One of the minor challenges about being back in the U.S. is getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road from Japan, which drives on the left, British style. It’s not that hard, of course — just make sure your body is always closer to the center line than your passenger, wherever you are, and you’ll never have a problem. Happily the arrangement of the foot pedals in cars are standard no matter what side of the road you’re driving on, but this isn’t true of the lever for the turn signal (called “winker” in Japan, by the way), which is reversed right/left when you switch from Japan to the U.S. This causes my already borderline dyslexic brain to get confused and turn on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. Also, no force in the universe can stop me from trying to get into the car in the wrong side when I’ve moved between countries, which causes me to make a nonchalant stroll to the other side of the car, hoping no one will notice my goof.
Getting used to driving on the other side of the road.
