Sweet Sixteen (again)

    According to the government, I have a driver's license in this country. Never mind that I can't drive a stick shift (which is all that there is here) and never mind that I have no clue what any of the traffic laws are here (not that there really are any). I have a driver's license and that makes it all okay. It only took a day and a half to go through the process to get the license and that was without having to prove anything other than the fact that I once had a driver's license from North Carolina.
    The process started on Tuesday with me going to the US Embassy all the way across town (which meant contracting a taxi) and showing them my driver's license from NC and paying $50 (that is a LOT of money for here!) for them to authorize it and say that it was real. From there, the documentation had to be taken to foreign affairs and another stamp placed on it. Someone did that for me yesterday, so I didn't actually have to be present for that, but apparently he waited most of yesterday afternoon and a good portion of this morning to get that stamp. We got to the driver's license place this morning and went to about 5 different counters and paid a few small fees before they took our 6 pieces of paperwork and disappeared with them. Mind you, there is no such thing as a line here, you just shove your way up to the front and sling the paper in front of the person's face or snap your fingers at them and they will take care of you. Fortunately, we had a local who was an expert at doing this for us, because there is NO way I would have ever done those things in a culture where I still can't speak the language. Sounds like a good way to get your tires slashed to me! Well, by the time they took our paperwork it was lunch time and the whole office shuts down, so we were told to come back after lunch. Luckily for me, there was a cafe place right there on the premises serving all the injera and wat your heart could desire. My heart didn't desire any, so I ordered spaghetti, which still left a little to be desired, but it went in my stomach and I was no longer hungry and I didn't have to eat injera. After lunch, we braved the crowds and made stops at two more counters and it was all official, I have a license. Granted, I have absolutely no clue what the license says (feel free to help me out) and apparently it is only 2003 here (they use a different calendar which I definitely don't understand).  Heck, I was barely legal to drive in the States in 2003!
     After the Driver's License, was the Power of Attorney. Never mind that my last name was spelled wrong on the paperwork, just a minor detail. Within one building, we went into literally 6 different offices (I counted) and again waited in line (or shoved our way forward) and got an official stamp in each office. They love their stamps here – not sure what it really means, but it got stamped. Everybody and their mother in the government has now verified that I have a passport and a Power of Attorney! Just in case they were wondering.
     So, moral of the story is: Those of you in America - DO NOT complain about the DMV. Be very grateful, even for the annoying driver's test that they make you take. Cause if you could see the traffic system here, you would appreciate the one we have! I was always accused of being a reckless and aggressive driver by basically anyone who rode in my car and I am petrified to drive here. That should give you a clue of how crazy it is! I have got to get a video for you guys to watch of one day in traffic! Anyways, that is over and done with and it only took all day today and part of the day Tuesday. The local who was helping us said at the end of the day, “We got many things accomplished today.” Really, only two things, but who's counting? (Besides me)


(Written Thursday, January 13th - unable to post since then! Sorry! More to come soon!)