駕照 Driving License (IV)

十一月底從台灣回來，眼看這第二張學習駕照又只剩下兩個多月的效期。我們又跑了一趟駕訓班，要了駕駛教練的手機號碼，心想等我準備好，認為自己可以去考路考時，再跟駕駛教練密集上個幾堂課。
When I came back from Taiwan in late November, there’s only a bit more than two months of validity of my driving permit. We went to the driving school again, asking for the coach’s mobile number, thinking to take some lessons when I’d be ready for exam.

中間，當然又經過了聖誕假期…
Of course, there’s Christmas vacation in the middle…

聖誕假期一過，心裡頭正想著「該不會要辦第三張學習駕照吧」的時候，駕訓班主任來了電話。主任向米奇解釋道，如果我再不考，連之前的筆試也不算數，一切都要從頭來！這通電話，是一月中的事情。
Right after Christmas vacation, when I started to think, “it wouldn’t be the case for the third driving permit”, the director of the driving school called. He explained to Michele that if I didn’t take the exam, I’d be disqualified. I even have to take the theory exam again and start from the very beginning. That was about mid-January.

這下子我終於緊張了起來，再怎麼懶惰，也不能對不起自己的荷包，尤其是從筆試重來又得多花個兩百多塊…路考特訓班於是開始！
I finally started to get nervous. Though I’m lazy, I wouldn’t waste my money, especially the exam will cost me another two hundred euros. So, my special training began.

這裡的考試不比台灣，一切都是在路上來真的，遇上挑剔的考官，連超車時有沒有轉頭瞄一下、雙手握方向盤的位置太低等，都可以是不讓人過關的理由，路邊停車、倒退停車、切入圓環、迴轉等都已經是小事，有些甚至還考超車，說不緊張是假的。
The driving exam in Italy is quite different to that of Taiwan. Italians do it “on the road”. If the examiner is picky, he’d pick on things as “turning the head before you surpass another car” or “hands’ position on steering wheel are too low” and you might fail the exam for these issues. Parking, entering the roundabout, U-turn is just nothing. Some even are asked to surpass another car during the exam. If I say I wasn’t nervous, I was lying…

學習駕照二月初到期，駕訓班也真的幫我排了到期日當日的考試。考試之前兩個星期，密集訓練於焉展開。每天至少跟教練上一堂課（半小時），一開始在駕訓班附近練車，過了幾天，上課時間變成一小時，把車子開到路考的可能路段熟悉路況。除此之外，每天出門也都是由我開，還有幾個晚上把車子開到工業區，在偌大的停車場裡倒車練上各把小時（據說是要讓我習慣倒車時的方向）。
The driving permit is expired in early February. So my exam was arranged on the day of the expiration. Two weeks before the exam, my intensive training began. There’s at least one lesson (half hour) with the coach everyday. At the beginning we’re driving around the school. Few days later, time of lesson was increased to one hour and I was taken to the possible area of exam. Besides, when we went out I’d be the one who drove. There’re also some nights that Michele and I drove to the industrial area where I practiced backing my car for some hours. (Michele said it would make me get used to the reverse direction.)

這種練習方式，要人不熟悉也難。到了考試前一天，教練很有把握地跟我說，「絕對沒問題！」
Intensive training of this kind does work, and I really got used to driving. The day before the exam, the coach told me affirmatively “No problem!”