56, Inexperienced, and Speeding on the Freeway: How I Attempted to Merge at 100 km/h While 'Screaming' After Only 30 Minutes of Practice
To everyone who gave a like and follow to my previous post, “Immigration Inspection and Being Sent to a Separate Room”, thank you very much.
From the depths of despair I experienced in a foreign land at the age of 56,
I was finally able to take my first step forward.
However, the American gods were Spartan to the very end.
What awaited me after entering the country was a literal “life-or-death survival” experience.
The American daily life where the concept of distance is distorted
I decided to study abroad at the
California State University, Sacramento language preparatory class.
Luckily, I found a homestay through an acquaintance's connection, but
to my surprise, that place was a town 60 kilometers away from the university.
America does not have convenient trains or buses like Japan.
Not having a car is the same as “not having legs.”
I decided to buy a used car immediately after arriving in the U.S.
However, the used car dealership that an acquaintance living in America
took me to
was another 80 kilometers away from my homestay.
Standing in front of the partner (used car) I finally obtained there,
the clerk said quite casually.
“Alright, take this and drive home today.”
…Wait, right now? In this unfamiliar left-hand drive car?
To a 56-year-old woman who didn't even really understand American traffic rules,
they were telling me to drive 80 kilometers home alone.
Apparently, that is the American “normal.”
30 Minutes of Practice, Then Off to the “Merge of Death”
The acquaintance who came with me said, “Want to get used to it a little?” and
spent just 30 minutes practicing with me.
But after that, they heartlessly told me this:
“Okay, I’ll guide you to where you’re staying, so just follow behind me.
Don’t get separated!”
Wait, don’t leave me behind!
Knowing I couldn't afford to get separated,
I desperately clung to the taillights of my acquaintance’s car.
Then, right in front of me, appeared the entrance to a massive “freeway”!
“Don’t slow down! Step on it with momentum!”
Recalling the words I had been told beforehand,
I floored the accelerator in a state of near-hysteria.
'I'm so scared!' My own scream echoed through the car.
Tears welled up from fear, blurring my vision.
A torrent of four lanes, speeding while crying
The moment I merged onto the main road, what jumped into my eyes was a vast
'sea of four lanes.'
From both the right and the left, massive trucks and cars moving at breakneck speeds were passing me by.
A world exceeding 100 kilometers per hour.
If I misjudged the steering even slightly here, it would be over in an instant. I
kept driving while crying and screaming,
thinking only of not losing sight of the car in front of me.
'I might die, but I can't stop now!'
For a 56-year-old international student, the first real day of life in America
was a life-or-death high-speed run with snot running down my nose.
Now, I live my life using a cane to walk indoors, and
I often use a wheelchair to get around now, but unlike back then,
I no longer cut through the wind at 100 kilometers per hour.
However, even now, I feel that the 'wild grit' I had
when I stepped on the gas while trembling with fear
is still sleeping within me.
'It's scary, but I have no choice but to move forward.'
How much the me of today is encouraged by the me of that day.
From that day I went speeding down the freeway,
my true life in America began with a roar.
(To be continued)