Since February I’ve been experiencing an important part of every teenage italian’s life: scuola guida. The fact that I’m not a teenager is irrelevant, I still have to go to scuola guida.
Now, why would a (non-teenage) person who already has a drivers license be going to driver’s school? Well, unfortunately, an American license cannot be converted to an italian license. And, it’s not possible to just take the test and go on. Nope, you’ve got to go through the whole process which costs 500 euros, plus about 100 euros in taxes and fees (including the ubiquitous marca da bollo for 14.62).
First you have to get a medical exam to check if you’re physically and mentally fit to drive. No big deal really, it was basically just checking to see if you’re eyesight is ok and if you can hear. It’s required whenever you renew your license too.
Your foglia rosa – the same as an American Driving permit – comes in a few weeks and you can start driving with an “instructor” BUT you have to put a big letter “P” in the back window of the car so that everyone knows you’re learning. Yet another adventure since I’ve driven a stick shift only once or twice in my life.
Then, it was classes every night to learn the theory part (although I did play hooky a lot). My main method for learning was reading the book and taking practice tests. They’re tricky though with those questions – you have to pay attention. I was nervous about the test because every once in a while they throw in a word that I don’t know and I wasn’t allowed to use an Italian/English dictionary.
After several months of studying, yesterday was the big day. About 50 students took the bus up to Chieti to take the test. After our 1 1/2 hour bus ride, we were divided into 5 groups and 10 people at a time took the test on touch screen computers. I was wishing I would be in the first group, but no such luck. Instead I was relegated to the 4th group which meant that I had to hear everybody who finished talk about how hard it was and see the disappointed ones who didn’t pass the test. That only succeeded in making me more nervous.
Fortunately, I lucked out with some really easy questions. So, I passed the test. Yippee! Now it’s on to the next hurdle which is the behind-the-wheel portion. I’ll do three practice drives with the driver’s school teacher before I can drive with the examiner.
After that, it’s look out Autostrada, here I come!
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