Look out world! Alexis is behind the wheel in Africa!

So this last weekend in Zimbabwe was quite an adventure.  The original plan was actually for me to travel into the capital city on Friday and sit on my duff until my plane flew out this Thursday.  Which honestly sounded seriously boring, but beggars can't be choosers and in Zim, I am definitely in the beggar position with regards to transportation.  I was exceptionally grateful to be offered a couple extra days to say my goodbyes to the hospital  and my friends here.  Then on Thursday morning, I received a strange invitation.  One of the missionaries, Anna, had agreed to drive some of the local staff across Zim for a college graduation of one of their children.  But they needed 2 drivers and the second driver was now unavailable.  Would I like to drive a vehicle to the town of Mutare in the mountains of Zimbabwe leaving Friday mid morning?  To be honest the whole thing sounded crazy.  I have never driven in Africa.  They drive on the left side of the road which makes turning and passing confusing.  The speeds are in kilometers per hour.  To leave the hospital requires driving through the river.  And I have never met the person graduating.  So I was considering ways to say no to this absurd suggestion when I found myself considering that, originally, I had planned to be sitting around doing nothing.  It seemed like God had given me some extra time at the hospital and maybe I should pass along the gift.
  So Friday morning I rounded in the female ward, threw some warm clothes in a backpack (Zimbabwe winter is here) and agreed to the crazy scheme.  Thankfully the missionary had an automatic transmission in her car (I don't think I could learn to drive in Africa, while learning to drive a manual transmission, while transporting people across the country).  We were picking up the second car and the extra people halfway into the journey, so we began in the same car, with the missionary coaching me on how to drive, and the passengers warning me when we were coming up to sharp curves in the road or places where people they knew had been in car accidents.  Arriving in Harare, we split into 2 vehicles.
  So why did they need me?  Well having a drivers license is not a given in Zimbawbe.  Many people here never learn to drive at all.  Passing the driving test here is very difficult without paying a bribe, and many people can't even think of affording a vehicle to drive.  (We frequently have patients arrive at the hospital by ox-cart).
  So at this point, I am driving a borrowed car in a foreign city with passengers who have never driven a car.  I stuck to Anna's bumper as closely as I dared, because if we got lost I didn't know how to get found again.  Amazingly, in answer to many prayers we made it safely to Mutare by about 8p.m. (involving a fair bit of night driving which is also awkward).  The "highway" is actually very nicely paved, but only 2 lanes and passing requires pulling into the oncoming traffic lane on the right and it's super hard to judge speed and distance of oncoming vehicles based on the headlights.  Add to that the fact that I saw a lot of pedidles (not sure how to spell this, but cars with only 1 working headlight).  After driving back and forth across town we found our way to the relatives house that we were staying at.
  On arrival, all 14 of us poured out of cars to sit around the living room and exchange greetings.  This is not a mere hello, but a long involved discussion of the family relationships represented and recognition of each individual with a recitation of how they are connected.  This was followed by dinner.  I was shown out the back of the house to an attached small "bathroom."  This consisted of a toilet bowel set in the ground and a large bucket of water to pour into the hole to flush.  During the day they have running water, but at night no such luck.  After dinner we began to figure out sleeping arrangements.  Blankets were pulled out and laid on the cement living room floor so that 5 of us girls could sleep there.  Then 5 other women slept on the kitchen floor, while the 8 men piled into the single bedroom.  It was very cold overnight and there was no heat, but I did get a little sleep.

In the morning, people began waking up at 4:30 to start water boiling so we could all bathe.  One at a time we made our way out into the frigid morning and claimed a steaming bucket of hot water.  This we carried into the "bathroom" from last night.  In theory I was supposed to scrub down with the water, but it was so cold, I decided against it.  The graduation was at 9am outdoors on a beautiful, if chilly, campus.  Mahatmas Gandhi's grandson was the guest speaker.  Then  we headed back into town.
  The best part of the trip for me was getting to hear the people in my car discuss their thoughts on many issues in Zimbabwe and the hospital.  It really helped me to get an idea of what things look like to Zimbabweans.  I also had the opportunity to ask questions on their thoughts.  I think that travelling with local staff on long drives might just be a good strategy for building relationships and learning.
  Saturday night Anna and I escaped to a delicious Italian dinner in the capitol and the crawled between cold sheets at the guesthouse in search of sleep.

  Sunday I attended a wonderful church with Anna.  The congregation is truly a blended multicultural group and it was enjoyable to hear some testimonies of God at work from Zimbabweans.

  And in answer to many prayers, I arrived safely back at the hospital on Sunday afternoon.