And here I thought the written part of the driving license would be the hardest.  I’ve been driving for more years than you’ve been alive – many of you (ha!) – and am famous amongst my friends for being a smooth and confident ‘autista.’  Here in Italy I am a Loser behind the wheel.  Here are the things I did wrong in my first driving lesson:

1. hands in wrong position on wheel, therefore all steering and cornering a dead loss
2. crossed the solid center line (repeatedly)
3. did not look frequently enough in side mirror
4. drove too close to center line
5. and the auxiliary to #4, didn’t stay near the right curb in curves
6. forgot to use the turn signal at every opportune moment
7. used incorrect hand position on shift knob, which lead to embarrassing gear errors
8. didn’t slow to 30 kmh (that’s 18 mph, and it’s really s-l-o-w) at the first glimpse of a road work sign
9. didn’t shift into third whenever possible
10. used gas and brakes too much on slopes – should have used engine
11. drive too damn fast in general

That’s all I can remember at the moment but I’m sure there were other transgressions.

Every cloud has its silver lining, though.  Here is a picture of my driving coach Ivo: