Andrea Hurtado
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First class and already driving on the streets

1/8/2014

1 Comment

 
Today was my first driving lesson and 30 minutes before the class started I was freaking out.  First and BIGGEST reason was because I had NEVER drove a car, nor to try or just for fun, simply NEVER. Second I barely knew about automatic cars and when I did the research for manual cars I did get a thing so I was very scared I was going to suck at it. Thirdly I was just nervous about the class, I had no idea how it was going to go or work I just knew that at 12:00 pm I had to wait downstairs for the pickup. Finally I didn't know what teacher was I going to get, unlike other classes these are individual classes so I was scared what type of teacher was I going to get. 
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At 12:00 pm I went downstairs, in the corner of my building I saw a guy, probably 30-35 years old, standing in his green shirt with the logo of the academy, Mario Hart, and a red who had printed on the logo of the academy. Probably it was to warn other people that the driver in that was learning, in other word STAY AWAY. 

I met my instructor, he asked me if I knew anything about how the car works or how to drive a manual car, two things I was freaking out about thirty minutes ago. I was completely honest and told him that I had an idea but nothing clear. So we begun from 0, I sat in the front seat and he sat in the driving seat. he first explained me everything inside the car. From the mileage to the directionals (kilometraje haste las direccionales). 

PANELS AND BUTTONS
1. Lever Windshield: Clean the glass and if you push the lever to shoot in water also helps clean the windshield.

2. Lever of directional or lights:
 Upwards indicates you are turning left and downwards indicates you are turning right.

3. Speed ​​Meter: Indicates the velocity you are traveling at.

4. Gas Meter: Indicates how much gas is left in the car. 
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PEDALS
1. Accelerator: It allows us to accelerate the speed you want and always be in a suitable transmission

2. Brake: It allows us to stop the car. It is important to always press the clutch before braking, otherwise the car will shut down.

3. Clutch: Treading the clutch allows us to make changes in the manual transmissions which help us  increase the speed of the car. It is necessary to keep the clutch pressed to the maximum when a change is made. 
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MANUAL TRANSMISSION 
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R- backwards
1- Slow
2- Faster
3- Even Faster (roads)
4- Highway
5- Rocky terrain
BRAKE
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Used when you are parking the car. Once it's up the car is not allowed to move. 
STEERING WHEEL 
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Used to give direction to the car, to go straight or curve. 
After I was clear on the different inside parts of the car he taught me some basic skills.

1. How to move my hands over the stirring wheel so that I don't loose control over the car. 
2. How to change the manual transmissions. First hit the clutch and then make the change.
3. ALWAYS look at the three mirrors.
4. How I know if all the mirrors are positioned well.
5. How to stop, first the clutch and then the break.
6. How to act in stop signs🚦, go neutral and then to first.
7. When to use the lever of directional.

So with this basic knowledge I drove around the park which is right beside my house. We went around many many times and with every round I was getting better at making the manual transmissions. My instructor was impressed by how well I could handle the wheel and how fast I had learned. So after 30 minutes of going around he told me that since he saw I was so confident and had learned well that we could go leave the park and go somewhere close. 

While I was going around in the park I was not scared of all, everything seemed pretty easy. What scared me out the most of leaving the park was that I was going to confront cars, so I had to be very focused, fast and I couldn't make a mistake because and accident could happen. 

So we left the park and drove to Salaverry. If you have been there you know that this street has many cars. So before I made the turn I had to watch for the cars that came speeding like jets to the stop light. Once I managed to pass I stopped in the light. Everything seemed calm until the light turned green and I messed up and the car turned off. It was very scary because the cars were moving and many where mad but we managed to turn it on and get the green light. After this mistake I had my total concentration, we drove through Pezet and Portillo and then back to my house through El Ejercito. 

During this short trip I did some mistakes but I managed to correct them because I knew exactly what I was doing wrong. It was only my first class and I was already driving on the streets, my instructor was very proud of me. I am a fast learner. What I think helped me learn so fast was that I was completely relaxed, no nerves or stress and that I was pretty confident on myself. It was a great class and I loved it. I can't wait for tomorrow when I'll be driving to Miraflores. 
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1 Comment
Corey Topf
1/8/2014 10:08:19 am

It will get easier over time! Cool article that might help: http://lifehacker.com/the-science-behind-how-we-learn-new-skills-908488422

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