The Joys Of The DMV

While living in Utah I never actually had a state drivers license.... Shh. Immigrating to another country is just swell and totally convenient... but sometimes certain paperwork takes FOREVER to receive! So when I FINALLY had what I needed (Social Security number and Permanent Resident card) I confidently walked into the DMV.

What a calm non stressful environment that DMV is. In fact if you have some free time just go.

No matter where you are there will never be a line...

Well... at least once inside you are always met by people who sincerely care. They always work quickly and effectively to help you through any problems or concerns...

 Right.. well at least they are open at convenient hours and even if you work full time there are still plenty of options.

OK the DMV sucks. Its never a good experience and I basically hate going!

It was a lovely dedicated DMV worker that politely informed me what I had to do to obtain a Utah Drivers license.  I would first have to take the written test and follow that up with the road skills driving test. I am a foreigner from the strange and unpredictable land of canada after all... Pfft  I didn't need to take a drivers skill test! Let me tell you the strange and complex differences between driving in Canada and the USA. Kilometers per hour vs miles per hour, what a doosey! On top of that my speedometer is electronic so with one push of a button I don't even need to do the math.
I left telling my self that Utah was stupid and that what ever state we would end up moving to for school would accommodate my situation much better. 

So with my feathers ruffled I walked into the Oregon DMV and stated my purpose. Here I was also informed of the mandatory tests. I explained the kilometers vs miles argument to plee my case and she said, "oh yeah, man I just never remember which states we wave the drivers test from..... what state are you from in Canada?" I told her I was from the province of British Columbia. After what seemed like forever she informed me that I was in the wrong DMV and would need to go to another location and take the written test. She could not guarantee that I wouldn't have to complete the road test as well. 

So after reviewing the state driving knowledge handbook and reminiscing of my sweet sixteen years, I drove to the correct DMV. I took the written test only, after again pleading my case, and I left feeling as though I had won. For anyone who cares the drivers test is waved for anyone from Canada (selected provinces) and Germany. This knowledge will NOT be remembered by the worker and they need to search for it in the computer and act surprised. 

Of corse my license got sent to the wrong address and I had to call the "help line" and get it mailed to the correct address.... But now 27 days later (2 days before my temporary card expires) I have my Oregon drivers license. It's pretty ugly and plain compared to British Columbia's. Just saying.