I thought I'd never have to drive a stick shift...

Borje was a lot taller and thinner than I thought he would be.  But of course he would be slim, he’s a cardiologist.  He pushed my cart, loaded high with my luggage.  We walked to the car and drove the 45 minutes to my new home.  Our island, Lidingo, is adorable!  The house is green and looks like a dollhouse.

Borje gave me time to take a nap and unpack in my perfect little apartment. I finally have a bathroom all to myself.  After getting settled in, I met Borje upstairs and we went to the grocery store.  And I had to drive the stick shift to get us there.

I thought I had made it through life without having to drive a manual car.  Now I have to learn to drive one in a foreign country.  Borje took me for a ride in the manual Volvo on my first day in Sweden.  I like to think it was my jet lag that made starting the car so confusing, but I think I would have been that bad at driving it last week in Wisconsin too.  Borje is a reassuring and patient teacher but he kept saying, “You’re too fast on the clutch!  This is a car…it isn’t the moon landing!”  I couldn’t stop it from jolting all over the place and I am lucky that I was able to stop myself crying all over the place. He said, "Take it easy, take it easy!"

After my fourth lesson, I was finally getting a hang of driving the stick shift, but I still don’t trust myself to drive the car alone.  But, I keep thinking, if this is the hardest thing I have to do this year, it will be a good year.  I am going to beat the stick shift! Like my mom says.