Katrín Arndís: driving in australia

I can't get over the fact that soon we'll be home again and I will again have to get used to driving on the right side of the road. I just got used to driving on the left side & now I'll have to change again?? :( Why can't just everyone agree to do like 72% (yes, I googled it) of the world and keep it on the right side of the road?!

"Just remember to stay on the left side" sounds pretty easy right?

Sure it is... (although I have one too many times caught myself driving on the wrong side of the road) but the fact is that there is so much more you have to be thinking about than just staying on the left side....

the whole car is completely wrong!

You sit in the wrong side of the car & that alone can be a little confusing, I don't think I've ever just gotten into the car without pausing for a few seconds standing in front of the car like a complete idiot thinking where I'm supposed to go, especially if I'm arriving to the car somewhere else than outside our house. I've only once been laughed at because of it though and that was by a guy with downs syndrome outside the supermarket, one of my brightest moments! Other times it's always with Adam & by the time I get in the wrong seat I just say "I'm driving" & think "... apparently.. egh"

Both the windscreen cleaner & blinkers are also on the wrong side so when I'm making a turn, instead of letting people know in which direction I'm going I start cleaning my windows,great.. Then I get a little stressed I slam my hand in the door trying to change gears because the stick is also on the wrong side to what I'm used to.

Laws are holy.

At least when it comes to the speed limit. It's crazy how much Australians respect the speed limit! if your on a 80 road, the person in front and behind you are driving at EXACTLY 80 and as soon as you enter a 50 zone its as if the person in front of you has a panic attack and brakes as much as they can until they've reached exactly 50, or better yet, maybe 40... just to be on the safe side.

Animals

Another crazy thing about driving in Australia is that there are animals ALL OVER, so not only do you have to focus on being on the left side, watching the speed limit exactly but you'll also have to keep an eye out for animals bouncing all over the place. Rabbits, cats, snakes, possums & kangaroos, name it if they're anywhere it will be in Australia! The kangaroos also do this silly thing; if they jump over the street you should slow down because as soon as you're close to them they will cross the road AGAIN! Driving in the night is even worse, you're literally zick zacking the roads avoiding this & that animal, both dead & alive.

Silly road signs...