Driving Test

I passed my driving test in the UK when I was 17 years old and I have been driving ever since (that's 17 years for those of you who don't know how old I am).  Since arriving in the US I was allowed to drive on my UK license for 6 months.  In general my driving has been going OK  I've adapted to driving on the WRONG SIDE of the road and the fact that anything smaller than a SUV just isn't considered  a proper car (we have such small ones in the UK!)  So a few weeks ago my time officially ran out and I've been working up to taking my test again.

To cut a long story short, it would appear that 17 years is a good amount of time to perfect lots of bad habits and much to my dismay I failed my test on my first attempt on  Monday morning.  I was devastated, publicly cried and in the words of my loving husband; misery reigned in our household that night.

So I bravely retook the test on Tuesday.  I was a bag of nerves when I arrived at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), to me it felt as though so much was at stake and my confidence was low after the previous day...it's a big deal not having a car in the Sates.  I passed the theory test (better than the previous day) and nervously stumbled to my car with the examiner for the practical part.  Well, if you can imagine the scene......before the test began the examiner asked me to turn on my left indicator....no problem, then my right...... still no problem, then to turn on my lights......err, my lights.....how the heck do I turn on my lights?!  Then ensued a frantic few minutes while I pressed every button, twisted every knob and flicked every switch in the entire car...windscreen washers going, water squirting, hazard lights flashing...you name it, everything was going crazy.  It must have looked like a scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and still no lights and what was worse I found myself apologetically saying 'I do know how to turn my lights on but I can't remember just now, I think it's because I'm nervous...'  Anyway, eventually by luck I pulled something and the lights came on and the examiner slowly climbed into the car with a rye smile and the test began.  The next 10 minutes seemed like a bit of a blur, all I could think was 'you've failed, you've failed.'  We arrived back at the car park and I took a deep breath waiting to hear the bad news but instead I heard 'I'm pleased to tell you that you have passed'.  What a surprise but I was not surprised by the following lecture about knowing how your car works before you drive it.  In my defense I have since learned that my lights come on automatically so I'm not such a dim-wit and I'm just glad to have my driving license.