driver's licence

finally!  i have my driver's licence! WAHOOO!

for those of you who do not know the story:

josh and i went to get our licences last year, october-ish 2011.  josh passed.  i failed (i blame the language barrier and the 12 minute time limit)!  anyway... i just never went back, other stuff kept coming up, i had an international licence anyway so it wasn't a huge rush....

finally in june i went back to take the test again in the local police department in ibarra (15 mins from us).   the first day we went, we waited about an hour and a half and finally they told us all we had to leave because the electric was out!   ahhhh....

so we went back the next day and i took the test and i passed!  yay!   then after that i had to go to about 4 different windows to show paperwork, to pay, to get the licence, etc.    so i'm at window #3 and they tell me "we can't put you in the system, you're a foreigner!"  WHAT?   meanwhile i had already talked to about 4 people before i even took the test to explain i had been here before, i failed, i had all my papers, did i need anything else, etc.... they all said i could take the test again.  none of them mentioned i couldn't be put in the system! so we argued for a little bit, asked to see the "new law" (which when we  saw it was not new, was exactly the same) but they insisted, they cannot put me in the system, i must go to quito.   they DID say that if we got to quito and i was put in the system within 30 days, that i would not have to take the test a 2nd time in quito.  which makes absolutely no sense, because if they can't put me into the system in ibarra, then how is quito going to know i passed the test?

anyway the next day we went into quito and they were super organized there, very helpful, gave me a list of what i needed, we thought i had it all, the girl told us i was missing one thing, but i could get it online on the nj dmv website.  so we went to an internet place and went online, but the information i needed (a drivers history) was only available online if you have a "my dmv" number or something.  which takes 2 weeks to get, through the mail, to your official address on file.  so since we were going back to the usa in 2 weeks we figured we'd just wait.

so in nj in august i got that drivers history, and a certified copy of my licence.  went back to quito the 2nd day we were back in ecuador to drop everything off, they said i had everything and didnt even need the drivers history since i had the certified copy of my licence.  GREAT!  come back in 2 weeks she said, and you will be in the system and you can take the test.

came back in 2 weeks.... i'm not in the system.  the guy tells me i am missing the drivers history!  the very thing that the girl told me 2 weeks ago i did not need.  so - the history needs to be translated and notarized.  so we go to our lawyer and he says he can do all this for us, but it will take a few days.

go back a week later, get the translated and notarized drivers history, go back to the police, give the papers to the girl... she tells me i am missing my visa!  which i am NOT missing!  they have a copy of it and i have my original with me. so i threw a fit and she took us in the back to meet the guy who does all the paperwork for foreigners.  after about 20 mins with him trying to explain the type of visa we have and how long we have it for, etc, he puts me in the system.  YAY!!!!    but.... it's now 1:30pm and they only give out tickets for taking the test until 11am because it takes SO LONG.   so.... we will come back another day.

go back a few days later, get there at 9am, get a ticket that says there are 36 people in front of me!   they tell me to come back at 12:30.   come back at 12:30, take a reaction speed test, take a vision test, get back in line to get another number to take the ACTUAL DRIVER'S TEST.... go into the computer room to do the test (they are more high tech in quito with computers to take the tests, instead of a printed test on paper) and the girl logs me into the system with my passport #.   and lo and behold, a pop up message says:  you have already passed the driving test.

??!!! WHAT?!   the girl looks at me and is like "what? you already took and passed the test?  what are you doing here?!"   so i explain to her that i took the test in june in ibarra and i passed.... but that i had to come here to get in the system.  so she was like "well... i don't know what to do now, i think you can just go get your photo taken!"   so i went next door, got my photo taken and got my licence!

YAY!   so a 4 month ordeal came to an end.... with the typical ecuador irony that ends with me being put in a system when they told me i could not be put in a system.

:)