The Mountains Were Breath-taking, But It Was the Roads That Jolted Me to a Stop and Breakdown
I pulled over to cry — it was the first time I ever experienced a nervous breakdown
Language barriers, culture shock, strain in relationships, fitting in, and finances — all seem to make moving to a new country the top thing most people have difficulty adapting to! For others, it may be time or religious differences, health systems, or even units of measurement.
None of those come close to the biggest problem I’ve faced moving to Monterrey, Mexico. I never would have guessed it either — but it’s driving.
Driving in a selfish culture with no regard for safety or the law has been the single hardest thing I’ve had to adapt to. I love driving — but this beautiful city of Monterrey, Mexico — home to close to 5,000,000 people — slowly has zapped the joy out of driving.
Where shall we begin?
Speedbumps!
We call those “policia acostados” in Venezuela (where I was born and raised) which literally translates to laying (down) policemen. Here in Mexico, they call them topes. Topes are found everywhere — they are pretty much the full extent of “speed monitoring.”
