Driving test (3)

I tried to post this yesterday but had problems with the internet. Sorry for those of you who were getting impatient waiting for news!



The test itself!! (Theory and road tests.)

I arrived for the theory test at 6.50am on Tuesday, as it was supposed to start at 7am. I had been told it would be over by 7.20, so thought that even if it ran over I would be back home by breakfast at 8. It was easy to see where the test would be taking place, as there was a crowd of about 50 people (which grew to more than 100) outside the school. These people all had two things in common – they were male and Beninese, which did make me stand out just a little! I was glad to see some faces I knew from my driving school, so I didn't have to stand alone like Billy No-Mates! Some other women turned up eventually, including one I knew from my driving school … but I can't honestly say that made me feel less conspicuous!

At 7.30 we were ushered into the school grounds, as someone official had at last turned up. He got the room opened, and started moving furniture around. Some kids were hanging about, so he got them sweeping the room … which seemed to do more harm than good when we saw huge billows of dust coming out of door and windows!!

At about 7.45 the equipment – projector and so on – arrived … and finally at 8.30ish they called us together for a quick speech about the dangers of drink driving, speeding (“we are starting to get like those Europeans who rush everywhere”) and so on. Then they started calling names out for people to come up, present their ID cards and file into the examination room. When they said, “Ok, 6 more!” I realised that I wasn't likely to pass that time round, and started worrying about Benjy, since by then it was 8.45 and he still hadn't had his morning feed. However, I didn't want to say anything to try to get special attention, as I was afraid the other candidates would think it was because I was white that I was putting myself forward.

With the stress of the test, of waiting, and of worrying about my baby, I shed a few tears, and my friends from my driving school went and told someone official that I needed to go through in the second round. I called Marc, and he actually brought Benjy down, so I was able to feed him before passing the test … though to be honest I seemed to be more worried about Benjy being hungry than Benjy himself! (I seem to be the one suffering from separation anxiety instead of him!)

The test was fine. By the end of it I was pretty sure that I had at least 15 right answers according to the manual … I was just hoping that the manual was right on them all (since at the driving school we had found some errors in it!). By the time I finally got home it was 10am and I was exhausted!

We were told that the results of the test would be given to us at 3pm, and that if there was time some people would be able to take the practical test after that, leaving fewer people to pass it on Wednesday morning. I went and joined my fellow students at 3pm … and we played the waiting game again! At least this time we didn't have the stress of the test ahead of us … but we did have the heat of the day, and even in the shade it was hot! I managed to find some steps to sit on after the first half an hour … and waited … and waited … and waited.

At last, towards 6pm, I went to where I could see the Big Boss talking with some driving school instructors, and said, “I'm sorry, but I need to get home for my baby. What should I do?”

The Big Boss said, “Come tomorrow morning at 7.” He could obviously see from my face that I was wondering if he meant I had to wait until then to find out whether I'd passed, and he said, “You've passed the theory … actually, I was just about to come and tell you that.”

Hmmm … I wasn't sure how to take that, but since I was pretty sure that I really had done well enough on the test, it seemed a bit picky to insist to see my test paper to make sure that he wasn't just pulling strings for me. And I was extremely relieved to be able to go home at last. (Benjy greeted me with a huge smile and much clapping of his hands, then his face crumpled as he realised how hungry he was … but I was happy to oblige him!)

The next morning when I arrived at 7am for the road test, I learnt that everyone had passed the theory test. Which didn't particularly reassure me that it had been marked very rigorously, but at least I obviously hadn't been subject to any special treatment!

The “road” test was actually carried out on a piece of waste ground where 3 small circuits had been organised using wooden markers. We were put into groups of about 30, one for each circuit, and the driving school cars were shared out between them. I spent an hour watching other people drive around until I finally got my turn. All that was required was to drive out of the parking space, do a 3-point turn, reverse around a corner and reverse for about 5 metres, do a parallel park and then a reverse park. Dodging other cars, pedestrians and random motorbikes as you went! When I got out of the car the official watching said to me, “You obviously already knew how to drive,” which I took to be a good sign.

I asked if I could leave then, to get back to Benjy, and was told by the director of my driving school that the results would be given that afternoon at the same place and time as the day before. I must have looked unconvinced, as he asked me, “Will that be a problem?” So I answered, “Well, it's just a bit difficult with the baby!” thinking, “I'm not spending another afternoon away from my family to wait under the sun for results which may never arrive!” So he said, “Ok, you can call by the driving school at 4, then.”

We did call in at the driving school at 4 yesterday, and were told that the results hadn't come through yet, so I was glad I hadn't gone to the other place at 3!! I still haven't heard officially, but as the secretary at the driving school said, it should be fine! I will let you know when I am sure!

So to summarise, the driving test consisted of 6½ hours of waiting, 20 minutes of theory test and under 5 minutes of actual driving! I feel my patience was tested more than anything else!!

Driving test (2)

Sometimes when you are living in another culture it is hard to figure out “how things work”. Take driving lessons, for example. In the UK, when I learned to drive, I had to book lessons with a driving instructor. We arranged a date and time, and I knew I could expect him to turn up outside my house with the driving school car at that date and time, and take me out for an hour's drive.

Here things were already complicated slightly by my already knowing how to drive … in Europe! So I had no problem knowing how to use the car, I just felt I needed to know more about specifically driving in Benin, and of course needed to be familiar with the Highway Code of Benin.

At the driving school I was told first of all, “No problem, no problem, you know how to drive! We'll just send you out with a monitor once to see the route of the exam.” “Er yes, and could I have a copy of the Highway Code?” “Oh, you don't need to worry about that!” “No really, I'd like to!” “Ok, we can sell you a copy.”

What I bought turned out not to be the Highway Code, but the learner's manual, which is actually a collection of multiple choice questions (and answers!) that could turn up in the exam. All 600 of them!

I went in to sign up in mid-July and they tried to persuade me to take the test at the end of the month. I insisted that I'd rather have more time to revise, and would prefer the end of August. I went back again mid-August and found that the director of the driving school was still very laidback, whereas his secretary was saying, “You've left it a bit late!” It turned out she didn't realise I'd lived in France and was used to driving on the right, but she still thought I should be getting some practice in.

My problem though, was knowing how to get myself a lesson. When I asked them if I should book, they said, “No, no! Just turn up, we work with the client's availability!” Having in my head the British system of going out with an instructor, I didn't quite see how this would work, but decided I'd just have to go along with it. (That said, I had seen driving school cars out with 4 learners in them, each one being driven around by someone else before having their turn, and I hoped they wouldn't make me go through that!)

But last week I turned up one afternoon, to be told by the secretary, “Hmm, they were doing theory this morning, I don't know if they're doing driving practice this afternoon...” … which kind of confirmed my idea that it wasn't as simple as they made it seem! She called the director on his mobile phone, had a conversation in which the only part in French was, “La Blanche est venue pour aller sur le terrain,” (“the white woman has come to go out driving”) and then said to me, “Ok, sit down, he's coming to take you out.”

Before the director arrived, two more learners had also turned up, one of whom was bawled out by the secretary for not being able to come to theory classes in the morning (so much for working with the client's availability!). As we left, another learner turned up on his motorbike, and so he and one of the other learners left on the motorbike, while the director said to me, “You behind the wheel!” and I drove him and the other learner to the practice ground. The only thing he told me off for was driving too fast (40km/h, so well under 30mph, on a clear road!) saying in a good-natured way, “Oh, you Europeans, you always want to do everything quickly!” He also told me that in town there is no point changing up out of second gear!

At the practice ground I soon figured out that the practical part of the driving test consists of driving the car around a (very) small circuit. There is a three-point turn, a reverse around a corner, a parallel park and a reverse park, and one of the other learners told me, “As long as you don't knock down any of the markers, you'll pass!” So in fact, it is possible to pass the test without using anything other than first gear and reverse! After spending over an hour watching 7 or 8 others practise, I knew the circuit pretty well, and so did it fine when it was my turn. But the director told me he'd still like me to come back for another afternoon to make sure that I know it well enough.

The second time was quicker, as there were fewer of us, but when I thought I'd take a taxi-moto home, the director of the driving school said, “Where do you live? … Oh, we will be driving near there, we can drop you off!” I wasn't sure how much of a favour it was to be driven home by a learner, and when the director told her to take a dirt track instead of the main road my fears were confirmed! But I did get home safe and sound, so I shouldn't complain!

I also went in twice to take past papers. Both times I got 15/20 (you need 14 to pass) and the first time I should have got 17, but for two of them I mistakenly put down the answers from my learner's manual … which apparently were wrong!! This does not fill me with confidence regarding tomorrow's exam! All the 20 questions are multiple choice, but it isn't just answers A, B, C, D or E, it can also be A and B – A and C – A and D – A, B and C – A, C and D … and so on! And they are purposely worded so that you have to think very hard about it!

Ah well. I will do my best. I am also handicapped by not being overly sure about the “priorité à droite” rule, which if I was French I ought to know very well … it is basically that in the absence of markings, the vehicle coming from the right has priority … except at roundabouts of course. And in reality, here on the road it actually seems to be that the biggest vehicle has the priority! There are also things I honestly didn't know about driving here – like that it is actually in the Highway Code that you should beep before overtaking!

If nothing else, the experience will have done me good as it's got me out of the bubble of missionary life and has also pushed me to use the taxi-motos. Not something I'm very excited about, given the number of motorbike accidents on the roads here (10 days ago we actually witnessed two accidents in the space of five minutes!), but it is good for me to do something that requires being a bit brave :o) I did obey the Highway Code and wear a helmet … unlike the majority of people on motorbikes!

Now I'm praying for non-trick and non-ambiguous questions tomorrow morning!

Oh, and last time I forgot to share two other lovely questions from my manual:

Q.346 If you have a flat tyre when you're alone in your car and don't have a jack, you can:

a. Make a hole in the road to enable you to change the wheel
b. Lift the car up to change the wheel
c. Wait for a passer-by to get help

Q.352 To help children who are waiting to cross the road

a. I stop and wave them over
b. I slow down and get ready to brake if they decide to cross suddenly
c. I don't stop if other cars are coming towards me
d. I get out of my car to help them across the road

Strangely, the correct answers to 352 are given as c and d … which leaves me a little confused (what's wrong with b?), though I do like the idea that stopping to help them is given as a correct answer!

Driving test (1)

As suggested by a friend, here is a sample of some of the possible multiple choice questions from the Beninese Highway Code theory test I'll be taking next week (my translation from the French):

Q.220 At night, to avoid being dazzled:

a. I fix my eyes on the right-hand side of the road
b. I close my eyes for a brief instant
c. I wear dark glasses

Q.310 What is the emergency stop?

a. Coming to an abrupt halt
b. Stopping to put down a passenger
c. A bus stop

Q.315 The pavement is the part of the road reserved for...

a. Street sellers
b. Pedestrians
c. Overtaking when the road is blocked by a traffic jam

Q.344 In a passenger vehicle, one may carry

a. Passengers
b. Passengers and goods
c. Passengers and animals

Q.345 In a car with passengers aboard, I should

a. Smoke
b. Chat
c. Concentrate on my driving

Q.576 The fire extinguisher may be used to

a. Put out a fire in the vehicle
b. Give first aid to an injured person
c. Cool the engine

Admittedly, these are overall rather unrepresentative of the 600 questions, but I will be praying that I get more of these questions than the ones about the functioning of the pistons and spark plugs, or the blurry pictures of crossroads asking me who has priority over whom.

The theory test is Tuesday at 6.30am(!) and the driving part Wednesday at the same time … unless we're told on Tuesday morning that it's actually Tuesday afternoon!

keeping busy!

Life has suddenly got very busy, but I thought I would give a brief update on what we've been up to!

We have come to the end of our second week of language classes. We are learning an African language, Monkolé, which is one of the 50+ languages spoken in Benin. We're following lessons put together by a fellow missionary, who was the person who originally analysed and wrote down this language. Our language helper, Abraham, is a Monkolé man in his twenties, who has been studying here in Parakou. We spend our weekday mornings, from 9 to 12, working with him. The lessons are based around sample dialogues which we repeat, practise and then alter with new vocabulary. We have some grammar notes to go with this.

It is a real challenge to be learning a non-European tonal language, with sounds that we've never had to make before, and where a rising, flat or lowered tone can make all the difference to the meaning. The grammar is completely different too, so I'm sure there will be many more posts about this! As a linguist it is fascinating – as language learners it is daunting! Yet we are both glad to be able to get started on something which is such a vital investment for our future ministry.

We have also had some contact with a short term team sent here by SIM France. They are working in partnership with young Beninese Christians to reach out to local communities in health education and evangelism. It has been great to spend time with them and to see their energy and enthusiasm! Marc was also able to play Superman the other night when their bus broke down and he had to go and rescue them!

We have also had reasons to celebrate! On Tuesday last week it was my birthday, on Wednesday my sister Ruth gave birth to her second son (in the UK) and on Friday we had our 5th wedding anniversary! The missionary ladies here gave me a surprise tea party on my birthday, which was a lovely treat.

munch munch lovely lunch

Just over two years ago, Simon began eating solids, and we decided to go the Baby-Led Weaning route (see my post here). When Benjy reached six months old, we began him on solids, and we are now doing BLW African-style. A few slight differences - the fruit and veg available aren't quite the same, and we are often able to leave him bare-chested instead of trying to cover all clothing with enormous bibs (much easier!) - but the concept is still the same. And Benjy certainly seems to agree with the slogan "food is for fun...!".

in other words...

I could describe our week at the conference in Natitingou in two very different ways.

I could tell you how the four of us shared a small room with a thin plastic mat over a concrete floor, where the only furniture was three mattresses in a row, a camping table, a row of hooks and a cord to hang up towels. Our nearest water source was a standpipe a few metres from our door, and the washroom down the hill had longdrop toilets and cold-water showers. I could describe exactly how many times we were woken each night by one or both of our boys, or our neighbours' door, or the guard dog growling at our door! I could also share with you how hard it is to entertain small children when it pours with rain all day and there is nowhere really set aside for them.

BUT by now you might be feeling sorry for us, so I'd also like to give you another version, equally true...

I could tell you about the hilltop retreat centre which looks like something out of another, enchanted world. Everyone sleeps in little African huts, surrounded by pebbled paths and brightly coloured flower beds. The water is pumped up from deep within the hill, so it can be drunk straight from taps instead of needing to be filtered. Meetings take place in a central, round, open-air hut with a thatched roof. On sunny days small children can play on the rocks by the meeting place, or can go and see the sheep, ducks, monkeys, cats and dogs that live at the centre. I could tell you about the hospitality of a family who invited parents and small children for breakfast every morning, in a hobbit house where all the walls curved and the doorways were arched, and the dining table was a slab of rock. I could also tell you about the richness of the training we received and the joy of new friendships and deep fellowship. Taizé chants and Communion on a warm evening, discussions on language learning and African culture, delicious Beninese food, chats about the trials of coping with toddler tantrums...

It was a diverse and challenging week, and we were exhausted at the end of it, yet we also came home full of enthusiasm and vision for our work here in Benin. Praise God, who sustains and renews us!

(And this week we begin learning the Monkolé language!)