Driving

Today, I passed my driving test.

I've been panicking a bit, because every time one fails, one has to wait at least 10 days to take it again. My first attempt was in the beginning of July, and I failed because when I backed up, I did not go through the proper motions: rear mirror check, right mirror check, full body turn, left mirror check, full body turn.

If I had failed today, I would have had only one more chance to pass before my international driver's license expired. To give you an idea of the chances of doing that, there was a guy today who failed today on his 4th attempt. He said he knew a guy who had taken it 9 times. However, he wasn't a JET, and JETs seem to have a quicker passing percentage rate. Not because we are better drivers, but because we are smart enough to actually go to driving school for a few hours.

The instructor seemed to be in a good mood today, because 6 out of the 10 people passed. 3 on their first try. I even bumped a plastic pole when doing a turn (which caused another JET to fail) and passed.

I will get my license on Monday, when I drive down to Naha (again) for a lecture. Why couldn't I have just gone to the lecture right after I passed the test? Why do I even have to go to the lecture when it's all in Japanese? No one knows. After Monday, I think I will have spent around $400 in the entire process. But this is nothing compared to the Japanese driving school almost all young people do. That runs around $2000-$3000. I enjoy telling my teachers I spent $10 on my Florida license.

Last Tuesday, I received my orange belt and have a level of 8-kyu. The levels go backward, from 10-kyu to 1-kyu. Once you attain black belt, the numbers go from 1-dan and up. My sensei is at 7-dan and is awesome.

I also found out last week I passed my kanji test for 4th graders. I plan to take the 6th grade test in February.