On Driving Here...

It is crazy! I have obviously not been driving, but whenever I am in a taxi or the car with my family, we all fear for our lives. Quito is really hilly and all the cars are manuals so everyone slides back about a foot or two at all the lights. Taxis force their way into itty bitty spaces and go around cars to jump in line at lights, especially at turns. No one stays in their lane, people are all over the place trying to edge their way up the line, and there are pedestrians and salespeople in the road all the time! It's a mad house! Last night I learned some good new swear words from my otherwise somewhat proper host mom. All I can say is, it's possible I will never complain about Minnesota drivers again.