A few days after we returned from our peaceful day out in one of the most perfect wadis I've come across, our tranquil life was interrupted...by a 4ft high wall of dirt and rocks. Driving to school at the still dark hour of 6am on a road I've taken countless times throughout the year Latika (with me at the wheel and Zach in the shotgun seat) ran head on into the massive dirt wall somewhere between 60 and 80 km/h. Ouch. My airbag didn't deploy (oops, Kia), so I ended up breaking my steering wheel with my head. When Zach was relaying the story to his family in an e-mail, he was sure to get in a joke about my hard-headed nature. He's really laying some nice groundwork for me to meet them this summer.
The accident was in mid-February...it is now mid-April and Latika has yet to return to the wild roads of Oman. I can say with absolute certainty that this is the longest I've gone without driving since I got my license at age 16. It has been a good experience in that it is helping me grow as a person and learn to relinquish control. But I think everyone who has had to drive me somewhere (thanks Zach) or has dealt with my moodiness due to my independence being snatched away (sorry Zach), is ready for Latika to get fixed. Things move slowly here in Oman (except the addition of an unmarked dirt wall on a regularly used road apparently...), but I'm expecting to be back in the driver's seat in a week or so.
