Big Ol' Betty

Thanks to my lack of blog updation (Yes, I just made that word up.) This blog is out of order with my experiences here in Cape Town. This story happened on Friday night, but I plan to tell you more about my first week very soon!

Hey everyone, I hope things are going well with you. Today will be a pretty quick blog. Hope you enjoy! Things were certainly very interesting for myself and my friend Justine today. Since we (Carley, Hannah, and Justine) are living in Cape Town for about two months and have yet to see much of it, we decided to rent a car so we can cruise around in style. This “style” consisted of the most beat up and crapy car I have ever seen that actually starts (occasionally). The “Rent a Beetle” company that we rented from ended up being about an hour away from where we are staying on the opposite side of Cape Town and the massive mountains. It was a spur of the moment car rental. When the person arrived to pick me up, I had to find somebody quick to come with me. I ran yelling at Justine and knocking on her door while she was peacefully “collecting her thoughts about the past week” and asked her to join me to grab the car. She had no idea what I was getting her into! I am obviously very new to Cape Town and had absolutely no idea how to get around the place. I also have not driven a stick shift in about 4 years as well as never haven driven on the left side of the road.

I must say that I was pretty excited about our new love bug. We decided to name her Big Old Bettie (BOB). When I first laid eyes on her faded paint and rusted body, I fell in love. Our new family member is a very old one. She is 55 years old and has driven to Botswana, Johannesburg, England, and back. (Kind of lied about England but yea she is very experienced) And as you can see from my many pictures of her, she was quite stunning. After looking over the car and with full awareness of our upcoming journey Justine and I said a very honest prayer and got going.

So here’s the situation: Worst car imaginable (except somehow at the same tim

e the coolest car ever), learning how to drive for the first time on the left side of the road in a foreign city I’ve never been to while it is dark outside... Lets just say that it took quite awhile to get home. We made a wrong turn and got lost. Justine, I think, was quietly freaking out in the seat next to me, and I was openly freaking out. :) I only stalled three times in our new bug. One time while trying to merge onto a highway and another while turning onto a hill. But don’t judge my driving skills people! Betty’s not perfect and she often has her senior moments. Justine really was my hero that night, if she hadn’t been there, I certainly would not have made it home that evening!

The glove compartment door keep swinging open and hitting Justine on our way back. She said she could even see the street

through the open glove compartment which, considering its winter here, caused my hands to freeze. There is no side mirror on the left! Only half of my seat was upright, so I had to hold myself up on the wheel in order to see out the window. Now I have to use a thick pillow just to see over my steering wheel. The it is impossible to simple lock the door and close it. Since closing the door causes the lock to pop out... She really is a beaut (Carlyphonics). Carly is one of the awesome people I am working with in Ocean View. She likes to talk using a very uniq vocab cuz she thinks she is coo..... And she’s right. Anyways, it was a very stressful, exciting, and fascinating journey across the gorgeous city of Cape Town.

I know this wasn’t a very spiritual blog, but hey I’m sure I’ve written more of those than you would like to read anyways! Thanks so much for your love and support!

God Bless,

Josh

P.S. Big Betty says: Africa is not for Sissy's! (see below)