| Author | Post |
|---|
ronin1
Administrator
| Joined: | Saturday January 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | S.F. Bay Area, California USA |
| Posts: | 622 |
| Visits: | 7 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Saturday March 11th, 2006 09:26 pm |
|
Teaching Your Russian Wife to Drive…
Many of us WM would think that teaching a RW to drive would be an easy task. Being in their 20s or 30s, they are more mature then the teens on the streets. RWs decision-making capabilities are more reasoned. Think again…
Teaching a RW to drive can seem like teaching a child to fly. I’m not saying it can’t be done, however it will take a lot of patience and many trials. One should consider this very carefully with the option of a professional (Russian) instructor in mind. It's difficult enough to teach a RW in Russia, however if you choose to be the instructor, you will be asserting yourself as the man. If you do your job well, you will instill respect in your RW that your words and skills can be trusted. This can be very rewarding for your relationship and can enhance the bonding process immensely.
First off, one has to remove all assumptions. Since RW come from a society where there is essentially no car culture for women, everything has to be spelled out and paraphrased. Leave no stone unturned for misunderstandings. If a RW gets into an accident under your tutelage then she will assume that it is your fault since you should have prevented it. In relationship to her, you are, after all, the expert.
Teach her everything about the workings of the car she will drive. She will no doubt get frustrated at all the preparations for just getting into the drivers seat, however it is a must. Remember, if anything, she is used to a Lada, which is comparable to a 1960s Fiat. The new 21st century cars are much more complex with the maze of controls to operate (like a 474 in comparison).
Before setting her loose on a parking lot, insure that she understands the ground rules. You’re the instructor and she must do exactly what you say without question. The emphasis is on “without question.” It defeats the purpose of having instruction if you have to answer her question of “why?” every time you say “stop!” or ‘brake!” Explain that the questions can come later when the car is not in motion. Explain the meaning of the common slang phrases and commands that you will use. Examples of that she may not be familiar with are:
1) Park at the curb. (RW thinking: There's no park any where here.)
2) Park in this slot. (RW thinking: What does that mean?)
3) Prepare to brake. (RW thinking: Why do I have to prepare?)
4) Prepare to stop. (RW thinking: Why do I have to prepare?)
5) Foot off the gas. (RW thinking: My foot is not in gas!)
6) Blinkers, now. (RW thinking: Why didn't he tell me that blinkers are the same as turn signals?)
7) Check your mirrors. (RW thinking: Why, did they fall off?)
8) Back out/up. (RW thinking: Why doesn't he say move the car in reverse?)
9) Look over your shoulder. (RW thinking: Is there something on my blouse?)
10) Fast lane.
11) Slow lane.
12) Merge now.
13) Pull over. (RW thinking: I was just getting used to "Park at the curb!")
14) Slow down.
15) Speed up.
To be continued...
Ronin
Related articles:
Red-October Blog - Danger RW driving (added 3/07)
Last edited on Wednesday August 27th, 2008 08:43 pm by ronin1
|
ronin1
Administrator
| Joined: | Saturday January 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | S.F. Bay Area, California USA |
| Posts: | 622 |
| Visits: | 7 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Saturday March 25th, 2006 03:56 am |
|
Teaching your Russian Woman to Drive Part 2
Be aware that there is a down side to being the instructor. By accepting this position, you are in effect guaranteeing her success in driving. If things don’t go well during instruction or she has difficultly in passing her exam, then it is you that are at fault. You are expected to remedy this situation with more than due diligence, since she will be comparing your efforts and her success to that of her RW GFs.
The first thing that RW will be overjoyed with is that most cars here have automatic transmissions. This is a god send to RW since in Russia, manual transmissions are almost universal. The second thing is that in Russia, half the difficulty of driving is learning how to dodge the foxhole like potholes of legend. Some of these Stalin era road features can be half a block long and cover a whole lane or more. Consequently, RW are often negatively impressed by AM drivers since this challenge, that differentiates a skilled driver from one less skilled, is lacking. On a side note, if you are driving and hit a pothole or a manhole cover, RW tend to get very annoyed. You are supposed to be the expert. Experts don’t hit potholes or manhole covers.
The most challenging maneuvers will most likely be in stopping smoothly and at the correct point. A lot of explaining and practice is required for this. Most RW tend to drive very slow and take a long time to perform visual checks to make sure things are clear for any particular maneuver. RW are not used to snapping their necks left and right when walking down the street. Nor are they keen on constantly checking for situational awareness every few seconds. I guess it maybe an acquired habit on our part. It will take RW some time to acquire. By this time you will start to think that your RW needs a more sturdy means of conveyence . Perhaps you are right. However your RW maybe thinking in the lines of something more like this or something with abit more crunch power.
Sometimes the whole ordeal of learning to drive will become overwhelming. She may breakdown and cry or say, “I will never drive!” That means it’s time to call it a day and treat her to something special for her efforts. The driving lessons can resume later when she has had some time to get over her current difficulties. I know of no RW that hasn’t become a proficient driver as long as one takes small steps.
RoninLast edited on Wednesday August 27th, 2008 08:23 pm by ronin1
|
manchester
Member
| Joined: | Monday August 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 5 |
| Visits: | 10+ | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Friday November 10th, 2006 01:58 am |
|
Being in the middle of this endeavour at the moment, and from an English perspective, I would suggest that the following be pointed out.....
1) We drive on the left (easy to mentally slip into LHD right hand side mode)
2) Roundabouts you dont stop on to have a think!
3) Parking means in relative proximity to the kerb, not at an obscure angle 4 foot away from it.
4) Speed limits should be took seriously and relying on pretending not to speak English and/or smiling at the traffic cop may cut no ice!
|
dwfunk
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday March 21st, 2006 |
| Location: | Houston, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 109 |
| Visits: | 3 | | Currently: | married |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Sunday November 12th, 2006 03:54 am |
|
Ouch! Oh, Lordy! What am I in for?? 
Texas has a "Parent taught" drivers education program in which a parent or other legal guardian can teach his/her own child. It's pretty rigorous, especially with the logging of actual teaching. They also have several approved curriculum to chose from in a varity of media formats.
I'm currently in the middle of teaching drivers education to my 16yo daughter. Of course in our communications Natalia has been following the progress of the instruction. When I visited this last summer I took the curriculum with me, as well as a printed copy of the Texas Drivers Handbook. I also took with me a "Russian-Texas" yellow pages phone book that had the Texas Drivers Handbook translated into Russian along with an explanation. They also had a copy of sample questions that appear on the written driving test, in English, as the test is administered only in English and Spanish.
I gave Natalia all the information, loaded everything on her home computer, and begin showing her around in it and answering questions. Right away she asked me if I would teach Slavik, (her son, age 14) once they arrived here. I told her, of course I would. Then she got kind of shy and hesitant. I'm beginning to recognize this particular behavior. It always precedes some serious questions and some serious discussions, and here it comes again. Well, she asked if I would also teach her! "Of course!" I said, "Yes I would teach her!"
Well, I'm way on the high dive, and I'm straining to look down into the pool, and after reading the above topic, I'm wondering just how deep is this water I'm fixing to plunge into!!!!! 
Oh, well, how does that saying go? "Love is blind?" "Love covers all?" OK, I just hope the water is not too cold . . . .
------
David & Natalia
Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia
УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА
16th World Spacemodeling Championships
|
RQRose
Member
| Joined: | Monday October 27th, 2008 |
| Location: | Tampa, Florida USA |
| Posts: | 60 |
| Visits: | | | Currently: | learning about RW |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tuesday October 28th, 2008 08:42 am |
|
OMG! It is SO much harder to drive in England! Roundabouts, HUGE Curbs, Lack of Signs, tiny roads, no shoulders to pull over on, WATER on the road!
In America, we have Signs warning that there are Signs up ahead! HA! I'm serious!
We even have signs that warn about their sharp edges!
Attachment: this-sign-has-sharp-edges.jpg (Downloaded 3 times)
|
Current time is 04:39 pm | |
|
|
|