Unperturbed
October 31, 2008
I was in the office in a meeting with Lize-Marié, our friendly HR Officer, discussing some contracts when she gets a call asking if she could do someone a favour and quickly drive the VW Golf which has just come back from town with some groceries for hospitality catering up to Hands Village.
She says yes and I go with her to give her a hand unloading everything.
We get to the car and she gets in.
“How am I supposed to drive with THAT?!” she exclaims.
“What’s wrong with that?”, I reply.
“THAT! How am I supposed to drive with that?! Where is the pedal?!”
I was slightly confused as to why she was so animated. I didn’t think there was anything particularly out of the ordinary.
“Which part do I press to give it gas?”
I look over to see what she is talking about:
Without batting an eyelid I look back at her, puzzled as to what was so out of the ordinary.
“That part is what you press for the gas”, I said, pointing to the metal stick where the accelerator pedal was supposed to be as opposed to the piece of plastic sticking up from the floor of the car… which is the bottom half of the broken accelerator pedal.
“WHY IS IT LIKE THAT!? WHERE IS THE PEDAL?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DRIVE WITH THAT…. LITTLE STICK??”, she shouted.
I looked down again, realising that it was pretty not normal and started laughing.
T.I.A.
I was completely unperturbed that the car was like that. It appeared completely normal to me!
I think I have become conditioned to expect all these little things in a somewhat derelict or worn down state and hardly bat an eyelid. That’s what you get used to here. Dealing with whatever comes your way and taking it in your stride. Making do with whatever you’ve got.
I’m going to get home in January and think what kind of world I’ve come back to – a place where everything seems to be in order and things like a missing accelerator pedal is not a normal thing!
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Just read this and had to chuckle a little. Remember my last day in SA when I took the VW Golf to town all by myself (and got stamps for you). Well earlier that afternoon when I first got in the car and didn’t know how to reverse it (and almost rolled into that tree), I had a wonderful angel come and rescue me (won’t name any names here) and in the process of her showing me how to reverse that thing and then getting out of that position for me so I didn’t hit the tree, that is when the pedal broke! So my first experience was driving that car just as you described it. I think I reacted kinda like you. But then again we do those kind of things at home on the farm all the time!
Later!