I got my Peruvian driver’s license!!
This is a huge deal here for Peruvians and everyone congratulates you when you get it because everyone knows what a notoriously ridiculous process it is to actually get your license. So let me tell you a little about it.
I could not have done this alone. As soon as I told my friend Marianelly that I needed to get my license she said, “Let me know what day you want to go and I will rearrange my schedule to be able to go with you and help you with the process.” And what a blessing she was!!
In all, it took me about three weeks to get through the whole process of getting my license…and that is rather quick! It begins with a 3 hour medical exam, psychological exam, and IQ test. This IQ test (which was all in Spanish) had me reaching back to some high school math ratios and language arts analogies. It was not for the faint of heart. I apparently did good enough on it though to pass!
Next came the written tests over driving rules. Thankfully the question bank is online so you can study the 200 questions they pull from. Most of the rules were the same as in the States so they were pretty straightforward but there was one question that made me laugh: “How many passengers are legally allowed to ride in a car?” And the answer was, “However many passengers the car was made for, not including kids on laps in the back seats.” !!!! No one uses car seats here except us, all kids just ride on their parents’ laps, but until now I didn’t realize that this wasn’t even illegal!
I passed the written test with a 100% and so next came the driving test. You might be thinking, “Oh, you’ve been driving for 20 years now, you should be fine with the driving test.” NO. This is no ordinary driving test. They have a specialized circuit you have to drive through (see diagram above) stopping your car with the front bumper within 20 centimeters of the line, making a hairpin turn without touching the lines or cones that are placed very closely on either side, and parallel parking while leaving your inside tires within 10 centimeters of the curb. And all the while, there is a “false evaluator” in the circuit trying to get you to mess up by telling you the wrong things. It felt like a video game.
I had to rent a car to do practice circuits on before I was ready for the test, but after a week I felt ready. I was offered to pay an extra “fee" (400 soles extra) to bribe the evaluators to go easy on me so I could pass on the first try. I did not take them up on this and guess what?? I PASSED ON THE FIRST TRY!! I was so nervous and so relieved when I passed. My 18 years of driving did help a lot!
Now let me tell you a little more about why this article about getting my licensed is titled “I feel so loved.”
Remember Marianelly who helped me with this whole process? She also rearranged her schedule to go with me the day I was taking my driving test. Could she help me? No. Could she be in there with me? No. Was it going to take 3 hours? Yes. But she didn’t care, she just wanted to be there with me. We set a time to meet up and when I got there, not just Marianelly was coming, but also her mom!! When she told her mom where she was going that morning, her mom wanted to come to! And the reason they wanted to come was just to be there to support me! Then, after I passed the test they wanted to take me out to celebrate so we went to a local coffee shop and shared a special breakfast together.
This picture (below) I took while I was waiting to take the driving test. There are Marianelly and Danesa standing outside the gate waving to me and praying for me. They were sending me bible verses to help calm my nerves while I waited. I told them after that I will cherish this picture forever because it is a specific time in my life when I have felt so loved.
