Failing to Learn to Drive. After I got my learner’s permit, my mom took me to a large parking lot near our house to teach me how to drive. She had a manual car, because that’s what she learned back in Uruguay and she liked it better.
She explained to me how the clutch, break and accelerator work (I had no model of it before this). and how to do the gentle handoff between letting go of the clutch as you engage the accelerator. But there was a problem - she told me the clutch and the break reversed, meaning she told me the clutch was the break pedal, and the break was the clutch.
When I tried to start the car and put it into gear, the car would start jerking violently back and forth, and then stall. i did this again and again for an hour. Every once in a while we’d trade seats, and my mom would carefully pay attention to how she was doing it, and then proceed to explain it to me wrong again and again. At some point I said I must be doing something wrong
and she said Clearly!
in anger. I was totally convinced I’d never be able to learn how to drive.
Somehow every one in twenty attempts worked, and I was able to get the car into first gear and drive around. I would then try to get into second gear and the same thing would happen again - jerk violently and then stall.
At some point I managed to get into second gear by miracle, and after driving around the parking lot a few times, she suggested we take it out into the street and drive home. When I got to the first intersection, I got in a collision with a car that turned illegaly (I had the green light). there was no damage to my car, but the other guy broke his headlight. He then drove off in a hurry instead of exchanging information.
I was now stuck in the middle of the intersection, in a panic, with cars waiting in every direction, and I couldn’t get the car started. i was trying but it kept jerking and stalling every time. eventually we traded seats, in front of everyone, and drove home. I was super embarrassed.
I never asked my mom to teach me to drive (or anything else) after that, and for the next two years I commuted to college via subway, an hour and a half each way, every day.
It wasn’t until late sophomore year that I made a friend, Elkin, who was willing to patiently and kindly teach me to drive manual. He drove me to the driving exam, which I then failed. Three times. Motor skills don’t come easy to me. Finally the fourth time I passed.
Thank you Elkin for your help. you were a great friend.