New Car, New Rules

I got a car yesterday!!  woohoo!


I hated the Nissan Cube when we were in the States.  Now I own one.  I chose this car because it had very low kilometers and looks like it is in relatively good shape for being 7 years old.  The crazy thing about cars out here is that they all look so new!  Most of the cars for sale out here are 7+ years old and have 100,000+ km on them, so when I saw the Cube had 60,000 km on it, was in good physical shape, and reasonably priced I decided to get over my loathing and buy it.
I don't really like the boxy-ness of it and it looks like it's trying to be a shirt with only one sleeve.  Like it's trying to be sexy or something.  But it's boxy.  So, to me, it fails.  But, hopefully my car will treat me well for the next few years.  Also, a lot of cars out here looks like clown cars to me because they're so compact.  OH!! and the names of the cars!!!  Mine is a Nissan Cube, not too weird, right?  Well, there are model names like Note, Naked, Fun Cargo, Surf, Dion, Swift, Skyline... Idk, there's some fun names.
Anyway, so I was the proud grateful owner of a vehicle... Only one problem.  Everything is opposite.  We drive on the left side of the road on the right side of the car.  I proudly admit I did the "Okinawa wave" a few times yesterday.  It's what people nicely say when you accidentally use your windshield wipers instead of your turn signal because those controls are on the opposite side, too.  It's so bizarre driving on the opposite side of the road.  I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I have to consciously think about which side of the road I am supposed to be on.  I am very much looking forward to being able to be on auto-pilot again and not have to put so much energy into how I'm driving and instead learn where I'm driving.  For now, the Mr has to be in the passenger seat navigating.
BTW, the Mr isn't allowed to get his license for like 30 days or something ridiculous, which means all the getting around falls on my shoulders or his sponsor's.  I do believe a night in with a glass of wine is in my very near future!
The Mr isn't too fond of being the passenger because he constantly feels a need to remind me to slow down and stay away from the curb on the left.  Speeding tickets are very expensive out here.  In one of the briefs one guy said he knew someone with a speeding ticket for 4 km over the limit and it was $700.  Speed is photo enforced out here. And it's not clearly marked.  My. worst. nightmare.  Furthermore, speeds are very slow.  The fastest we've seen out in town is 60 km/h which is 37 mp/h.  This was on a road comparable to La Grange (Tinley Park) or Miramar Rd (San Diego) or  busier than Indianapolis Blvd (Munster)  ...
As far as the curb on the left... well, it's a learning curve.  As we were driving away from the seller she said, "Keep your heiny on the line-y!"  It clicked just a few minutes later when the Mr was yelling something about a curb and replacing rims if I hit it and yada yada yada :)
It's interesting and I'm getting the hang of it!