Adjusting to being unadjusted

A question I often get from friends when I'm back in California is if it feels weird to drive after having not driven for so long. Here in Spain, I walk or take buses or trains just about everywhere I go. But when I'm home, you bet I drive. Otherwise I'd never make it out of my parents' house.

In Spain, my trips in cars look more like this

 After my semester in Italy, and being home for Christmas during my first year in Spain, driving felt like a whole new sensation. The power of the gas petal under my foot was invigorating, as if I was fifteen again and experiencing it for the first time. Flying down the freeway was a new joy. On the flip side, sitting in southern California traffic was a new nuisance.

However, the past couple times I've been home I noticed that driving felt different, in that it felt exactly the same. In fact, this past Christmas, I was ten minutes down the freeway on my way to a friend's house before I realized, "Hey, this is my first time driving in months!" It didn't feel like anything different. It was more of a "Oh, I'm driving again. Meh."

My only conclusion- I've become adjusted to being unadjusted. Whatever muscle memory is involved in driving a car, mine can apparently now be turned back on without me even realizing it. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is debatable, but I think it's indicative that bouncing back and forth between continents is normal for me. Such is my life.

However, coming up very soon on my to do list- learn to drive a manual transmission. Working on becoming more European by the day.