Los Camiones

The more I get driven around, the more nervous I get around buses.  Even though it's been tough not having a car, just being in the passenger seat scares me enough to remind me why I don't have a car.  Not to mention the fact that my team at work in the last 6 months have almost gotten into the double digits as far as car accidents are concerned.  Keep in mind it's only a team of 12 people.  Anyway, the buses freak me out most of all, because they don't watch for you at all.  If you're in their way, they WILL run you over.

When I first started driving, I remember being worried about semi's.  You know, they have a very large blind spot, so you never know if they see you or not.  These buses are half as big and they scare me 100x more than any semi.  Not because they have a large blind spot, but because they OWN the road.  They don't care if you're there or not.  If they need to change lanes... watch out.  Anyway, driving next to one for a prolonged period of time seriously gets my heart pounding.

On the subject of being in cars and the worries of the roads in Guadalajara.  I've always liked to have my window down with my arm hanging out the window.  Most Guadalajarans don't do this... probably cause they tan super easy and if they did it, they'd have one very dark arm.  Anyway, another reason not to do it is because cars drive VERY close to each other.  I've gotten used to making sure my arm does not stick out further than the side view mirror... because otherwise a car might literally take my arm off.  Sometimes I forget and get quite the scare as a car or motorcycle races by just a foot or two from my fingers.

I can tell I'm getting slowly used to the way driving is here, but at times I get caught off guard and nearly have a heart attack.  Guess it's just part of the fun. :-)