Learning to drive!

Most of my first week here has been all about getting "settled in".......LMAO!!!!  I got my "international driving permit" from AAA before leaving Arizona......and just in case you're wondering, there is NOTHING necessary for an international drivers permit other than $15 and a valid US license!  (I'm not sure what it's supposed to represent other than a money making opportunity for AAA.) In any event, it was a valid form of ID and allowed me to rent the cutest little mini-car I've ever seen! 

Side note:  ALL of the cars in Okinawa are cute and shrinky-dinked!  I'm not sure a "real" size American auto would even fit on the roads and certainly won't fit into any parking space!)  Thankfully the car is an automatic so I don't have to stretch myself beyond concentrating on driving on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road AND with all the controls reversed.  I've managed to turn the windshield wipers on at least 10 times when I was sure I was turning the turn signal on!  I had to watch a pre-rental video that helped to explain just how insane Japanese drivers (and Americans driving in Japan) are! 

My Japanese rental car - it's only about 4 foot tall!

I expected to see many people on bikes but was told the car drivers are just too dangerous for the bikers to stand a chance!  (Yikes!)  I don't think I'm even going to bother with turning the radio on for the first month just to avoid any potential distractions!  I do have a navigation system included on the car.....and of course, she speaks Japanese so I have no idea what she's telling me.  The navigation includes a map though so at least I can look at the pictures, LOL!