Wednesday shopping. Phyllis drove. He is competent at driving, quite good really, but I still had my foot on the passenger side imaginary brake pedal at times.
After shopping, Kosov drove with his learner plates displayed. Kosov did drive a car in India, and has an Indian driving license, 'bought' by his parents.
He was a left foot braker in India, which really isn't the right way to drive. I don't think our driving test people would accept that now, although I know it still happens with local drivers born overseas. It can be easy to tell as they ride the brake with their left foot as they drive and their rear brake lights are lit. I am seeing this less than it used to be.
Kosov's driving has steadily improved. He is far from competent yet, but doing much better. I had prepared myself to compliment him, and so build his confidence.
I don't fully understand what happened, but when it came to turning into our carpark entrance, he went past where he was meant to turn and then went up onto the footpath. I yelled 'stop', and he did. I told him to get out and I would reverse the car back onto the lane and drive to our building's garage.
I now know he confused his left and right feet, and was braking with his left foot and accelerating with his right foot. Before he should have turned, he was already getting the turn wrong. There was chatter about when to press the button to open the carpark gate. Maybe that distracted him. Look, his speed was only about 10 km/h but had someone been standing on the footpath...
More driving Thursday, and it was clear the experience yesterday had rattled him, as he drove less confidently. While at about 20 km/h, I warned he and Phyllis that I was about to test the electric handbrake It worked well enough, and I can stop the car with my intervention. He did make a serious mistake today, but without consequences, and nothing like yesterday's. I do feel preparing him for a driving test is going to be a long haul.
Naturally he was mortified, and kept apologising. Phyllis kindly said nothing at the time. What my mind was occupied with was what happened and how to ensure it didn't happen again.
Not too much has happened this week. Ex Sis in Law and her husband flew off to Bali this morning, and had to leave home at 3am.
This afternoon my Indonesian neighbour invited me out for coffee, he being the father of his daughter who has twice locked herself out their apartment, and called on me for help.
He grew up in poverty in Indonesian Borneo, with an abusive father and an uncaring mother. Somehow through sheer will and being smart, and some luck, he ended up being a being a highly desirable employee, working in the tech area of public transport and other areas and became a rich person in Australia. In the last few years he spent time working in Indonesia. He is very handsome, for a fifty one year old. There came an opportunity to ask him if he had Chinese heritage. Indonesia has a population of Chinese heritage people but mostly a native Moslem population. His heritage is Chinese. Sorry if this offends you. It is the way my mind works, and I established that he is not circumcised. Wouldn't mind seeing it.
He has a house too, in an expensive outer eastern Melbourne goes up for auction today. I need to do some searching. Maybe it's a middle suburb now. What were outer suburbs seem to have become inner suburbs.
Whatever nonsense I've written, it was a nice catch up with my neighbour. He was kind to me when Ray died.
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East Melbourne is an expensive INNER suburb, only 2 ks from the centre of the city. The architecture is handsome and the environment clean and green.
ReplyDeleteI'd quite like to live in East Melbourne, Hels. But so expensive.
DeleteSome Indonesians would also have some Dutch ancestry in their genes.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing a wonderful Dutch masters exhibition much of it documenting life in the then Dutch East Indies. Like all colonisers there were issues.
His wife's name Johanna, which sounds quite Dutch to me.
DeleteThe difference between the use of the words Moslem and Muslim is worth checking out .
ReplyDeleteI did some twenty years ago and I can't remember what I concluded. However, I just checked and this jumped out at me, "When Baby Boomers were children it was Moslem".
DeleteI'm glad that mistake behind the wheel didn't end up worse. And I'm thankful for kind neighbors. ~hugs~ There are a lot of new housing developments being established here and I hope at least most of the residents understand regional traffic signals, etc. Traffic patterns and signaling (at least location of lights) differs from city to city, let alone state to state in the US. I've gotten confused a time or two while traveling.
ReplyDeleteDarla, hopefully they will be quick learners.
DeleteAmen! May they be smart like your two lovely roommates.
DeleteI can understand Kosov being rattled, my grand daughter was the same for a while, but now drives as well as the rest of her family, though she doesn't like driving in the city. Thankfully she doesn't live within the city.
ReplyDeleteThat's reassuring River. I'm sure he will get there.
DeleteI'm just getting my head around the point in the conversation where you somehow raised the circumcision issue with your neighbour.
ReplyDeleteI did not MC. He is of Chinese heritage. That's all I needed to know about his skin, or the lack of it. He will have his skin.
DeleteOnce you pass your driving test, both road and a paper test. You get your liaison. I got mine at 16.
ReplyDeleteYou have to be 18 here Dora, but maybe you can start to learn at at 17. I don't know.
DeleteMust be a bit hard to get used to driving a different way but giving him praise when due is a nice thing to do Andrew. Your friend has done well for himself.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret. Perhaps my help for the world is helping Phyllis and Kosov stay here. They are decent and hard working guys, and I hope they can become Australians.
DeleteWell let's hope they can Andrew. I presume they wish too.
DeleteAlmost all of us, have roots someplace else.
ReplyDeleteI sure do, TP.
DeleteI wouldn't want to be learning to drive now. Everything's bigger and there's more traffic everywhere. One adapts, of course.
ReplyDeleteThe free and open roads from our younger years is a time that's passed.
DeleteI don't like other people driving me. I feel I am the better person behind the wheel!
ReplyDeleteBob, for me it depends on who is driving. Generally I am ok with most people in a car.
DeleteDo you think they can become Australians, Andrew? Sounds like they would be assets to the country. If Kosov doesn't end up in a horrible wreck. Do they have a driving simulator app, so he can practise, although you can't really drive with a couple fingers, like in an app.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, a driving simulator would perhaps be helpful. I don't know about them. I think they can become permanent residents and go on to be Australians. As a couple, it will only take one of them to get PR, and with some complications, the other can stay too.
DeleteI've never driven and would prefer to be anywhere but in a car!
ReplyDeleteI use my car when I have to Jackie. Otherwise, it is public transport for me.
DeleteI am not a good passenger and much prefer to be the driver. Especially in my car.
ReplyDeletePat, I differ if I think the drive is competent. Nearly everyone I know is a decent driver, so no problem for me if they are driving.
DeleteMy younger daughter is an L plater at the moment and I have discovered very anxious about carparks = especially undercover carparks.
ReplyDeleteJeanie, some of our underground carparks are so tight, they are a challenge for even we experienced drivers. I hate them.
DeleteI have never driven a car and am very happy to let the bus and metro drivers do the driving here in Montreal. It is a scene drive for me on the bus.
ReplyDeleteLinda, personal drivers in large vehicles, way to go.
DeleteThanks so much, Andrew. :)
DeleteI've gotta ask, Phyllis is a man? Here it's known as braking with your right foot, I don't know of many people who use the left foot, have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteYes Amy. Think of a male equivalent of Phyllis. I can't say it was a great weekend, given my lack of blog posts.
DeleteFor some reason my mother drove with her left foot on the brake. She occasionally forgot and stopped when she shouldn't have. Fortunately, no major accidents occurred.
ReplyDeleteKirk, it was completely wrong, and I think a hangover from when the left foot operated the clutch pedal on the left. The left foot became idle for most in auto cars, but it still wanted to do something.
DeleteYou speak your mind. Genuine. I like the talk like that
ReplyDeleteRoentare, maybe write my mind.
DeleteYou established he was uncircumcised? How on earth did THAT come up in conversation?! You must be a much braver conversationalist than I am, Andrew. :)
ReplyDeleteToo bad about Phyllis and the driving. You're right -- if he uses only one foot that will help limit those sorts of mistakes. (Though it's still possible to confuse pedals.)
Steve, it was slightly educated guess. Chinese people generally don't circumcise.
DeleteThat was Kesav who made the pedal mistake. Yes, plenty of instances here with older people confusing pedals, and not just older either.
I feel sorry for Kosov. He sounds aslearsome practice time away from city driving might boost his confidence. Although, I imagine driving in India involved heavy traffic too.
ReplyDeleteTwo questions: Kosov's parents bought his driver's license? Was there any proficiency testing involved?
Debby, I think that's a good idea to take Kosov to a motorway with say an 80/50 speed limit. I don't think he has skills to steer at a higher speed than that.
DeleteI doubt there was any kind of test he underwent in India. He would not have passed any kind of practical driving test.
Second question: here when a property is auctioned of it means that the house has gone back to the bank for nonpayment of the mortgage or that he has not paid property taxes for three successive years. Does it mean something else there?
ReplyDeleteAn auction is just a competitive way to sell your house, almost always conducted by a real estate agent (realtor?) auctioneer. If a house doesn't sell at auction, is often will afterwards via private negotiations. They work best for the vendor when the property is very desirable, for whatever reasons. I might write a post about the system we have.
DeleteWell before a bank would force a house sale for non mortgage payments, the owner would attempt a sale themselves. Banks actually enforcing a sale is unusual.
Indians are not known for their driving skills in Australia, glad your protégées are being instructed by you.
ReplyDeleteSami, that is so about foreign drivers generally, as my brother will rail about. As Phyllis said to HH last night, he thinks his driving is good because he had such a good teacher. I'll take that bow.
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