Passed the stupid freaking test!!!!

That's right people I passed! January 6, 2010 will be a date to remember. My teacher woke me up at 9:30 Monday morning (was jet lagged from getting home from the states....not lazy) to tell me I was going to take the test Wed. So I said to myself "self...you are going to study at least an hour Mon and Tues for the test", and so I did. Now grant you there are 3000 test questions I have to study from and a 60 page manual. I tried to memorize the formulas, right before lefts and that you can drink and drive in Germany...its true.

Wednesday morning I go to the testing center with my kids, I am ready! I think. Sure I am. Yes I am! Told my teacher to make me a 2 week appointment just in case... ; ) So into the testing room I go with the other test takers, the instructor made some kind of joke or statement to me in front of the other...much younger students. He did not call me by name, its just that all the other students were staring at me smiling and laughing. I did not hear "drei" (for 3) so he was not telling them, "so this is your third time..do you think you will pass"? He knows I am the only one taking the test in English. Does he think that I can understand spoken German but cannot read it? Who knows. He tells me to go to seat neun, so I go. I skip all the instructions I think I know how to take the test by now.

My heart is beating hard, I can feel it on my chest. I answer all the questions fairly fast as I have seen many of them before so I know I am getting them right. But there were some I had not seen. I look in the upper right corner and the test tells you how much that question is worth. So on the formula question, it was worth 4 points. So I think, if I get this one wrong I only have 6 more points for 2 other questions. No pressure. There were 3 questions that I was unsure of, and then the last question of the test. I knew in my head that if I got this question, the last question wrong, I would fail the test again. So now my heartbeat is in my throat! The question was if you had car trouble on the autobahn what would you do. So the first two out of the three I knew. Pull over to the hard shoulder, put out a orange triangle at 100 m in front of your car, the last one was try to give hand signals to other cars to let them know you need help.

So I had to think would I signal to other that I need help? Or would I stand there and wait for someone to help me? Would I just use my cell phone and call someone? So I decided no waving of the arms.

So I hit FINISHED, then the next think that comes up on the screen is ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE FINISHED? Yes, I think so. So I click it again. I wait, I wait, and then the answer screen comes up. I got two wrong! One that I thought I would get wrong, but the other surprised me. The questions were worth 4 and 5 points! So that was 9 right there (got the formula question right..quite proud of myself on that one, thank you). I look at the top of the screen and it says Successful all in green! One more wrong and I would have been back in another 2 weeks! I get up from my seat and the instructor tells me good job (now he speaks English?..or maybe I am so happy I understand German)

I go out into the hallway were my teacher and kids are waiting and yell "YEA"!!! The parents of the "much younger students" all laugh at me, I don't care, I am giddy with excitement! I can now go home, relax, and not study for this test ever again! Of course now that I have passed it, all my new speeding tickets will go to my new license. CRAP!!