First Impressions of Africa

My first impression of Africa was that it is like being in Mexico, yet not at all like Mexico. Everything is dusty and not clean, but also new and very interesting to me. I had been out of the country a few times but never in a place that seemed as different as this. After getting out of the airport I realized that driving here was more like off-roading in the States, every five feet there is a pothole or speed bump. The big problem of those two things is that the speed bumps aren’t marked at all so you really just have to hope you see them before you get to them. Now if you think that is hard to drive with, you should also know that at the same time you are trying to spot these potholes and speed bumps you are having to watch all the cars around you more then ever because the only real road rules are "try not to kill anyone" and "try not to get killed" and that includes the random people,donkeys, carts etc. that walk across the road. However after you get past all those odd things you start to see the landscape and the animals that live here and it really seems to take your attention away from those things. In the city it is all the same but then you have to watch out for the bikers too, because they don’t really look out for you. I’m a little shocked that there are bikers here because that just seems stupid, it would be like trying to bike around in a bumper car rink with a bunch of little kids driving the cars...although I think that that is a bit safer. I'm also not quite used to the goats, cows, sheep, and chickens not to mention the dogs that are walking around too. It is definitely different then anywhere I have been before.