("Driver's License" Continued)

A couple of Sundays each month the testing center allows people to practice on the actual test course (for a fee, naturally).  I did this one Sunday.  We used our car, because using one of the center's cars was more expensive.  Yukiko was able to serve as my instructor since she is a licensed driver.  So we road through the course several times, with Yukiko giving me the same admonitions as the professional instructor.  She was a very good teacher, and really helped me go into the test with the proper attitude.  You see everywhere we went--the motor vehicle department, JAF, the driving school--people kept telling me not to expect to pass right away.  Apparently, many people make five, six, or more attempts before they are successful.

In the middle of December, I finally had an appointment at the test center--but this was just to give them my documentation.  They told us to come back a week later, at which time they would let me know if I was even eligible to take the test.  So during that week I continued to study the test course, which really wasn't too hard to memorize.  We went back the next week and found, to no great surprise, that I was eligible.  What was a surprise, however, was that the officer handling my case (and adjudicating my test) determined that my international driver's license was not

valid.  I received it at a place in D.C. next to the National Passport Center.  Anyay, it didn't cite the Geneva Convention, as the version from AAA does.  He told me not to use it anymore.  (I really think the license is still valid.  I'm sure this was just a case of the officer coming across something he's never seen before, and then making the only decision he could.  I think in Tokyo or some other place where there are more foreigners, they probably see, and recognize, a greater variety of documentation.)

Now it was time to begin testing.  First, the written test.  As I had been told at JAF, the test was indeed 10 questions.  I was given a booklet, in English, and a sheet on which to write my answers.  The answer sheet also had 10 page numbers listed--I had to flip through the booklet and read the scenarios on the corresponding pages, and then indicate whether the information was true or false (or right or wrong).  The scenarios were kind of like "you're approaching an intersection and you see an ambulance with its lights flashing behind you so you speed up because you're in a hurry."  Not too hard, and I got them all right.

Next, a quick vision check.  They even check your color vision, which I don't remember doing in the U.S.  Anyway, I messed up all the colors, but I assured them I knew how the lights were arranged (from left to right, green, yellow, red).  The rest of the eye exam went OK--it was obvious that I need to wear my glasses.

There was nothing left but the driving test.  I knew from everything that I had been told that I would fail.  The officer had even shown me a stack of applications from other foreigners who had failed and then decided for one reason or another not to come back again.  Maybe the felt it was too much of a hassle or maybe they just didn't want to bother with the expense (the whole process cost us about $150, including lessons and fees).  I just wanted to get through it and get my initial jit

(Continued)