My Scooter Saga

one of the biggest events of my existence must have a space on my blog, and therefore, today i reminisce about my escapades concerning the former love of my life.

my love, my dearest, my dream-come-true, my all, my scooter..... "scooter?" u ask .... well, yes. i was in love with a machine. and who would have thought it!

it all began when i was placed in a small town called Motobu in okinawa after being selected for the JET programme. apparently, it was impossible to get around town and to work if i didn't have a car. after much confusion and conflicting advice, i decided to learn how to drive and overcome my fear of the road. and so i learned and braved the rough roads of delhi, and actually enjoyed being behind wheels, and dreamt of owning a car in Japan. unfortunately i couldnt get my national license before leaving, becoz it took a minimum 40-day period for such a luxury, even in corrupt india there was no-one i could bribe! i thought oh well, will try for one in Okinawa. turned out i cant get a driving license here coz it takes 2 months and super-duper Japanese language skills to get. plus, i lived so far away from Naha, where they have the tests in English, that it was not even next to impossible, it just was impossible. so i was given the option of either - brutally murdering my wallet with taxi rides, maiming my legs with 2~ hour walks, taking a bus that would make me late for work becoz of lack of buses and get home at hours beyond my work time got over; OR getting a scooter, a 'gentsuki' as they call it here.

* (DEFINITION: gentsuki - a one seater automatic scooter; a cute lil mode of transportation that carries my weight to school everyday on time. )

to get this highly dreamy object, i was required to obtain a special gentsuki license, and for this even more exquisite piece of cardboard, i had to pass a written test. thankfully the test was held in Nago- the closest city to Motobu- and it was also possible to have an English question paper!!!! hallelujahh!! could i seriously believe my luck? Armed with the forces of sheer lunacy I thought I will pass this silly test in an instant as the rules of the road were most definitely common sense... ha, the result of the test wrecked that damning self-confidence I was possessed by; the 64 out of 100 I got suggested that common sense was perhaps a tad bit too less to pass.

well, those were the still the days of genki-optimism. the same day i took the test and failed, i applied for the second one. the only upsetting thing was that it was held only twice a month, which meant that there was a long wait. in the meantime i would had to suffer the same dreadful uncertainty.

for my second try at the test, i got the exact same question paper! mind you, it was not that it had the same questions, it was the same sheet! one particular question had a double negative and someone before me had circled the "not" in the question. i thought well, i do know some questions that i did wrongly last time, and i honestly thought I'd do better. ha! so much for genki-ness. i failed again, with the exact same score! what were the odds?

the test has 48 question, 46 are for 2 marks each, and the last two are situational questions of 4 marks each, but the have 3 parts and you have to get all 3 parts right for the question to be right. and strangely, these on my paper were driving a car questions not scooter. so if u get any one part of these questions wrong then u can get only one more 2-mark question wrong to pass the test coz the pass percentage is 90! and just to give you an idea of what kind of strange questions in the test, try and answer this:

• true or false - you are going downhill and your brakes fail, do you drop your bike on the mountainous side of the road, scrape against the guard rails to slow down or drop your bike on the dirt embankment on the side of the road

all these options sound equally ridiculous and i would mark it false, right? but who knows? and how do i find the answer, whoever i ask cannot find a logical answer....

facing the double negatives, the twisted "engrish", and strange illogical questions, i attempted the paper again, this time i went to Nago with paul who had school there day, with no-one to accompany me and translate the instructions for me. i failed yet again. this time i got the same question paper yet again, but at least i got 2 marks more this time! i was so frustrated. i didnt kno what i was doing wrong! i was sick of trying to find ways to get to Nago, and back, not just to give the test but to apply for it as well; sick of getting the same illogical questions; sick of waiting for the test day to arrive, sick of wasting a whole day waiting for the result only to be told i failled again... and many other issues that i dont even want to mention. no-one can kno what immense difficulties i had to face. (and here i'm not being ironic or funny.)

i had to give the test 4 times before i passed. what was i doing wrong u might ask me. well, i was trying too hard to pass. see what i have learned is that in the japanese system they dont really test ur capabilities but rather your patience. if u stay at it long enough they will proudly hand u ur goal when u give up trying to actually pass the stupid test. the last time, i willingly failed myself marking all the answers true. each time I went they handed me the same question paper and the answers were nowhere to be found! i even bought the textbook but it too didnt have the answers! imagine, all i had to do was fail!!! all the time before i was so frustrated and fed up with the whole bloody thing getting worked up and crying my wits out coz it seemed so hopeless! everyday was a challenge to get to school and i wud bike, take a bus, taxi, ferry everything except fly to work and back! well, all that is over and i got the license.

my board of education (the office where i work at) had a small party for me. they got a cake and the superintendent made some funny mock speech and presented me the license. and i got more plants for my foliage-friendly house! they r so sweet. they r more happy for my obtaining a license than i am! in a note Saori-san wrote :

"Dear juhi, congratulations!!

your happiness is happy of us! this license card is your

sweat and a crystal of tears. the safe driving is always borne in mind.

really congratulations!!!

from: your companions.

PS:it is taken care not to lose this card."

i had to type out the whole msg coz it means so much that some1 would go thru the effort to write a msg of love in a language they are not fluent in. my board of education really takes care of me, they made me feel at home easily and i feel comfortable working with them. i couldnt ask for a more loving and caring staff.

so after 2 months, i finally have a license to ride a scooter, and i bought my scooter and helmet and have been riding around town. it was the best thing to happen until my accident last thursday. now i am back to being road-phobic. i visualize my next fall every time i ride it. what happened u ask? maybe it was my fault for riding in the rain. but i had no option but to be stuck in school forever. guess it was bound to happen, what are the odds that a new rider will never have an accident?

so, my scooter slipped on the road, thankfully there weren't any vehicles around and that i just fell on the road without being slammed into by another car or something! my bike sustained scratches, but it was ok. i couldnt stand for a few minutes, and thought finally i have broken a bone. but no, it was just sprained. i stopped the ppl who came to help from calling an ambulance! i have since resisted all forces to send me to the hospital. it was the next day when all my sore muscles reacted. i hurt everywhere, and ironically it was one of the busiest days for me. i had 4 continuous classes, at junior and elementary school, and since it was friday, i had to go to the board of education, and book club in the evening! where did i get the strength? i impress myself.

heres one of the bruises i sustained:

i have survived it, even tho my muscles still hurt, i hope i get the courage to overcome my fear of the road. wish me luck! i must make this relationship work, my scooter must become my love once again, i cannot hate it, i am too dependent upon it!

so, that was my scooter saga.

applause!