First Time Driving

Today I had my very first in-car driving lesson! I was so nervous, my arms were stiff and I could barely breathe. I was in a state of full concentration and a bit of fear too. I walk outside and see a beige Toyota Corolla with an empty driver's seat.

Then I step into the car, and my driving instructor says, in a thick Indian accent.

"Hello! Are you Olga?"

"Yes" I gulp, adjusting my seat and looking around nervously.

"Good weather today huh?"

Of course, it has to be raining during my first driving lesson.

I start off accelerating very slowly, barely putting a toe on the pedal, going a steady 20 km/h. There was not a single car on the main road that did not pass me. Nervous as hell, I make my first right turn and gracefully nudge the curb.

My instructor just tells me to calm down.

After going in a sweet right-turning frenzy through the neighbourhood in the pouring rain, he asks me to drive on Leslie Street, where the driving limit reaches 70 km.

A few cars indeed honked at me, because I must have been one of those very irritating drivers you see on the roads, that drive a little too close to the curb and stop ten metres before the red light.

After only one hour of driving, I was much more confident in my abilities. I am now able to start a car and go down Leslie. It feels great.

:)

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We Pretend

We pretend that we'll live forever That tomorrow will bring something better We pretend we're not made of stars As we roam the streets and bars We pretend we'll never die That our kids won't ever cry Over the loss that is our end Every student, teacher, friend Everyone we've ever known Has a constellation they call home When the moon comes out at night I look to them to see the light To all those who did pretend That their story would never end But on some nights, breezy and clear I see the stars and they feel near I can grasp one and hold it in my hand As it takes me to another land We pretend this earth is all there is to see Yet the stars and crickets have spoken to me We pretend we'll never die Because we truly won't To someone's eye

Lost in Rio

Jesus looks over The lost souls and bones below In the jungle sun To witness such beauty And such devastation God painted with one brushstroke Merry men sing Holes in their shoes The dark night lit up By police sirens And the crescent moon Bats flail around Like me, lost in the jungle Eyes glaring all around I hope they're monkeys Or jaguars I hope I can keep a piece of This country with me Safe in my pocket It smells like tropical rain And feels like The clam shells Washed up on the shore It tastes like fried bananas And heavily salted steak Sounds like seabirds cawing Samba on the streets And looks like a page From a storybook About parrots and palm trees Of finding a golden treasure A magnificent, uneasy place When she sun goes down So do we Leaving the night To the creepy crawlers And innocent stray cats

Miles Away

I refuse to sell my heart, not for twenty-five cents The auction is closed, ladies and gents I’ve already sold my eyes, when they caught sight of the streets So now everyone can see the beauty of my Italian retreat I sold my tongue for gelato, feeling so young Letting the wild berries dance around on my tongue I sold my feet when I traveled to see our Holy Mother in gold Like a saint on a mission, I’ll walk until I get old I sold my ears when I heard beautiful Aida open her lips Echoing through the theatre in which the ancients used to sit But I won’t sell my heart, it is still free For my heart belongs to God and not really to me My heart aches for home, too many miles away Yet for now I am here and I will live for today Yes, I sold my eyes to Italy; it’s all I can see How I wish you were here seeing these treasures with me I’ll try to buy back my sight, taste, and ears too So that I’ll be able to share these memories with you

Olga's Poetry & Thoughts

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