Testing fate

 

His right hand motions the form of a cross over his chest, his left hand tightly grips the wheel as he flies around the corner on the wrong side of the road in a beaten up grey van. Our eyes meat as he careens towards me. At this point, I wonder, is he doing that for me or him? He glides past, just centimetres from me. For me, this incident is very symbolic of how people think and live in this part of the world. People are not at all averse to risk, seatbelts are something you drape over yourself to please the watchful police officer. Brakes are only required as an absolute last resort if the horn hasn't worked to remove the offending object. And exposed electrical wiring is only dangerous if you touch it, so don't! These nuances of a culture are in your face, all the time. You live and breath them and each one gives you a different perspective about yourself and how we think as a society, why we do things the way we do, why not just leave it all up to fate? Something to ponder on the long road ahead...