Gestures mean so much here, as they do everywhere. Some of my biggest cultural mistakes have come from misunderstanding the nonverbal communication and misinterpreting what was going on. One of the hardest things for me to adjust to were the signals used in driving. If a guard is helping you to backup he will tap on your car to say “keep going”. As in thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, BOOM. The BOOM means stop. Immediately. It is so disconcerting trying to backup when someone is pounding on the side of your car!
Another thing they do is whistle when they want you to “go” and “go faster”. This is the worst one for me! Every time I hear that whistle my foot slams on the brake and it is only as I am slowing down that my brain catches up and says, “No, that means GO!” I have been trained my whole life to freeze at the sound of a whistle. Flashing headlights also have a somewhat opposite meaning here. Where I am from truck drivers flash their lights to say, “You’re all clear, go ahead.” Here it is the other driver saying, “I’m going first, move out of my way!” It might not seem like this would be a frequent issue but, unfortunately, our roads are often reduced to one lane at a time. What happens if you both flash your lights?? I haven't tried it yet but my guess is the bigger car wins. And that, at least, is one thing that is the same. ;)
