Aliyah is Not Always a Breeze (or how to get an Israeli driver's license)

Based on our previous posts you may be under the impression that aliyah is a breeze. Well, since these posts are intended to provide a realistic picture of the joys and challenges of aliyah, let me describe the procedure to obtain an Israeli driver's license (don't worry, i will eventually deal with the issue of earning a living).
The main impetus to obtaining a driver's license is that you need it in order to purchase a car with olim zehuyot (immigrant's rights). These zehuyout enable you to purchase a new car with a significant savings in the taxes one must pay on a new car. (tangent - although there have been many changes in the zehuyot over the years, they are still significant including the sal klita (cash payments of 60,000NIS (3.7 NIS (New israeli shekel) to each Cdn$) over 6 months including the first payment at the airport when you arrive), free ulpan, reduced municipal and income taxes for 3 years, rent subsidy and some other stuff).
OK, Lets begin. First you go to the local MEMSI (equivalent to CAA) to pick up the form. Then you have to go for a medical and eye exam. Well it is certainly easy to find the doctor. In Jerusalem, as you exit MEMSI, if you have a slightly bewildered look on your face, a russian with a ripped teacher will ask you if you need the doctor exam. "why, yes i do" "okay, friend , you see that hole in the wall across Ben Yehuda. go in there and they will help you out." So you cross the road and follow the signs until you find the office. 5 minutes and 35NIS later the fly by night exams are completed.
Next on to misrad harishui (ministry of permits). Take a number as you walk in. I note this improvement in many Israeli offices and businesses- many places have these numbers you take as you walk in so you don't have to worry anymore about the person showing up in line who you never saw before. And don;t worry if you have number 887 and the sign says 344 because somehow the numbers click off rapidly. The guy at the counter t akes a picture of your foreign drivers license and gives you the form back. These first few steps were achieved in less than an hour. Maybe it was beginners luck.
Now you have to find a driving instructor and take at least one lesson. ()My lesson could be a post on the blog by itself. It will suffice to say that my instructor was more critical of my driving than my wife. I thought she was just setting me up to tell me i would need 9 more lessons before i was ready to take the driving test but at the end of the lesson from hell she said i was ready to go.But first, stop at the post office and pay a 55NIS fee for something.
A few days later i had the test and after 5 minutes of driving the examiner said that is enough. I passed on manual transmission no less. In Israel, if you want to drive stickshift you must pass the test on a manual car. The next day i was able to go back to misrad harishui and pickup my temporary driver's license. then back to the post office to pay the annual license fee. (not sure why we keep trekking back to the post office to pay these fees, but we quickly learn not to ask why- it just makes you crazy)
Now you are ready to go to the car dealership with your teudat oleh (immigrant's certificate) canadian driver's license, israeli driver's license, canadian passportand money to order the car. 10 days later we became the proud owner of a beautiful bordeaux coloured Mazda 5. By the way, here you have to book an appointment to take a test drive as the demonstrators make the rounds among the various dealerships in the country.
So come on over, and we'll give you a ride up and down the Judean Hills. Alas, poor Ruth still has to get her license eventually