Thank you for this beautiful post, @nomadgirl. 😄
It sounds like you had a wonderful adventure!

Americans usually only know how to drive automatic

Well, I've learned to drive with Manual gears... but after driving an Automatic, I find it completely stupid that Manual gears still exist in the 21st Century. That's so dark ages... Jeez. Why not driving an Horse and Chariot instead?

PS: I've come to your post after reading Paying it Forward Curation Contest - Week 17 : Looking Back To Move Forward by @dipoabasch