Kristin and I have a vehicle. We bought it from a fellow expat and American who is returning to the US as his time here in Doha is coming to a close. The vehicle is a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe (I think I'm going to call it Claws in reference to Santa Claus) with 41,000 miles. Now we are the proud owners of 3 vehicles (2 of them being back in the US). YEEEEAAAA!!! Kind of crazy, but nonetheless it was an answer to prayer over the course of several months after The Father softened our hearts and we grew patient through the process.
In order to purchase the vehicle I had to go with the former owner to get a formal-ish looking typed paper (done on what looks like a typewriter from the 1970s) in Arabic. I only wish I had taken a picture of the machine. The paper cost just under $3 which you then take across the street to the Traffic Department. It is a very posh looking government building with high ceilings and marble everywhere. This would be my first of two visits here, because when we approached the counter to tell the man what we wanted he replied, "You cannot wear shorts inside". I had shorts on, and I didn't even think about it. I knew you could not wear shorts (at least ones showing your knees) inside mosques, but I didn't know you couldn't wear them in government buildings. Nonetheless we drove back to the apartment (which was a 10 minute drive at most) for me to put some pants on along with a collared shirt (I even brought a tie just in case).
Our second time in the Traffic Department building went much smoother. We received a ticket number marking our place in line. Immediately after taking a number, it was called for the transfer of paperwork to be executed. After about 5 minutes, payment of transfer and some signatures the transfer of ownership was complete.
To reference the title of this blog post, I hate to admit it, but I seen the terrible apocalyptic movie that boasts this name. It is the movie about how the polar ice caps melt causing massive flooding in the world which is followed by immense cold and tornadoes and the like across the the planet. Thinking back to this past winter from what I could tell in the US, just think about those frigid temperatures. Yet, what is even more terrible is that this phrase came up recently in my visit to one of the driving schools over here.
I cannot legally operate the vehicle since I do not have a Qatar driver's license. Nor can I use my International Driver's license in Qatar, because since getting my Resident Permit and ID, I am no longer a "visitor" but considered a Qatar resident. At least that is my understanding of it all.
This past Sunday, I went with another teacher and a gentleman who is helping me navigate the process for obtaining a driver's license. I elected to take the test for automatic vehicles despite Sal (my Toyota Corolla car's name in the US) being a manual. If you complete the test for a manual vehicle then you can drive both manual and automatic in Qatar and other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nations on the Arab Peninsula.
Upon our arrival, one of the teachers had to complete the eye test before we could move on to the next step. The driving school was swarming with people (think ant hill when it gets stepped on and/or blown by the wind, touched by a finger or something). It was helpful to have someone with us who has done this hundreds of time for other people, and he speaks Arabic which is always a plus. My Arabic would probably have gotten us delayed instead of through the process faster.
Faster is a matter of perspective. After going from one waiting room to another then to an area where there was a car with its hood popped, where people have to identify different parts of the engine, to another waiting room, we finally took a test which was done on the computer. The questions were basic questions i.e., identify this sign when seen on the road, what does this landmark mean, is the vehicle in the picture driving dangerously, etc. I missed one question (no way for me to know and/or learn which question it was), but I passed.
Now the next phase of the process would be for me to take the road/driving test. However, I could not take that test today. I don't know why, but one man changed his mind, and told the guy helping us to come back the day after tomorrow, being Tuesday as this was on a Sunday. We then went back to one of the rooms we'd been waiting in for quite some time earlier in the morning. After some more time passed, we learned that Tuesday was no good. Instead, I have to report back to the driving school on Wednesday morning where I will beat the sunrise seeing how I must arrive at 4:30 a.m. Nothing like waking up early in the morning.
We'll see how long this part takes as I've been told that the driving schools tell you to report at such early times wherein one waits for hours before you even get into a vehicle. It is different over here in how things are done. I just hope that like in the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow" had a favorable ending for the main character, that I have a similar ending in getting my license once this process is completed (however long that takes).
~Mark
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