Driving License Lag

OK,Lets be honest shall we, we all had troubles in Dallah Driving School (unless you got it via the famous UNDER TABLE Saudi method of getting things done), and based on the ideology of Saudi people...well, you know what I am talking about.You might think that the school still has that old system of Succeed (you get the license) or Fail (you don't get the license), but that old system is history.

However, now, there is a new system, which I rather call...unnecessary. Simply by going to the reception (and that is if there is an officer in command there) and ask for an application, you fill in your details just like the usual, and pay a fee of 425 SR...and you still haven't entered the test, so you go to the registration dude and give him your application, he signs on it and stamps some weird blue block with the initials A,B,C and D.

So, you have your papers, your pictures and every document you need, and your finally down to the driving test motorway (perhaps not the most appropriate word to use),anyway, you wait your turn in the blazing heat of the sun, you wait while you see groups of 5 people entering a 2005 Toyota Camry...and when I tell you 2005 don't go "mmm... these guys must have finally bought new cars that replace the medieval Toyota Cressida" no, because firstly, Cressida's will exist in Saudi Arabia for a thousand years to come, and Secondly, the Camry isn't that healthy looking from the outside (the car looks like its fought WWIII)...and that concludes my guess about the Camry before I've ridden in it.

Our turn Comes, and I get to set in the back seat with 2 Filipinos and one 35 year old Egyptian in the front who took the first turn, and beside him was one middle-aged officer with the rank of 2 stripes on his shoulder.

The Egyptian wasn't that bad at driving the car, especially and cornering and shifting gears, but he had forgotten to lower the handbrake before he'd set off, and he was awful at braking, he dubs the brake with such a fast and strong pace continuously, which made him get on the officer's nerve, which then made the officer take his file and write something on it...the guy left and now was the Filipino's turn.

Both of these guys were the same, everything seems to have gone smoothly with them, no faults...nothing at all, they parked on the officer's command and took there folders and also wrote something on their folders. Now it was finally down to me, I was fidgeting,the officer saw from my pares that I was saudi so he was acting all friendly and shit.To be brutally honest,I don't why in God's name did I even attempt to get in a manual transmission test (that is if I even get to have the automatic transmission test), Well let me tell you something you don;t know dear reader...I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION CAR...yes, I don't know...I know the basics and what I had to do but I never tried it practically, I lowered the handbrake, dubbed the clutch down until your foot bends 45 degrees upwards (god bless Honda cars, little clutch effort), put it in first and let go of the clutch...vroom...vroooooom, the car was idle..I rechecked again then...vroooooooooom...vrom vrom vroooom...it was revving but wasn't budging until i applied the full throttle down the pedal which let the rear tires squeal

He took my papers and it was right then that I was able to Figure out what the A,B,C,D initials stand for...they were level of experience in driving, A the best and D the worst, obviously enough like an amateur in a manual car...I got a D, So i went down to the registration window and asked to be registered in the D class session...The young Saudi employee told me that D class sessions start in 2 sessions at 2 months only during the year...August and on October,and when I heard him murmur that...my blood pressure hit 140.

I mean seriously, I am 18 years old and I am an idiot at driving a manual stick, how do you expect me to stay until August and we are in April now? and ontop of all that he told me that there is an additional fee of 435 SR so that sums up to 860 SR for the whole cursed license thingy, I grinned and requested my papers back and left unsatisfied...and this concludes my protest about Saudi governmental agencies...a pain in the nick and in the end you will get...umm...better not say.