Before moving here, the two things I had the biggest expectations for were for the weather and the traffic. These were the two things people back in the States would warn me about when they learned about our family's plan to move to Manila. But oddly enough one of the easiest transitions to living here has been the traffic. Maybe it was because I had high expectations for bad traffic?
I usually like to include pictures, to help you visualize the things I describe in my blog. But taking pictures while in traffic doesn't sound like the safest combination. So for this post there will be no pictures. But I will try to paint you a picture with my words instead. So here goes.... here is my "new normal" and my adjustment to traffic here in Manila.
God used it for good
I grew up about 25 miles away from where I attended high school. And about 10 miles away from the nearest gas station and grocery store. Which might be okay if I told you I grew up in North Dakota. But I grew up in Los Angeles County. So all this reveals that from the time I started driving, at the age of 16, I have learned to expect to spent a lot of time in the car and sit through traffic.
Okay a little confessing time. I have gotten a lot of traffic tickets. In fact I lost count. Maybe I have had around 7-10 total in my life? Probably some of it due to just the amount of time I spend on the road. But communting, traffic and tickets God has used for good. Perhaps He was shaping me for life in Manila. But I expect traffic. I expect rude drivers, I expect long hours in the car.
Let's play Frogger & Paperboy!
One of the thing traffic here reminds me of is of the video games Frogger and Paperboy. Frogger is from the standpoint of the pedestrian trying to cross traffic. Just like Mr. Frogger, the pedestrian jumps from lane to lane waiting for an opportunity to cross and trying not to get run over. There are many many frogs here in Manila traffic.
Paperboy is from the standpoint of the driver. In Paperboy you are on a bicycle trying to ride down the road to deliever paper, but you have to be on your toes! Because all sorts of crazy unexpected things coming running out of nowhere to cross your path. Just like driving here, you never know when one of those Frogger-pedestrians will cut you off. Gotta be on your toes!
Magic hands and running shoulders
But the pedestrians here have a wisdom about them, a street knowledge that allows me to trust they will not crazily run in front of my car like a toddler chasing his ball into the street. And two ways they employ their wisdom is with magic hands and running shoulders.
Magic hands, is where Frogger makes eye contact with the driver and shows the driver he will be crossing in front of their car now. They do so with a straight arm and a flip of the wrist. The arm is straighten, wrist flipped, and palm faced out towards the Paperboy. This allows them to cross and causes the car to slow, almost like a magic spell.
Running shoulders are to be used when magic hands do not work. If Frogger has failed to catch Paperboy's attention with his hand, he will then employ his shoulders. He knows it is foolish to run in traffic, so he always stays at a brisk walk. But in order to show his commitment to hurry across the road he will "run with his shoulders". It is a special talent of pedestrians here. They are walking with their feet but running with their shoulders. This alerts Paperboy that Frogger is commited and trying his hardest to cross traffic in the quickest manner.
Mere suggestions, Counterflow & Driving on the shoulder
One of the first things you need to know about driving here is that lanes are guidelines and mere suggestions. The flow of traffic here has been described to me like water current in a stream. It ebs and flows and curves, and you follow the flow. Like a crowded mall, you must learn to weave through the crowd without running into each other and you do so by following the flow of the current, not the lines on the ground.
Two advantages to such a driving is counterflow and driving on the shoulder. How many times have you been stuck in traffic only to look longingly at the other side of the road because of how open it is? Have you not wished you could drive on the opposite side of the road, and counterflow, in order to better use that empty space? Here you can. The same can be said about driving on the shoulder. Need a new lane? Just make one! Have an empty sidewalk or shoulder not being used?
Where's the road rage?
There is aggression on the road, but the type of agreesion that fights for each inch. But for the most part, there is a lack of road rage like I have seen in the States. Did you try and make a lefthand turn and got stuck, only to block oncoming traffic? No problem! People's patience here is longer than in the States. So go ahead block traffic, they will wait quietly.
You can do anything with hazard lights
Hazard lights are powerful here. They allow you to park your car right in the middle of the lane and not have anyone honk or yell at you. What's that car doing just parked in the middle of the road? No worries, he has his hazards on, its okay. Or is traffic at a complete standstill and your turn off is only a block away? Just turn on your hazards and counterflow in order to get to your turnoff without having to wait in the traffic.
Don't play traffic math
One sure fire way to test your patience and get your blood pressue up is to measure distance in terms of time. When I grew up in Southern California if you asked me how far did I live from church I would say 35 minutes. From high school 25 minutes to 1 hour. Everything was timed. But now I just refer to locations, no distance measured in time or miles/kilometers. Sure sometimes you can get from our house to the airport in 40 minutes, but that is on a holiday or at weird hours of the night. Othertimes it might just be a quick 1.5 hours. Or it could take you up to 4.5 hours. You will be better off if you don't try to play traffic math.
Enjoy the scenery
So if you are not going to play traffic math how will you spend your time? Enjoy the scenery! A game I like to play with my boys is "find the superhero". A Jeepney is one of the forms of public transportation here and they are indivually painted and customized. Jeepneys are a blog post in and of themselves. But you can find almost anything painted on a jeepney. Superheros, robots, racing cars, The Beetles, Mr. Bean, dragons, you name it. It makes for a really fun game of "I spy" with the boys.
There is so many interesting things you can observe from the culture just sitting in traffic.
Happy Memories!
Sitting in traffic is not my enemy. One reason I know this is from all of the happy memories I have from traffic. Sweet times with my sister as we made up stories about the drivers we saw around us when we commuted together to high school. And hours of singing along with my best friend Janea, whenever we traveled together. And productive times of listening to sermons when I commuted a couple hours everyday for college. Or the 4.5 hour trip back from the airport with our teammate and getting to catch up with her. Traffic is where memories are made! ;)
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