Vodka, credit cards, and an American driver's license

So what is driving like in Bishkek? That is the question that I get from many people since I bought a car a month ago. It's been an adventure! For one thing I think I'm the youngest single female foreigner to drive a car in Bishkek...I get lots of questions from other foreigners about that, and some weird looks! There are a lot of different things that I need to get used to. For one thing, driving here, I think, is like slolam(sp?) skiing because there are so many pot holes, and bad drivers to dodge. So the idea of staying in your own lane just doesn't even exist. Lots of foreigner complain about this one, but I've discovered that if you study how everyone drives here, there is a rhyhm and reason to why they drive the way they do. Then you just have to drive like everyone else and it's not such a big deal.

Then there are certain things that aren't as easy to find here as in America...like windshield washer fluid....but why do you need special fluid when you have vodka? That's what the locals think anyway, half vodka, and half water in the resevoir does the trick....but wow does that stink. I was at my roommates house, and her dad had a bottle of vodka, so he put it into my tank with some water, and then I proceeded to clean my windshield....when I got out of my car, it smelled like my car had just taken a bath in vodka....not a very nice smell...I think I'll be trying to find real windshield wiper fluid! But in case anyone is wondering vodka does the trick!

The other thing that I haven't found yet is an ice scrapper...being from New England, I've always had an ice scrapper and I've always known where to buy if I didn't have one, but here I didn't have one, and was mentioning to my friend from Hawaii that I didn't have an ice scrapper, and how it was a pain in the neck. She just looked at me and said well a credit card works well for that problem...hmmm good thought! It just so happened that I had an old old plastic gift card sitting in my wallet...I knew there was a reason I never threw it out! It has turned into the perfect ice scrapper...much better than bare hands and a bottle of water like the locals do it!

The other thing about driving is the police...but being a foreign young girl is great on that end here. The first time I was pulled over, the officer looked at my license and looked at me, and asked if I was an American. I said I was, and then he looked at me again and asked, "So can you pay a fine?" I just looked at him and said, "nope can't pay a fine" and he was like,"don't you always pay a fine in America?, and I said,"no not always" and he looked at me again, and said," oh okay, go on."! That one was easy! The next time, they pulled me over the officer came up to the car, and said, "Hello beautiful." I handed him my documents, he looked at the drivers license for a long time, and ask, "Are you from Switzerland?" I said, "No I'm an American." he answered, "An American?!!!" Yup that's what I am!, then he pointed to my seatbelt to ask if I had been wearing my seatbelt. Of course I had been, my mother taught me well:-) and I told him that, and he was so apologetic, say, "Oh I'm so sorry, go on." So far no fines, no problems, just have to smile. The best thing is that they don't sit in their unmarked cars waiting to put their lights on like in America. They just stand at the side of the road and wave people over with a bright orange stick...that's somehow a lot less intimidating to me!

So that's some of my driving adventures so far, I'm sure there will be more!