Looking back toward the downtown, along the Corniche.
The Driving Test
I was feeling pretty stressed about this. 42 years of driving just didn't seem like enough to get me through. Haven't been behind the wheel of a car for over two months, there's those darn roundabouts, the instructors hate Americans and almost everyone I know, flunked at least once. And, what if I accidentally defy public morality or customs! If you flunk twice, you have to take the full-on school with 15 hours of theory and 10 hours of practical instruction. Even then, no guarantee you'll pass!
My coaches told me to take the seat behind the first driver. That makes you number two and you don't have to navigate out of the school parking lot (a treacherous undertaking, I'm told) and you can learn what the instructor expects. Number three has to negotiate the school grounds, coming back. I assumed the position and kept my eyes and ears open. The other two guys were super nervous! The instructor didn't fasten his seatbelt, and I was sure it was a test. The first guy didn't adjust the seat or mirrors and didn't tell him to buckle up. He's toast, guaranteed! Driving out to the lot was a piece of cake. The instructor was clearly in a bad mood, yelling and advising, but all in Arabic. I got nothing. Next, the guy in the backseat, behind the instructor totally jumped the queue and went next. No adjustments, no telling him to buckle up, lots of yelling in Arabic. Two down, for sure!
My turn. I make a big show of adjusting my seat and mirrors, and he looked irritated. When I asked him to put on his seatbelt, he yelled "no need" (two out of the four words that were in English)! Several of my coaches figured they (or someone they knew) had flunked because they weren't aggressive enough, so I blasted right out on the road and took the first roundabout on 2 wheels. He seemed pleased. I stayed right at the speed limit and he yelled at me a few times, but I have no idea what he was saying. My turn took about five minutes, including the completely uneventful trip back to the school. I got out and I thought he said "pass, pass", but I wasn't sure. One of the guys looked completely dejected and the other looked like he was fighting the urge to start dancing.
Two of us made it out alive!
Turns out the guy who flunked was a young kid from India, taking it for the first time. To tell the truth, he kind of seemed like he knew what he was supposed to do, but he was very hesitant, jerky and unpolished. Nothing a little practice won't fix, but there's no way to legally do that in Qatar, except at the deriving schools.
The other guy that passed drove fine. He was a civil engineer from Jordan, taking it for the fifth time. He challenged the test once and flunked, went to AL-Rayah Driving School and subsequently flunked two more times. He then went to the Doha Driving Academy, flunked once and finally passed on this latest attempt. He was so happy! I felt very fortunate and humble.
Back at work, they tell me I'm a legend...
Turns out the guy who flunked was a young kid from India, taking it for the first time. To tell the truth, he kind of seemed like he knew what he was supposed to do, but he was very hesitant, jerky and unpolished. Nothing a little practice won't fix, but there's no way to legally do that in Qatar, except at the deriving schools.
The other guy that passed drove fine. He was a civil engineer from Jordan, taking it for the fifth time. He challenged the test once and flunked, went to AL-Rayah Driving School and subsequently flunked two more times. He then went to the Doha Driving Academy, flunked once and finally passed on this latest attempt. He was so happy! I felt very fortunate and humble.
Back at work, they tell me I'm a legend...
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