Finally back to browsing the internet, which has been down for the past couple of days at work! Thanx OmanTel! yea, GREAT service!
So, I am back to taking some driving lessons. I started taking lessons in the summer of 2006. I went back to the States, got my license, and it expired right before I came back. I couldn’t exchange it here, so now I have to take a driving test.
On my first day of driving, I managed to be “almost” hit by a car and driven over by two trucks! All at the same time! No, it wasn’t my fault… Not like my first driving test in 06 where I almost hit a truck (The police officer freaked out and asked me to return to the parking lot!). Anyway, my driving teacher has a character of his own!
First day: apparently he is in the mood for talking, and I sometimes get tired from driving AND listening to someone blabbing about how good people they are. He was annoyed that I wasn’t as talkative! (Sorry, I was concentrating). Plus, he is from Jama (very inner Oman) and apparently learning to speak in a Syrian Accent (It was just weird)…. “Sho banaaaa”.. and the “La haykaaaaaaaaa”… the elongation part at the end of each sentence was unbearable, especially when you know it’s fake. “I’m learning the Syrian accent now, and before I was learning the Lebanese accent. It’s hard for me to talk normal Omani now”…. yea, right! show off!
Ohh, and I told him I failed my test last time (a few months ago) because I got nervous. My teacher is now determined to take away all that fear by screaming at me for the whole two hours! “go! Go! I said GOOOOOO NOW!”… ” I can’t turn now :'(, there is a car coming towards me”… hands on the steering wheel “I SAID NOW”…. “okay! OKAY!….” … “Tomorrow when I pick you up, YOU BETTER LEAVE YOUR FEAR AT HOME!!!”…. “fine”…
Second Day: well, yesterday I decided that I’m not going to take his crap and keep silent! … Did I mention he has an obsession with the “danger” signals!? .. I HAVE to use it even if I am in the parking lot waiting for a car to pull out.. “Danger Signal” … “huh! why?”… “I SAID signal!!”… ugh! Well, yesterday, a car pulls out and I press the danger signal.. and go “Oh my GOD! danger people .. DANGER!! a car is pulling out!! watch OUT!”.. “ahaaaaa, you are talking now and being smart I see!!”…
So anyway people, tonight I’m going out again.. so if you see a girl with an old guy screaming at her.. be nice.. and give me a break! don’t try to hit me or HONK at me because I HAVE to follow the rules…thank you!
From what I have been told about driving in Oman, if you can learn to drive there you should be comfortable driving anywhere!
It is good to hear that your instructor is being so insistent (perhaps too insistent) or your use of signal lights, nothing in more annoying than another driver weaving in and out of traffic without signaling! My first thought is always “Ah! That is so unfortunate that your expensive Mercedes did not come equipped with turn signals, perhaps they are part of a different options package?”
Good luck with your lessons and stay safe :).
Of course I do the signals… I meant the danger signals..
If you mean “you should be comfortable driving everywhere that is dangerous” then yea,,, probably true
Do not be fooled, BE, by the use of signalling. Thanks to not having time to pass my test in the UK before shipping out here, I had to do my driving test in Oman. During lessons, whenever I checked my blindspots before changing lane, my instructor would panic because I wasn’t looking out ahead.
Reality, I totally sympathise.
I had the difficulty that I speak almost no Arabic and my instructor spoke limited English, which made for interesting lessons. Obviously, this is more my fault than it was his, but it’s still annoying. Rather than being able to speak to me and say ‘watch out for that stupid driver coming up on your right’, the instructor just grabbed the steering wheel and we often nearly ended up in a ditch on a few occasions.
Equally bad, he kept using the brake in his footwell all the time. He did it so much that I failed my first road test because I came up to a junction too fast because I was too used to him doing half the braking for me!
Good luck with the lessons.
Thank you Brit for the sympathy..
Mine somehow is able to trust me with the brakes.. though he did use it once and I ended up pressing on the gas pedals even harder and that freaked him out more!
Honestly, it would be far easier to go back to the states, get your license renewed, then get a history of how old your license is and show it to them. They should give you the Omani one right away. At least that’s what I did.
I know … I should have gotten it replaced when I could have…
Haha I loved this post. I remember my driving teacher used to carry a booklet or newspaper folded in his hand and whenever I made a mistake he’d hit my hand like I was a 2 year old. He was hilarious. He’d sit in the front seat next to me with a bag of bananas and eat them all throughout my 2 hours of driving everyday.
He was the best teacher ever and I love driving.
Thank God mine doesn’t eat bananas!!!
I once approached a roundabout to see a driving instructors car with a very scared looking girl sitting inside. She was as close to the steering wheel as she possibly could be and appeared to be driving round and round and round. As I got closer I noticed that her instructor had her window down, head on the side of the door and was FAST ASLEEP!!
Hahhahaahahah Omg i couldnt stop laughing while reading y’all’s post, just hilarious!!love it……
Thank God we are lucky in the Emirates to have a lot of wonderful female driving instructors! 😛
Really, after reading this post, i am laughing. Well, I am also in this process of road test and Insha Allah i will get it soon. But seriously these posts are worth to read. especially that driver fast asleep. hahahah
good luck in your road test