Good Luck Everybody Else!

It is pull-out-your-hair frustrating to navigate a car through Chengdu just to run daily errands.  It boils down to no organization or traffic rules.  Well, that plus stupidity.  Cars, buses, bikes, pedestrians, scooters, hoverounds, tuk-tuks (have I missed anything?) all try to get to where they're going without regard for anyone else.  Basically, it's a big game of chicken.  I've gotten pretty good at playing the game in my big fat minivan.  BRING IT Chengdu-ren!  Shaun and I love this video clip because it is just so dang funny and true at the same time.



We cite it almost daily while driving, for example:  "Phone ringing!  I stop now.  Good luck everybody else!" or "Somebody parked in my lane.  I get over your lane now.  Good luck everybody else!"  It takes the edge off, because if we're not laughing we're cursing.  There are many cars here with the adage "good luck" inscribed on the license plates--oh the irony.

Here's a video clip of the traffic taken during an outing in Chengdu.  Luckily we didn't have the kids with us.

I threw that guy in there at the end just for the sheer enjoyment of it.  And no Mom, that was not me crossing the road in front of cars that had a green light, looking through my camera window as I walked.  I would NEVER!  But if I did, "when in China. . . " right?  I'm afraid that after developing certain driving skilz to survive here, I may unknowingly revert back to my Chinese ways in the states and make people very mad.  Can I claim *DWA?  I go NOW!  Good luck everybody else!


* "driving while Asian"