transportation in Brasil- or more specifically, BH!

Okay, so heres my bit of babble for the day, that can be both informative or filled with ramblings depending on which way you look at it.
Rotary has a set of rules for exchangers and the big no-no's are the four D's. no drinking, driving, (serious) dating, or drugs.
I can tell you now, rotary doesn't have to worry about me driving at all in my time over here. i would just be too plain scared to.


I have decided to educate everyone in the ways of Brazilian transportation, in the form of this blog. enjoy laughing your heads off at some of the situations, and mum and dad, i really think that if you drove even once in Brasil that you would never find anything uncomfortable about being driven about me ever EVER again.


okay so the cars here, drive on the right hand side of the road, are all left hand drive, and pretty much all manual cars. this is not so good, as i tend to always seem like im in the drivers seat, as the passenger seat is the drivers seat in aus, and i seriously think that i have left a dint in the floor of the car. i keep thinking i can just put my foot on the break, but it isnt there! stupid left hand drive cars scaring me. but its really not the cars problem, its the drivers and everyone else walking riding or driving. almost everyone has little manual cars for chugging up the hills here, and when i say chugging, i mean it, i swear, they all drive manuals, but the amount of times they stall the things, you would think that they had never driven one before!


when driving with brazilians, i think that is a good thing to refrain from making them talk or listen to music, because as all exchangers would know, brazilians love to dance talk with their hands, and this is no exception whilst driving. they will quite happily cruise along with no hands on the steering wheel so they can 'talk' with their hands or dance to music, and then when they are about to swerve into another car or a pole or something, they put their hands back on at the last minute and steer around it.
believe me, the driving here has had me clutching the side of the seat and any handles i could get a hold of plenty of times before. its nuts!


i have also noticed that whilst driving towards an uncontrolled intersection, instead of slowing down to insure there is no other traffic approaching, they beep their horn. its like, okay ive beeped so i have right of way and you have to slow for me... its scary. the other day we were coming up to an intersection, we beeped, and there was a bus and a car entering the intersection from either side. my feet were both through the passenger seat floor (where the brakes would actually be in aus) and i let out a little yelp as well, so what do we do? we stop in the middle of the intersection. slam on the brakes and stop in front of the on coming traffic, then look and go oh s**t and then continue to drive on.  
oh dear. needless to say i have opted for walking, frequently. 


Seatbelts: okay, so if they put something like seatbelts in a car, generally they put them there for a good reason... like say, for instance SAVING LIVES! for goodness sake people! wear the seatbelt! its what its there for!
i may seem a bit paranoid but i put on a seatbelt everytime i get in a car here. its automatic, i dont want to get out of the habit of it, as it is illegal to not wear one in Australia, and it is just that extra little thing that helps me breathe easier.


hmmmm... i always think of things that are different but when i go to write them down they have this funny habit of disappearing from my head...


oooh! the buses here, you have to flag down as you are waiting for them, like you literally have to wate you hand around so they understand that you want to get on. 


ummm.... oh, so indicators are more of a luxury too here. its like yeah i will use them occasionally when i go around a corner, but there is no need to use them when i am changing lanes on a 6 lane highway, its okay.
no wonder there are so many crashes and stuff over here. and i almost got run over crossing a road the other day coz someone decided that they didnt need an indicator to go round a corner. fun fun fun


thats all the crazy things i can think of for now, no doubt i will be reminded of more. 


i have my first rotary "conference" thing this weekend, will be awesome fun :) ooh! and its my birthday in a week :)


toodles xx Em