Last weekend, I finally handed in the last assignment for the ridiculous course in Canadian history that the teaching bureaucracy made me complete. I'm not going to celebrate its completion until I receive my mark ... the paper I handed in was 2000 words short of the required length but I had written everything I possibly could about the women of Red Deer in the early 1900s. After the minor celebration of jumping through that bureaucratic hoop, I turned my attention to the next one ... gaining an Alberta license. Most Canadian provinces simply let you exchange your Australian license for a Canadian one. Not Alberta. Here, they currently have a policy that says that, if you have an international license, you can driver in Alberta for one year. And, that one year starts again every time you leave the country. Which is perfect for me, given that I know I'll leave Canada at least once a year. Simple, right? No. C tried to list me as a driver on his insurance policy but was told that it would cost well over $2000 per year. But, if I got an Alberta license, it would be closer to (the wrong side of) $1000. Okay, that's fairly reasonable. I dutifully trotted along to the licensing building to inquire about getting a license. The process seems pretty simple - 1) Sit a written test; 2) Cut up Australian license (!!); 3) Hold a learner license for 2-4 weeks whilst they check out my driving history (which, by the way, I also need to provide to them before I sit the written test); 4) Take the driving test; and 5) Receive a license. So, the process is quite simply but a major pain in the rear end ... a learners license? Which could be interesting given that I work an hour out of town. The comical part is the actual driving test. One can choose to complete a 'basic' or 'advanced' test. "What's the difference?" I inquired. The difference was explained (an advanced test costs more but gives you a full license) and I asked about what the advanced test involves ... very complicated things like slowing down through playground zones, changing lanes and entering highways. "So," I asked, "does that mean that if you sit a basic test, you can speed through playground zones, don't have to changes lanes and can't enter highways?" No response to that. Given that there are a huge number of incompetent drivers on Alberta's roads, I wondered if there were a ton of drivers who have only completed a basic test. Apart from the bureaucratic nonsense, life is going pretty well!
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