Post by Carrie on Oct 13, 2002 12:05:03 GMT -5
I had my first driving lesson last week. I must admit I went into the whole thing with a really poor attitude, but thankfully it turned out to be a worthwhile if very odd experience. I had the poor attitude b/c it just feels wrong to have to take a lesson for something that I used to teach, even though I know there are special things in Sweden that I really need to know. It was not helped by the secretary treating me like a complete idiot. As I was walking down to the driving school I was muttering to myself (I hope it was all an internal conversation and I didn't look like some crazy person), getting myself all riled up about what I was going to do if the instructor treated me like an idiot and how I was going to tell him that I was paying him, yadda yadda yadda. The instructor turned out to be a really nice guy, about my age, who didn't patronize me at all. Very good. He did seem a little bored, but who wouldn't if they were riding around in a car eight hours a day? I know I used to be bored to tears when I would do driver's ed, and that was just a three hour period. Of course, being bored to tears was much better than the days when it was exciting. Excitment in driver's ed is not good.
Anyway, I asked him if he thought I needed another lesson to pass the Swedish test and he said yes. He said I was driving too fast. I find this funny since I never even went the speed limit, though I am normally a speed demon. I'm always scared to drive fast here b/c of the pedestrian rights and the give way to the right rule that no one follows (in Kiruna) and basically just the unfamiliarity of it all. He did comment at one point that it seemed like I did have experience driving and I just laughed internally b/c I had told him at the beginning that I had had my US liscence for 13 years and had taught driver's ed for 3 years. Maybe he didn't believe me.
Next week I'm doing the slick driving training and another driving lesson. I also have my theory test in 9 days. I better start studying!
I'm just glad that the lessons didn't turn out totally horrible. He even taught me something that will be on the test that I would have been totally clueless about!
Carrie
Anyway, I asked him if he thought I needed another lesson to pass the Swedish test and he said yes. He said I was driving too fast. I find this funny since I never even went the speed limit, though I am normally a speed demon. I'm always scared to drive fast here b/c of the pedestrian rights and the give way to the right rule that no one follows (in Kiruna) and basically just the unfamiliarity of it all. He did comment at one point that it seemed like I did have experience driving and I just laughed internally b/c I had told him at the beginning that I had had my US liscence for 13 years and had taught driver's ed for 3 years. Maybe he didn't believe me.
Next week I'm doing the slick driving training and another driving lesson. I also have my theory test in 9 days. I better start studying!
I'm just glad that the lessons didn't turn out totally horrible. He even taught me something that will be on the test that I would have been totally clueless about!
Carrie
