Last week, a fellow student in language school told us about losing her purse one day. She said the thing she was most upset about - more than money, credit cards, or even her passport - was her Ethiopian driver's license. Why you ask? Well, because of the process it takes to get one. We just went through this over the past week, and I thought I would share it here...

Day 1: The first step is to go the US Embassy where you present your US driver's license. An official there notarizes a form stating that you have sworn that you possess a valid license. (Yes, you have to raise your right hand.) The Embassy is on the far opposite side of town from where we live, and thus it takes about an hour to get there and 3 bus changes. I felt a bit like Jason Bourne telling everyone that I was "going to the Embassy." This wore off pretty quickly when we arrived to find the embassy was closed. Apparently Friday afternoon is not part of the work week for our consulate.

Day 2: Made the trek back to the Embassy. This time they are open, but we find out the notary fee costs $50 for each of us and we don't have that much cash.

Day 3: Third trip to the Embassy. This time we have the cash. Step one accomplished!

Day 4: We take our notarized forms to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for "authentication". This is where an Ethiopian official puts a stamp on our form saying that the stamp from the US

Embassy is recognized by Ethiopia. This costs 300 Ethiopian Birr each (or about $20) which

we don't have. (You think we'd have learned our lesson.) Fortunately our driver loans us the money so we can get the stamp. Out of time today so step 3 will have to wait til tomorrow.

Day 5: We go to the Ministry of Transport to get our licenses. Here is what you need: your form, a passport photo, a copy of your passport, a copy of your US license, another form which they have there (that is entirely in Amharic), and a file folder for them to file it all. (Yes, you have to bring your own file folder.) We don't have the file folders, so we run to a stationary shop and buy those. Our driver helps us fill out the Amharic form (see above), and 2 hours later, we have our licenses!!

I feel like I'm 16 again...