Transport!

As of September 26, I have transportation. It’s a 2000 Nissan Sunny ex saloon (I hoped that meant there was a minibar in the trunk but it turned out to be CD changer). Actually, this vehicle is a rolling boombox, with a bass-boosted stereo system that blows small livestock off the shoulder as I pass by (not that I would ever play my music that loud). The first day I drove it, I ended up driving home in the dark in the rain on a Saturday night on the left-hand side of the 2-lane Ezulwini road – a baptism by fire, of sorts. I just kept telling myself that eventually I’d get home and then I’d know I’d survived the worst driving experience that was in store. Well, I made it home, but now I realize there are probably many more worsts in store given the roads here. Ezulwini Road was harrowing mostly because of the dark and rain and my unfamiliarity with the road and with sitting on the right while driving on the left. For the most part, that road is in good shape and fairly well marked (better than roads in Alaska).

The following Saturday, in a new vehicular trial, the boombox and I ended up on what seemed like an endless expanse of rutted, narrow, rocky, hilly and steeply winding dirt road. We were travelling to an orphanage near Piggs Peak, which was already a fairly long drive from Mbabane. So there was no point in turning back. The boombox made it all the way there, but when Laura and I went to leave about an hour and a half later, it refused to start. Would not even turn over. I opened the hood and noticed that one battery terminal connection had bounced loose. So I tightened it, and (hurrah) the car started. But, once it started, the hazard lights began to flash and they would not shut off. I believe the poor vehicle was voicing its opinion of the road conditions it had been forced to travel. We had to drive all the way back (on the highway and the freeway) with the hazard lights flashing, which of course annoyed other motorists (although they did know to look out for me which, as an American driver, is probably a good thing). The following Monday, I took the car to the mechanic recommended by a colleague. I was worried that, as an electric glitch, the problem might be spendy to find and correct. However, it only cost me E150 (about $20) and two hours of waiting around. It turned out the boombox was, in a way, voicing its disapproval. The problem was a previously installed alarm system that had only been partially disconnected. So the hazard lights should have been accompanied by a shrieking alarm. My guess is that the battery disconnection may have set it off (or the bumpy road, or maybe it was just ready to misbehave.)