I’ve now been here for a week and have yet to master the art of graceful street crossing. I don’t know if any of you have been to Rome, but when I was there many years ago, I took pride in having mastered crossing the street gracefully and without any pauses.

I must say that Rome does not come even close to the craziness of street crossing in Thailand (or at least Chiang Mai). I can’t even begin to describe what it is like.

On my arrival, I consistently found myself standing on the curb watching and waiting….watching and waiting… watching and waiting….to cross the street. Alas, moments came and went. Local folks were crossing the street and I was left on the curb trying to figure out how to cross the God-damned street!

There has been no rhyme nor reason for this skill. As a pedestrian, i have found myself in a state of hyper-alertness – the cars come and go, and don’t seem to pay attention to line markings which leaves me having to be even more alert. I haven’t mentioned this, but formal pedestrian crossings are rare and lights to cross even rarer.

Street crossing is not for the daydreamers, which I tend to be.

After a week, these have been my strategies for crossing the road:
1. Pray for an opening.
2. Wait for a gap and run like hell.
Once you start, there is no
turning back.
3. Stand on the curb and wait until
a local person is going to cross
the same street. Use them as a
shield. Walk along side them
and be on the side that is
furthest from the oncoming cars.
They know what they are doing
and if a car is headed towards
us, the other person will get hit
first. I don’t think that this will
ever happen. These folks know
what they’re doing.

I have met a couple of locals who have encouraged me to just cross the street, that the vehicles will just move around me. I’m not so confident yet. I have tried it and have to say that I have had a couple of smooth and graceful crossings. Perhaps there’s hope for me yet.