I would like to make a confession related to my previous post Driving in the Netherlands: the photo I used was not taken here but in the US. I’m sorry but at that time I wanted to show something nice about driving like sunny skies and wide roads and I couldn’t find one good photo easily or maybe I was just too lazy. But ok, I admit my guilt and this is the true picture of driving here on most days:

Another confession I want to make is that I quit my driving lessons! I realized I am just throwing too much money (my instructor charges me 67 Euros for 1.5 hours of lessons). In my previous driving lessons I found out also that the new tests involve me having to navigate my way from point A to point B and they expect me to know or memorize the directions beforehand. The instructor may or may not allow me to use a GPS navigator!

MrC and I had planned on leaving the country within a few months so there you go I just announced it now. This is still dependent on our forthcoming visit to the Philippines which will happen in August. As of now there is a 50-50 chance (maybe higher) that this would push through if we both have a good feeling about it. The whole story behind it is in my other blog I’d like to leave it to you to figure out which blog it is. So anyways, I found it pretty pointless to spend time, effort and money on something which I will not really need in the long run. I guess it’s all just about my priorities for now.

However, the past few weeks there have been bus strikes that in order to get to work and back I would need to have MrC bring me by car or me having to share a ride with my colleague or depend on the scheduled transportation provided by the company. It just frustrates me that I have to actually depend on others to get to work. Driving and having your own car to me is not really some kind of status symbol or some form of materialism but to me it is FREEDOM in its basic sense. No need for explanation I think especially for American readers but this is just how I feel.

Yesterday was the first day of my driving lessons in the Netherlands. However, this has been my 3rd teacher since I first tried it in 2005. Driving as a topic evokes strong emotions on my part because I must admit that I do love driving. I have been driving for 9 years in the U.S. and prior to that in the Philippines for a couple of years. I enjoy driving immensely and not being able to do it is one of the major source of frustrations for me in this country. As you see, I cannot just exchange my American driving license here. Unlike lucky citizens of for instance Singapore and Japan, I could not exchange it!

So anyways, while taking lessons using a manual (called stick shift in the US) transmission equipped auto it all brought back memories of me and my Dad waking up at 6am on a weekend to take driving lessons. And boy I thank my Dad for taking it seriously and teaching me thoroughly that now when I tried driving a manual it all came back naturally for me and it felt really good knowing I could pick up a car and just drive. However, the roads in Amsterdam and most of the Netherlands are way too busy and rules are quite complicated so that is why I totally need to practice with a teacher first before taking the test. And besides, there is no other way to go through it but with a certified instructor unlike in the states where all you need is a learners permit and a license holder to accompany you. My theory exam expires in October so we have planned to take the test before then. That theory exam in itself was also a pain since English tests come only once or twice a month plus it was so confusing I ended up passing on my third try.. Embarrassing indeed but that’s life here, it’s not all that easy compared to my former country which I dearly miss by the way.

And what about my instructor? At first impression, I feel more comfortable with my new teacher, who is I think Moroccan compared to the last 2 Dutch guys. Maybe it was his age (younger) and temperament but we’ll see how it goes the next few days. But so far I had fun driving with this teacher. He picked me up from work at 5pm and we drove all the way to our place in Amsterdam. Convenient indeed! I am looking forward to my next lesson next week!