Success

Second time's the charm, I guess: today I got my scooter license! Annnd promptly ran out and purchased a scooter. Which, after it's done having its signal lights fixed and mirrors affixed, will soon have me zooming around Kaohsiung without a care in the world (well, except maybe my incurable fear of every other moving object on the road, but that's minor, right?).

Today definitely provided me with extra incentive to rush out and buy a scooter. This morning, I slipped into a new pair of flats (from the States, but as yet untested) and noticed a slight rubbing motion when I stepped. "Oh well," I reasoned. "It's not that far to and from the MRT, and I have to break them in sometime!"

Famous last words. Here's a lovely snapshot of my feet, circa ten minutes ago:

Why, oh why do you hate me, shoes?

Sorry for the gross-out factor, but yes, those are four separate blisters bulging (or severed) all over the backs of both of my heels. It seems that 'short' distance I'd calculated between locations and MRT was plenty for my shoes to assert their utter hatred of my comfort.

So yes, when I got home (after Alison graciously gave me a ride to the MRT station--I could not have been more grateful for her timing!) and got Fonda's message that she could pick me up in an hour to go re-take the driving portion of my test, I was ready to jump for joy--then quickly remembered why I shouldn't. I slapped on band-aids and Chuck Taylors and headed for the door. And when Fonda asked me, on the drive over, if I would want to go scooter shopping right afterwards if I passed, my answer was, "um, yes!"

And I passed! Andrew, Steven, Lydia and I were all set to take the driving portion at 4pm (Tiffiany unfortunately got one of the versions of the written test which is chock-full of poorly written trick questions), and so we circled the practice lot in shifts, each person anxiously awaiting his or her turn to practice the dreaded straight line test. For my part, I had exactly one goal in mind: keep my eyes forward. This had been my fatal mistake before, after all--anxious to see how I was doing, I couldn't keep my eyes off the yellow lines--which inevitably made me drive into them.

The scooter we had been using up until now had belonged to a former ETA who had returned to claim it, so today we used Evelyn's, which was interesting to adjust to because it is so incredibly responsive; when you're used to a somewhat staid acceleration, it's a bit startling to find one that leaps to attention when you tell it to go.

When the test proctor called us all into the rink to explain the test (in Chinese, of course), I measured the space between the yellow lines--and found it to be almost exactly the width of my women's-size-9  Converse. Gulp. There were a few extra inches on each side before the sensors, but it was still unnerving to see just how thin a strip we had to drive.

Lydia went first, performing flawlessly in her practice run but unfortunately going just a hair too fast--about half a second difference--on the real thing. Then it was my turn.

I did my test run and all was well--7 seconds, no touching, perfect. Then my first attempt--and almost immediately I was wobbling off into the side sensor. Second attempt: it was now or never (or rather, now or next week, but work with me on this one). The proctor suggested I start a ways back from the line, which made me nervous because of the increased distance, but I followed his advice, fixed my eyes to the number monitor at the end of the line, and started out.

About half way through, I realized that I had made it half way!--and that I had only used 3 seconds. Time to slow down. At three quarters, I still hadn't touched--but had still used only 5 seconds. Time to stretch it out, and I did: finally, I made it to the end of the straight line test, and I took a total of 8 seconds, a second over the requirement. Yessss!

Wait, you mean there's more to the test? I had almost forgotten, and I was shaking as I made my way around the rest of the course, remembering at the last second that there were traffic signals, and that I should follow them. But I did, and drove out of the arena to the cheers of fellow ETAs--and this time, didn't get slapped with my paperwork! (You don't want your papers back here--that means you failed.) After me, Andrew and Steven both passed, too.

So we got our licenses printed up--cheap looking affairs, really, made using a pared-down (literally) version of our none-too-flattering pictures we took in the basement of the ARC building our first week here. But it was official! Andrew drove home, and we said goodbye to Evelyn and dropped off Lydia, Steven and Tiffiany, picked up Rachel (whose scooter was in the shop) and headed to the dealer.

Once there we learned two things. First of all, Rachel's scooter was still unfixed. Second of all, the scooters I most wanted--the retro, Vespa-looking ones--were all either brand new and way out of my price range (in the area of 50,000NT, roughly $1,717, which is more than my monthly salary), or just 50ccs, meaning that they would whine into a higher gear whenever pushed to move (at all, really), were pretty much too small for a passenger at all (and I can't imagine the strain that would put on the engine) and, most importantly, wouldn't require me to have passed the driving test I had just put so much effort into finishing. Those were out, cute though they were.

So, after a mere three test drives--an unheard-of number for indecisive me--I settled on a 2000 Yamaha which looked vaguely, but not entirely, retro, and which was priced at a more reasonable 29,000NT. Best of all, after I pointed out that the signal lights weren't working, they knocked the price down to 26,000NT, or about $893US--not bad for a great little ride with smooth acceleration, a great ride, plenty of power (125cc), room for a passenger, and some of the cute factor thrown in for good measure. (No word on whether the price reduction was tied to my comment, and they are fixing the lights; just thought it was a happy coincidence.) I have never made such a major purchase so easily or flippantly, and what I came away with was not what I expected, but I am a happy camper tonight, and so excited to start driving. I'll post pictures once I actually get it home.

In the mean time, one final lovely moment from today (or, as Jon Stewart would have it, 'your moment of zen'), this morning, the principal at Han-Min had breakfast waiting for me on my desk. Here it is:

Toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich in sealed bread, served with French fries and tartar sauce. And coffee.

I love it here for so many reasons. :)

Good News, Bad News

Today I took my scooter driver's license test--and passed half of it. The other half, the driving half, I failed.

It was kind of funny: 3 of us went to take our tests today. One person got it (Rachel), one person passed the written but not the driving (me), and one person didn't pass (Andrew). The irony of the situation, though, is that our experience on a scooter runs in the opposite direction: Andrew is basically a pro, I've practiced a fair amount, and Rachel had previously been on a scooter twice. Proof, to me, that the scooter test has very little to do with actual skill and more to do with common sense, ability to comprehend poorly-translated test questions, and ability to overcome nerves and LOOK UP NOT DOWN on the straight-line test.

Driver's license tests in Taiwan are WAY different than in America. First, you show up and hand over your ID and a photo of yourself; then you wait (just a few minutes, in our case) for your turn to take the written exam, which is in fact on a computer. If you pass that (required 85%; 40 questions), the computer displays a smiley face and the moderator gives you a driving test time (mine was 3:00, 40 minutes after I finished my test).

You are then welcome to join the milling dozens of scooters on the practice course, driving in endless circles on a course that looks--but isn't--identical to the actual test course. So that's what I did, join the mob practicing, and failed every run for the first 15 minutes or so, before occasionally getting it right. And then Rachel came out, triumphant from her test (she'd forgotten her ID earlier, and had to go back for it), and ready to practice as well.

At 3pm, a moderator rounded up all us unruly scooter-practicers and explained the course to us. And we discovered that, unlike the practice ring here everything had a sensor, beginning with a big bump at the start of the already-hard straight line test!

(Caveat to explain what the straight line test is: you get on your scooter and have to drive within two narrow lines, maybe a foot and a half apart, for a couple hundred feet, and must take 7 seconds or longer for the whole process, which means that you're going really slow. Which, as you may know if you've ever been on a bike, is really hard. And if your feet touch the ground, or if either tire touches the sensor on either side, you can't finish the driving test. You get one more shot, and if you fail again, you have to wait a week.)

So yeah, the moderator explained in Chinese (Fonda translated for us), and then Rachel went back to practice while I watched the lined-up examinees take their turns. Here's a video of one girl I watched who didn't quite make it, just to give you a frame of reference:

Yeah, she failed. And how do I know? First of all, if you make a mistake, a big flashing light and buzzer goes off to tell you (and the world) that you screwed up. Also, as you see at the end of the video, the moderator gives her her paperwork back. That is never good--it means sorry, good try, come back next week.

(If the previous video doesn't show up--it's been screwy lately--here's a more professional video of the standard Taiwanese scooter test):

I had a similar experience. Rachel and I went last (she went before me), to avoid pressure of people behind us, but even so I just couldn't make it past the straight line test, and that's at the beginning of the test. The rest is easy--stop at a rail road crossing, turn right, stop at a stop light, turn right again, stop at a pedestrian crossing, and you're done. Again it's no touching the lines, but they're farther apart and there's no time limit, so it's easy! I could have--and did in practice--easily pass that part. But the straight line hates me! The moderator was nice and gave me advice before my second time, and even gave me a third try--unheard-of!--but still I failed. I'll try again next week, or, if all else fails, just get a low-power scooter, which only requires the written exam.

In other news, I'm *actually* unpacked/reorganized/cleaned now! Just need to make a final Ikea/Carrefour run for a comforter, some returns, bed risers and actual sleeping pillows, and I'm set! Oh, and I need to install my new curtains. Pictures coming when it's done!