So, driving lessons. Fifty minutes a go at the rate of 1 USD/minute.

Monday, my driver actually had me stop the car for about five minutes while he went to go chat with his friends who were fixing a traffic signal on the course. "Crows ate through the wires," he told me when he got back into the car. Needless to say, we stopped the lesson at exactly 50 minutes, which means I was out $5.00.I think he was also a little rattled by having Whitey in the vehicle with him. He never spoke except to give me a few directions, or once to joke about the fact that his behavior hadn't progressed to 'sexual harrassment' yet.

Today I went back for another two hours, which stretched into three by the time I was finished. This time, however, I lucked out. My driver was a darling grandfatherly Japanese dude who was really helpful; he was extremely tuned in to what I was doing for every minute of the three hours, gave constant advice and pointers, and more importantly explained the reasoning behind the ridiculously arbitrary testing procedures, which makes them worlds easier to remember.

He was also really relaxed around me - a foreigner - which is extraordinarily uncommon for guys his age out here in the boondocks. "Neesan, neesan, don't do that!" he kept laughing every time I reverted to my wicked foreign driving habits to do something silly like hit the wipers instead of the turn signal.

He was extremely patient throughout the three hours of my driving class. Basically, the Japanese driving test doesn't measure driving aptitude so much as measure one's ability to memorize rote sets of actions when driving a closed course. Which sucks precisely because it's no measure of of aptitude, but OTOH, I can see Japanese people thinking it's more fair than a test on the actual roads.

I feel much more confident on the whole about being able to pass this test. That was the first best thing about today's classes.

The second best thing ( was this )
On some days, I passionately love this country.

That will be all.

I was informed by my employers that I must, under no uncertain circumstances, obtain a driver's licence and buy a car in order to do my job. Of course, I was not made aware of this before making the transition, and of course, I'm to do it on my own time and out of my own pocket, and of course it seems a little unfair to make me jump through these hoops in order to driver around the prefecture and teach English. But let's leave that aside and focus on the actual process myself. We're going to keep a running tally here. Just for my own edification, of course.

( First, some background. )

Today, I began the application process to obtain an official Japanese translation of my American driver's licence. I could have gone to the office to do this in person; unfortunately, my supervisor discovered that it can be done (at greater cost to yours truly) through the mail.

So mail we did. The damage, please:

Translation fee and return postage: $32.90
Special envelope: $2.00
Postage: $1.40
Handling fee: $4.20
Certificate of Residence: $3.00

Currently identified problems:

1) In order to obtain permission to take driving classes and eventually, the driving test, I must present a Certificate of Residence from city hall stating that I live in the prefecture and that I have resided here for over sixth months. Unfortunately, while I've lived in the prefecture for over two years, I can only obtain a CoR for my current address, where I've lived for three weeks.

2) I must present my American driver's licence which states when I obtained my learner's permit, official licence, and every renewal since. This information is of course not on my American driver's licence.

3) I must present every passport, current and expired I have ever owned since obtaining my first driver's licence. This is, of course, also not within the realm of possibility.

All this before I even sign up for driving classes.

Stay tuned for the next edition.

That will be all.