The alternative

Well, getting a driver's license over here is becoming one giant pain in the posterior region. After compiling what I thought was everything necessary, I find out that the translation of my Oregon driver's license was done with the improper terminology so is unacceptable, the local police didn't authorize my license application correctly, and there are things required that are only posted on the wall at the office, they are not listed on the actual application as being necessary to bring in. Also, they require duplicates of every item, which also was not specified. Talk about fit to be tied. Sigh.

I think another one of the reasons I'm finding difficulty is because I am here on a tourist visa. Apparently many of the others that come over managed to work out an arrangement where they had a business visa, which makes it much easier to get the license. I'm going to continue trying to find work over here, hopefully I can find something part-time that will give me some legitimacy. If so, then I can apply for the business visa and go from there.

In the meantime, I discovered that any motorbike under 50cc does not require a license to drive. So I think the best alternative for me in the short term is just to get one of the smaller bikes and use that to get around. A friend's friend has one that he's going to borrow tomorrow so I can try it out and make sure it will do what I need. Since I just need basic transportation to find work and get to meetings, it should be sufficient. I should be able to buy a used bike quite inexpensively and sell it later when I'm able to upgrade. Anything to avoid having to go back to that application office!

The Honda Cub is a fairly common 49cc bike over here, though most everyone drives the larger 100-150cc bikes nowadays. It looks something like this: