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Where on earth have I been?? Good question... To those of you who missed my words of (questionable) wisdom, I was on a really long holiday. I was in India for close to a month and a half.

And now I'm back home in rural Japan. And I'm torn between two worlds. On one hand I love the snow, and I hate dressing in layers of clothing that make me look twice as chubby as I really am. I love the soundless tranquility of a snow scape, and miss the incessant chatter that's always present back home in India. I'm petrified driving in a foot of snow, but I sure do NOT miss the traffic chaos in India.

My first day back home, I called my dear friend S and told her to get her backside over and that we had to go eat pani-puri at our favourite roadside stall. S, of course, came over in her new car, and off we went for some chaat, taking the most scenic route through Mysore catching up on two years worth of news. Our conversation went something like this...
S: ... so and so got married. Lives in ..
Me: watch out. That guy had right of way.
S: ... Bangalore. Might move to Delhi next year. Did you hear about..
Me: You didn't stop at the intersection
S: What's wrong with you?? Why would I stop there? There's no traffic light or cop there.
S: What's right of way???

And I, who have driven in theoretically perfect driving conditions for 2 years, gave up and refused to get behind the wheel for the rest of my trip.

The significant other, though, seemed to have no trouble slipping into bad driving habits. One fine day we decided to go on an early morning drive. As the s.o. tried to get the car to reverse, the gears made some weird grinding noises and wouldn't go properly. My dad was watching from the verandah. He knew something was wrong, and didn't have the heart to tell his dear s-i-l what the problem was. I watched my dear husband try over and over again to get the reverse gear in place. I could see his frustration. He was just a little away from losing his temper. I couldn't stand it any longer. As gently as I could, I asked him if it would help if he were to use the clutch.

He gave me a long steady look, used the clutch, got the car in reverse, and told me, "It's all your fault. You're making me drive a girl car!"

So now it's my fault we drive a car with automatic transmission??? Sigh... why me??