they say there's a first time for everything...

i briefly wrote about this in my update email...but i thought it was worthy of the blog too.

so i had a wreck on my way to the airport. it was my fault. i'd never been to the airport and was going to pick up a couple (both in their 80's) who are teaching English at the college with me. i was just following airport signs when all of a sudden there was a sign for the airport exiting to the left...i was 2 lanes over on the right! It was an impulse decision to go for it...my thought was, if i don't take this exit, I'll be lost forever in this huge city with it's massive roads and interchanges. This probably wasn't true (although I would've been lost for a while). I did look over my shoulder, didn't really see any thing that stopped me, and then I just went for it. The good news is i made the exit. the bad news is a mini-van hit the passenger side of my car as i lurched for the exit. oh, what a day that turned out to be. time of accident: 10:15am

the man who hit me was not too happy. I was surprisingly calm. i've always wondered what i would do if i had a wreck or got pulled over: cry? burst into hysterically laughter? snort til i couldn't breathe? i really had a peace about it all and had one thing on my mind: i have to get to the airport. I got out of the car, smile on my face and confidently approached this man, not sure if my license (that reads Alabama at the top of it) was truly international and hesitant about my car being registered under my company. so the man says, "..." well i don't think he said anything at this point. I said, "i'm sorry. i'm trying to find the airport. Is this the way to the airport?" he kinda looked at me like did you really just ask me that? and then he confirmed that this exit was indeed the route to the airport. He asked me what do we do. i'm thinking i have no idea. i'm not the local here. he said we could settle and i pay him money or we could call the police. he laughed when i offered to pay him 75 rm ($25) but that was all i had on me. i ended up paying him some money, gave him my address and then said, ok, i've got to go to the airport, and off i went. the poor couple i was picking up! They had to sit on broken glass in the backseat, with the passenger side rear window busted in, and crawl in the car through the drivers side back door! arrived at airport: 11:40 am

Our next stop was the college where we teach English. we drove around for 1.5 hours before we finally found it! then i spent the rest of the day trying to file a police report (in case the man who hit me called me later and demanded more money) but ended up going to 2 different police stations before I found the right place. Every time i got out at a station men haggled me trying to tell me they'd hook me up from a to zet with insurance, blah, blah, blah. what they didn't know is my car is not insured... time is now approaching 6:00pm

So, i finally find the right police station, describe exactly where the accident took place, write a report of what happened and explained that although he hit me, it was technically my fault. so, turns out my Alabama license is a valid international license and my car registration was fine. then the police officer tells me he's gonna write me a fine...300 rm (about $100). ugh.
time i got home from this ordeal 9:00 pm
what a day. the next day was full of trying to find an honest, reasonable mechanic (i heard price ranges from 1,200 to 4,000...some mumbo jumbo about the color of my car being more expensive...i think that translates to how much money can we get out of the little white girl) but it was not as bad as one would think having a wreck in a foreign country might imagine. Praise the Father no one was hurt, i didn't cry, but stayed calm. i think i'll choose to get lost from now on though...it's a little cheaper.
well, that's all i got for now. glad to see the blogs getting a little more action now...
love to all!