here. I also find the roads in Morocco to be dangerous and confusing, and I very easily get lost in Moroccan cities.
I started driving when I was 14 years old. However, I never liked driving, and I have used moving here as an excuse to give it up. I have been pretty content with only going places I can reach without driving myself there. Not having a car also fits with my new, more frugal lifestyle.
On the other hand, I will admit that it has been nice to temporarily have a car. T has also enjoyed it, although trying to find our way around cities like Meknes and Rabat – which we have only before explored on foot, via taxi, or as passengers in cars being driven by people who actually knew where they were going – has been rather interesting at times.
In any case, tonight we pick up Brian and Sara at the airport, and we will return their car. Knowing this day was coming, earlier this week we took a three-day, two-night trip to Rabat with two other friends, Sarah and Terry. They were very patient with us as we tried to find some of the places we had previously visited with other friends. We even had time to visit a new place, the Chellah, which I will write about in a separate blog entry.
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| Boat on the Bou Regreg River |
Oh my gosh those garden doors are amazing! How I wish I'd gotten the job in Morocco! Well, here's hoping Azerbaijan has some bits of that beauty, too. Sadly I won't have a car in Azerbaijan (not through work, and since I only plan to be there four months it's really not worth buying). While I also am not a big fan of driving, I do love the freedom that having a car provides. And driving in insane Monrovia traffic was a great way to blow off steam at the end of a crazy day.
ReplyDeleteNOLA, I have also found that not having a car can be a good way to get to know people, since we often have to hitch rides with other people.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the job in Morocco...although I wonder if you might like this country more if you DON'T live here. Azerbaijan isn't too far to visit, is it?
That's true ... though I met people because they were hitching rides with me! (My favorite was when the very top of our organization in DC - quite the bigwig - swung through Liberia and somehow I ended up giving him a ride in my ghetto Galant. He: "Um, those check engine lights? Should that worry us?" Me: Laughter. But you know what, they keep offering me jobs, so I must not have scared him toooo bad.)
ReplyDeleteNo place is too far to visit, though I'll probably be focused on Turkey since it's right there and I can use trains to get around and do some fun traveling.