Crossing Over: The Challenge of the Other Side

Coming to Tanzania, I had no idea that they drive on the opposite of the road than we do in the US. The first time in the car was an interesting experience. Driving or even riding in a car in Tanzania can be scary enough. It was even more so until my brain realized that we were not driving into oncoming traffic. This whole arrangement has caused a few other changes in my behavior as well. On campus and basically everywhere else, people walk down the sidewalk or road on the side that they would be driving on. The same is true going up and down the stairs and aisles in the supermarket. For example at home I would walk down the right side of the sidewalk. I try to do that here and I have to step around people until I remember that I should be on the other side. Most days I forget until I’ve nearly run into someone. When walking in groups, I frequently feel one of my team member’s hands on my shoulders moving me into the appropriate “lane.”

Going home is will involve learning how to do these little things over. I never realized how much of an impact which side of the road I drive on has on other social situations and how ingrained it is to be on the appropriate sided of the foot traffic flow. Maybe it’s not the driving that affects the other things, but it is the most obvious option see. Seeing as how almost everything is researched these days, I’m sure I could Google it and come up with an acceptable answer.