Driving Ms. Mona

   Mona made her first visit today to a campus off base - we went to Ikego Base (an extension of Yokosuka Base housing about 20 minutes away). I say we because I am driving Mona until she gets comfortable with driving in Japan. Driving in Japan is so much different than driving in the U.S. First, of course, you are driving on the left side of the road instead of the right side. Second, all the signs are in Japanese. Third, you aren't familiar with the area. Fourth, there is no grid pattern to the roads. The roads are winding and curving - meandering might be a better description. Fifth, the roads are narrow and the buildings that run along side the road are literally just off the road. Sixth, there is constant motion - pedestrians, bicyclists and frequent crosswalks.
   It is hard to believe, because it seems like such a long time ago, that it has only been about 2 1/2 weeks since we drove off base for the first time. Mona was really stressed about it and did not want to go anywhere (because of all the things I listed above and more). And I have to admit that I was a little nervous myself. As a matter of fact, during our first drive off base, I actually stopped for a red light in the intersection. It was at one of the main intersections on the street right outside the base - it has a strange setup with the intersection being very large with two lights and two crosswalks. The first light was green when I entered the intersection but by the time I got to the second light it was yellow. Since there was a crosswalk underneath the stoplight that turned yellow and pedestrians have the right of way, I stopped. I had the same feeling for a few moments that I had back in high school when I was trying to learn how to drive a standard. My mom and I were stopped at a red light. When the turn left arrow turned green, I couldn't shift into first gear. So we sat through about 3 lights before I finally figured it out. The people in the cars behind us got a little crankier each time that light turned green and then red again. To quote the Penguins of Madagascar and as I have told Macie often of late - as she has tried to deal with the stress of new schools and new people - that some times when you are in stressful situations the only thing you can do is - Just Smile and Wave.
  Anyway, the trip went well and Mona is becoming more and more comfortable with getting around in Japan.

This is a video from the first trip to 

Ikego for Mona's work.

This is on the way back from Ikego. 

If you travel on the highways, there are 

a lot of tollbooths any where you go.