Admin

Arriving in a new country is both exciting and tedious. The first smells and sights are intoxicating. I love to sit at the back of the taxi and think, 'in the next few weeks this is all going to be so familiar'. It's amazing how quickly it does become familiar, so let the 'foreignness' linger as long as you can. The paperwork, on the other hand, is always tedious. This time we were lucky as our company assigned us a consultant to guide us through the minefield of getting everything organised so that we could live here legally. This included helping with obtaining a social security number and helping with the driving test. Legally, all drivers need a Texas drivers license. I believe you can drive on your UK licence for 12 months but apparently not all police officers are aware of this, so it is advisable to get the driving test over and done with as soon as possible. Most of the men do this without giving it a second thought. I've found that it the wives who try to delay it as long as possible. I certainly wasn't ready for my test. The test involves a written test, which is easy enough. You only need 70% to pass, so the tip is to skip any questions you're not sure of. The practical is only a short test which includes parallel parking into a bay. You can visit the test centres at weekends to practice and this is probably a good idea. The thing is, the examiners aren't looking for perfection. As long as you don't hit the poles at either end of the bay, the car is straight and you're not too far away from the kerb then you're probably ok. It certainly isn't as rigorous as the tests in the UK. Saying that, I was really nervous and I completely messed up my parking and drove worse than I ever have done.... and yet I still passed! I was so relieved when it was over but my legs felt like jelly.