1. Take at least 15 trips to transito (this is not exagerated!)
2. Take 2 trips to Interpol to obtain one background check costing 40Bs.
3. Take 2 trips to the police station to obtain one request for a background check and one background check (for which you have to purchase a special form) in total costing 35Bs.
4. Take the theoretical exam on a Thursday night (in Spanish) covering signs, road rules (are there any in Bolivia??), and car mechanics.
5. Have at least 10 copies of your Bolivian ID card, 5 copies of your passport, one copy of your birth certificate, one copy of your American drivers license, one copy of the theoretical exam, one copy of the list of the theoretical exam saying you passed.....
6. Have 2 pictures 3x3cm on a blue background costing 15 Bs for the files and one digital picture for the actual license.
7. Stand in line for 2 hours to have an eye exam which costs 50 Bs.
8. Stand in 7 other lines at other desks.
9. Pay 160 Bs. for the actual license.
However, I am very proud to say that after a year of driving without a Bolivian license, I am now a legal driver in Boliva! (Although, for the record, they probably wouldn't give me many problems so long as I had my American license to show - many of my ex-pat lady friends drive without licenses).
9 comments:
Good Job! How do they come up with that process I wonder?:) I'm proud of you.
Jamie
Congrats! I have told Greg that I will never drive in the craziness of Arequipa. Do they drive crazy like that in Cochabamba?
Julie -- This is so funny!!! The process of getting a driver's license in a foreign country is never easy, no matter where you are. Rusty and I put off getting our Japanese licenses for a full year (because you can drive for a year on an International license). Then, when we found out we were going to have to come back to the US to take care of Mary, we decided not to mess with it. But, we were actually in Japan for one year and one week, so for those last few days, we were technically driving illegally! :)
Good for you for sticking it out and jumping through all the appropriate hoops! It is such a sense of accomplishment to have that little piece of plastic/paper in your hand after you worked so hard to get it.
Love you lots -- Laura
Julie,
We are so pleased for you. That's quite an accomplishment to have that much patience, I mean.
Love you, Mom
Yea Yea Yea!!! I'm so excited for you! I know you must have been pulling your hair out in just about every line you stood in... but you persevered and you won! I sure do miss you friend and want you to know you and your mom and her dad are in my prayers! Can't wait to hug your neck again!
Ha! Yeah - haven't been through that fun experience yet. :-)Good for you though.
Reminds me a lot of how things work in PNG!!
Jeri
Hi Julie,
I remember reading this when you first wrote it. Turns my stomach to read it through again considering that I am the one that will be maneuvering my way through the system.
雖然看不太懂
但是國外生活好像很悠閒...
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