In my earlier post, I mentioned that in almost every instance, the Lebanese people are some of the most welcoming and hospitable people on the planet. The exception to the rule happens when these welcoming, hospitable people get behind the wheel of a car. The driving…OOOH the driving!! It is insane here. I used to think that the Brazilians held the title for crazy drivers, but Lebanese have definitely taken first place in my book.

I don’t even know why they bother to put white lines on the highways here. I’ve seen cars going along at a nice clip for more than 2 or 3 minutes happily straddling two lanes as if they are trying to decide which is more agreeable to them. We’ve been cut off and cursed out more times that I can even think of counting. Drivers passing at crazy speeds on hair pin turns, buses trying to squeeze into traffic pockets that would hardly have fit a Mini Cooper, people making left turns from the right lane…all part of a normal day. I’m convinced that the drivers use their horns more than their turn signals…and their brakes…combined. And motorcycle helmets…HA! Those are for wimps. I can honestly say I don’t think a day will ever come when I want to get behind the wheel of a car in this country…the passenger seat is hair-raising enough for me.