License to Drive

You can tell a lot about a country by how easy it is to get a Driver's License. 

Thanks to my time in Japan and now work with Turista Libre (Rad Tijuana Tours, woo!) I've met people from all over. Bitching about traffic is a great cultural unifier, but in those same conversations I learned what they had to go through to be able to sit in driver's seat and bitch about said traffic. A few highlights:

- Japan: I once saw a friend studying what can only be described as a map of the hardest Mario Kart level I had ever seen. When I asked what it was for, he said it was the practice track for the driver's exam. It was his third try.

- Germany: You legally have to take several classes, each costing a tidy sum, before being allowed to take the test, which costs an insulting sum. Driving in Germany requires an investment akin to starting a small business.

- Mexico: I drove around the block. 

Really makes you think about how special each country in this world is. You know what else is special? The new Time Cheetah page. Check it out!