Bureaucracy

I'm getting a bit more comfortable here, though my Spanish still sucks. The thing that has surprised me the most so far is how bureaucracy functions here. For example, last week Carlitos needed to get a new driver's license (his was misplaced). In Chicago, if you loose your license you get a duplicate and pay $5 and have to wait in line for maybe an hour or two (though there are some offices that only print and reprint licenses, like when you change your address, that take 5 minutes). That's not the case in Cuenca.

So we went to one police station for some document, they said no, you need to go to another place for a different document. We went to the second place, no they said, you need a notarized statement saying that you lost your license. We go to the notary, get the statement, go back to the second place. The statement is not valid. We go to a different police station, and find out he needs more documents. So we call it quits for the day.

The next day we go back to the first place from the day before (by the way, we need to drive to all the places, since they are scattered all over the city, not the most legal thing when one is trying to get a new license). We get a document that the day before they said he didn't need (proving he has not criminal record). We go to another place and get another document, some sort of judgment statement that needs to stamped at a different place. Finally we return to the second police station, I read my book while Carlitos needs to take an eye test and a written driving test that was a joke. And finally after two days and about $80 he got his license.

I think I'm going to get my international license when I am back in Chicago rather than attempting to get one here.