Every Which Way

You'd think after living in India I wouldn't blink twice at British traffic.  They do drive on the opposite side of the road as us Yankees, but at certain crosswalks there are helpful "Look Right" and "Look Left" reminders, and anyways Brits insist it doesn't take long to get used to.

On the other hand, drivers in Oxford have this lovely habit of pulling up curbside on whichever side of the road they happen to want to park, whether or not they're facing the correct direction.  Mail trucks don't flinch at crossing an oncoming lane of traffic to deposit the postman at your doorstep.  Construction vehicles rumble into both lanes on their way to their worksite.  In fact, the larger the truck, the more likely you are to see it parked completely backwards.

All these cars driving American-style aren't doing much for my acclimatization.  As a result, that extra bit of hesitation just before I step in the street -- is the traffic to my right or my left? -- sometimes causes other, more confident members of the crowd to walk into me.  It might be a good idea to just look every direction several times before moving anywhere.  Or, better yet, just to shut my eyes and run.