Reliving My Youth

Now and again, everyone wishes they could relive part of their youth.  Especially those summer days of carefree abandon.  Yes, those were the 'good-ole-days', but I also remember a lot of challenging and anxiety-ridden rites of passage.  When we moved to Germany, I did not expect to have the 'opportunity' to relive what was probably the most pivotal moment of my teenage years-having to get a driver's license. 

Example of a German driver's license.

The reciprocity of US-German driving licenses is a funny business.  Depending on which state a person recently moved from, they may have to take both the theoretical (written) exam and the driving exam, only the theoretical exam, or no exam at all!  Since we moved from North Carolina, Dan and I were required to take the theoretical exam only, and thankfully it is available in English.  However if we had moved from Wisconsin, we would have not had to take any exams, and only traded in our US license for a German one.  If we had moved from New York, we would have had to take the written and driving tests!   

New residents are required to get their new licenses within six months of moving to Germany (um, oops, we are almost at eight months!)  Going through the process of getting our new licenses was no easy task.  First, we were required to attend a six-hour long safety training, where we were the only attendees over the age of 20.  It was also all in German.  Then we were given a computer program, which simulated all of the possible test questions (over 1000!), and told to STUDY!  So, study we did.  I probably spend close to 40 hours of total study time. 

The part that made me feel like an anxiety-riddled teenager was the fact that I failed my first driving test when I was sixteen, just like I failed my first driving test in Germany!  And just like when I was sixteen, I cried my eyes out after leaving the examination building.  It was a moment of overwhelming emotion and unwarranted disappointment in my capabilities of living life as an expat.  Not to mention, I have been driving for 20 years, and consider myself to be a good and safe driver!  Of course, Dan passed his test the first attempt, which twisted the knife a bit! 

Two weeks later and after hours of additional study time, I went to take the exam again, and I PASSED!  Whew!  Now we have officially taken care of all our new-resident responsibilities, and can move on to other things, such as out trip to Tuscany next week!  I guess I should also finally sign up for some German classes...