Driver license in Jordan

One of the last administrative acts Katja and I had to go through here in Jordan is to get the Jordanian driver license. Lucky enough I don’t have to take the diving test but changing the license is a challenge enough, trust me. July 18, 2010 the day I got to my office knowing that I was going to apply for the local driver license. Katja with me in the office waiting for our man who helps me with everything. ENDLESS THANK TO HIM! He is a marvel and manages to arrange everything. So he gets to my office and we had to give him: passport, residence permit, work permit and two pictures. To make it clearer I have to number the stations we had to go… station 1; ministry some 20/30 minutes away from the office (depending how the traffic is), station two; Ministry closer to office, may be 5-10 minutes away. So we left for no 1, arrived there and imagine a huge area where you get your permit, take your exams and get your car checked (MFK in Switzerland / TUV in Germany). It was already quite hot and as I was expecting to get the thing done in 2 hours or so I showed up in suit and tie (my normal business dress). I say only one word: mistake…

So we got in and headed to a room with some 20 counters where as usual people sit and wait and others are at the counter. No a/c, quite warm, busy but not crowded. Katja and I sitting, my man managing my stuff at the counter. After 10 minutes or so my man comes back and tells us that they changed the process and the license had not to be changed here but downtown Amman. Out of the office, into the boiling car, a/c on full throttle and off to point two. Took us some 30 minutes as the traffic got more intense. We arrived, got in and were received immediately by a gentleman asking for all the documents. Once her received our Swiss driver license he turned it, had a close look and said: ”Suisra?” And than something pointing at the back. Unfortunately the Swiss driver license does not explain what permits you have, means what vehicles you are allowed to drive. Zero chance. Rejected . But I have to say he was very nice and professional. Explained us why and what we had to do in order to fix the problem. Solution: translation of the license. Out of the office, into the now really hot car, a/c on even more full throttle and off to a translation office. It took us some 10 minutes to get there and our man went in, came back and told us that it would take some 20/30 minutes. Katja and I waited in the car and indeed he came back after half an hour and we drove back to point two. Back to the office, all papers back on the table, he signed and stamped and we were good to go! No, did you expect that we got the permit? Wait for it… so we left the office, went upstairs and had to sit down again. Our man discussed something at the counter again and after 10 minutes got back to us. “Yalla! (Let’s go! In Arabic)”. Out of the office into the “not from this world temperature” car, a/c on overkill power and off we go. Where? To the bank as I needed some cash money to pay the new licenses. Where the bank is? Right next door of the translation office. If I withdrew money when we were waiting for half an hour staring at the bank? No of course not ;-) as nobody told us before to get some cash from the ATM  But I tell you, we really learned to take those things easy as it really does not change anything if you get upset. It is the way it is, it is different and it is good that it is different. So we drove 10 minutes back to the bank and I withdrew cash from the ATM and off we go. Whereto? Back to station one where everything started! But know it was f*****g hot and all the car holders of greater Amman decided to queue up in front of us to jam the streets! The traffic can be horrible in Amman. Especially around noon. So we got everything together and started direction point one again. I was tired and almost fell asleep but after a good moment we arrived at destination. Out of the car (I took off my tie long time ago…), into the sun, to the same office we stood a few hours ago and again, Katja and I on the chair, my man managing everything. Our poor man running from left to the right from up to down. From time to time e came back and asked us things: “Blood?” Showing with his index to the vein in is elbow. “Yes I took the blood test when I arrived. You were with me. You have the work permit.” “La (no in Arabic), blood type?” Hmm, mine is red…was he thinking I am Spiderman with green blood? No of course we told him our blood group and he left. He came back: “You have pen?” Off he was. “You have picture? Off he was. “ Money?” I gave it to him and again off he was. He came and said: “Come with me”. We followed him to a nearby office where we had to take an eye test. Means they displayed some letters to the wall and I had to say what I saw. No big deal. Out of the office, our man disappears, we back on our chair. In the meantime, no joke, our bum totally fell asleep and I had to get up and walk around.

There is one funny thing there. Everybody needs a pen as everybody needs to fill papers for the application and stuff but guess what: there are no pens and nobody has one ;-) so Katja had one in her purse and we lent it some three times to people and all around us people were constantly asking each other if they had a pen. Was just funny to watch. 2 p.m. our man appears… what else does he need? Believe it or not but he was holding our driver license in his hands! YES, score!! All in all it was time consuming but in its way it was efficient as we managed to get our permit within a few hours which is great. All the official me met were friendly and very professional. The thing that stressed me most was the heat but you cannot change it and we will get used to it too. So now we have all the admin things needed  Only thing outstanding is the car. But stay tuned…mission “buy a car” will be starting soon! Don’t worry we will tell you the story as I am sure there will be one to tell ;-)

Take care wherever you are in this world. Start planning your trip to Jordan. Jordan is a fantastic country that has everything and offers a variety of activities to do. Our apartment will be ready soon and you are welcome to drop by! Welcome to Jordan ;-)

Big hug from Amman!

PS: for all those who are hoping and waiting to see some pictures of our apartment here, I have to disappoint and tell you that I will not post any pictures. This has safety and privacy reasons. This blog is public and can be read by whoever wants to read it. Secondly I don’t want to (even if only virtually) let in the entire world and see where and how we live. I will show you pictures when I am back or even better: come and have a look in Jordan ;-)