Driving
I haven't had any translation work this month. Which basically means, I haven't had any work this month. Not the kind that pays anyway. I know that more scripts are on the way, but I don't know exactly when. This is a bit of an unstable business. I may have to start looking in other places for translation work to supplement my screenplay stuff.
However, it has been nice not to be pressed to translate hundreds of pages because I have been working on getting my drivers license. It is slightly amazing that I dont have it yet. Especially considering that I am technically american. Granted I have only lived in the US for the 3 years that I was at Gordon, but still, even three years would normally push someone living in the States to get their license. America is notoriously automobile based, being nearly impossible to get around without one. But I lived on a college campus and didn't have the need to leave all that often. I was quite enveloped by college life for the first couple years there, between being a Freshman and and RA during my sophomore year. Also, I had some very nice and considerate friends with cars, so they helped me get around when necessary. Granted that I left the campus quite often my last year at Gordon, but, again, it was always in the company of buddies.
So yeah, now I am finally getting my license. I have no interest in driving or in buying a car at this point, but my mother is "strongly encouraging" me to get it. It is a long and expensive process to get your license in Western Europe. You must enroll in driving school, take theory tests, and finally driving tests. Each 45 minute class costs 27 euros. Signing up for the driving school costs about 170. Signing up for the tests costs 80. The problem is that both the tests are very hard to pass. The 80 euros covers 3 tries at the examinations, either written or driven. Use them up and you have to pay all over again. The written one is full of trick questions about the insignificant minutia of driving. You can only miss 3 questions out of 30. Fortunately, I studied hard for it and passed it, missing 2 questions.
But now I am doing the actual driving classes. Let me tell you, I don't find it to be very fun. Learning to drive stick in Madrid is stressful. It is a city of 5 million people built without much thought to urban planning. Narrow streets, little parking, tight curves, a lot of hills... To top it off, the city is full of impatient "madrileños" (a person from madrid) who honk whenever you stop or stall, cut you off, zoom around you, or run out in front of you in the case of the pedestrians.
Anyway, I still have a ways to go. Once I get used to it, I'm sure the stress level will go down. But for now, I would much rather be in the passenger's seat fiddling with the radio.
However, it has been nice not to be pressed to translate hundreds of pages because I have been working on getting my drivers license. It is slightly amazing that I dont have it yet. Especially considering that I am technically american. Granted I have only lived in the US for the 3 years that I was at Gordon, but still, even three years would normally push someone living in the States to get their license. America is notoriously automobile based, being nearly impossible to get around without one. But I lived on a college campus and didn't have the need to leave all that often. I was quite enveloped by college life for the first couple years there, between being a Freshman and and RA during my sophomore year. Also, I had some very nice and considerate friends with cars, so they helped me get around when necessary. Granted that I left the campus quite often my last year at Gordon, but, again, it was always in the company of buddies.
So yeah, now I am finally getting my license. I have no interest in driving or in buying a car at this point, but my mother is "strongly encouraging" me to get it. It is a long and expensive process to get your license in Western Europe. You must enroll in driving school, take theory tests, and finally driving tests. Each 45 minute class costs 27 euros. Signing up for the driving school costs about 170. Signing up for the tests costs 80. The problem is that both the tests are very hard to pass. The 80 euros covers 3 tries at the examinations, either written or driven. Use them up and you have to pay all over again. The written one is full of trick questions about the insignificant minutia of driving. You can only miss 3 questions out of 30. Fortunately, I studied hard for it and passed it, missing 2 questions.
But now I am doing the actual driving classes. Let me tell you, I don't find it to be very fun. Learning to drive stick in Madrid is stressful. It is a city of 5 million people built without much thought to urban planning. Narrow streets, little parking, tight curves, a lot of hills... To top it off, the city is full of impatient "madrileños" (a person from madrid) who honk whenever you stop or stall, cut you off, zoom around you, or run out in front of you in the case of the pedestrians.
Anyway, I still have a ways to go. Once I get used to it, I'm sure the stress level will go down. But for now, I would much rather be in the passenger's seat fiddling with the radio.
Comments
aside from stressful driving classes, how are you, by the way? haven't talked to you in ages.
i miss driving (in the US), but dread the day i will have to start the license-process in europe. i'm stalling: figured i can get by without a european license for a while longer. it's horrible in holland: you have to have eyes in your back to spot all the bicycles.. and parking. ah. it was so easy in the US. and i liked driving my parents' big a-team style van around from yardsale to yardsale- loading a bunch of junk in there and driving off to the next place. such independence.
well, good luck, anyway. hope you pass the practical exam.
-eef