It's Raining Turn Signals

One of the things I need to adapt to in Australia is learning to drive on what to me is the wrong side of the road. Since I’ve arrived I have repeatedly gotten into the passenger side of the car and needed to get out to reposition myself on the other side of the car, in the Driver’s seat. I drift a little bit towards the left side of the lane (and sometimes a little over it) and before each turn, say aloud, “left into near lane, right into far lane.” But I have to say that hands down, the hardest “wrong side of the road” driving skill to conquer has been mastering the art of the turn signal. In the U.S., the turn signal is on the left side of the steering wheel, and pushing it up indicates a right turn and down indicates a left turn. The windshield wiper is located on the right side of the steering wheel. In Australia, it’s the complete opposite; the windshield wiper is located on the left side of the steering wheel and the turn signal is located on the right side of the steering wheel. Moreover, pushing the turn signal up indicates a left turn, not a right turn, and vice versa. Surprisingly I have quickly adapted to the reversal of the left and right turn signals. But the turn signal and windshield wiper switch is a whole other issue. Today’s windshield wiper instead of turn signal count? 10. Ok, in an attempt for full disclosure, I probably made about 11 turns today. Yeah, I’m that awesome.