nightlife, traffic

Last night Emily and I went out dancing with a bunch of Marines.

Bars and dance clubs are the same everywhere. I went to a bar in Tblisi, Georgia (also with Marines) one time and people wore the same clothes and danced to the same music that they do in Montana and Washington DC and Minnesota and Rwanda. Weird. I don't know if this is an example of American cultural imperialism and our evil domineering ways, or if it is an example of the commonalities shared by all mankind.

It's probably an example of something else entirely. If you think of it let me know!

Today I learned how to drive to the school we'll be working at. I liked it, and I didn't run over anyone. Emily was nervous so maybe tomorrow we'll get her a crash helmet and some knee-and-elbow pads.

Traffic is interesting. There are a lot of people on motorbikes zooming around and a lot of people walking around carrying things on their heads and not really any street signs or lane markers. Roads here are full of huge potholes and you have to careen wildly all over the road to avoid them (and to avoid all those other things I just mentioned). Or you can just drive straight over them, which was mostly my approach this afternoon. My parents' car isn't very bouncy, so hopefully I will become more skilled at pothole-avoidance at some point in the near future.

Tomorrow we'll go over to the school and work out the schedule for teaching and researching. Then the fun begins for real.