In case you ever find yourself living in Addis Ababa and longing to have the ability to drive legally, here are the steps you can expect (or you can learn from my experience and cut a couple of them out). Below are the steps that I did, though.
1. Tuesday. Called the US Embassy and inquired about the hours that an American citizen can get a drivers license authenticated.
2.Wednesday. Took 3 taxis and walked 1 ½ miles uphill to get to The US Embassy (its a beautiful walk, though). There is public transit, but I wasn’t sure which minibus to take. Arrived at the Embassy only to find out that they weren’t authenticating licenses at that time.
3. Took 4 Taxis home. End of Day 1.
4. Thursday. Took 3 taxis and a long walk back to the US Embassy. (Did I mention, its a beautiful walk?)
5. Arrived at Embassy and passed through first security checkpoint, showed my passport and walked through the metal detector.
6. Was told to have a seat on long benches where people sit in line. I was about number 20 in line. They were taking 3 people at a time.
7. My group was called about 15 minutes later, so I walked inside and described my business to someone behind bulletproof glass.
8.Passed through security checkpoint 2, showed my passport, walked through the metal detector and eventually through the solid locked door - much like you’d find in a prison. Brought back memories to when I used to have to go to Lancaster County Prison a lot to visit clients!
9. Walked around the compound, fairly lost until finding the consular’s office and walked upstairs to the consular office. Imagine a DMV office on steroids. Dozens of people in lines of chairs waiting for their name to be called by someone behind one of 8 bulletproof windows who speak to you with a microphone and call your name over a loudspeaker that is impossible to hear! That’s the consular’s office.
10. Waited in line at window 8 where I explained my business and showed my passport and drivers license.
11.Was given 2 papers and told to go to the Cashier window with $30USD.
12. Went to the cashier, showed my passport, gave my papers & paid my $30USD.
13.Returned to window 8 with my 2 papers and my receipt showing that I had paid.
14.Waited at Window 8 again, handed off my papers, my passport, my drivers license and my receipt and was told to go have a seat.
15. Waited 35 minutes and then was called to window 5 to get my paper (now with an official stamp and US consulate seal) my drivers license and passport. The consulate officer asked me if I really wanted to drive here. The verdict is still out on “want to.” Its a bit scary.
16.Now, I was off to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have my paper from the US Consulate authenticated. You see, the US Gov’t needed to say that my drivers license was authentic and now the Ethiopian Gov’t needed to say that my paper from the US Gov’t was authentic!
17. I took a public line taxi back to Arat Kilo and then hired a private taxi to Foreign Affairs. The driver didn’t know where it was, so I told him that it was right across the street from the Hilton. Now, the price went up for the taxi I needed :)
18. I asked to be dropped off right before the Ministry office, but he didn’t get stopped in time and the rest of the long block is a no stopping zone and for another whole block around the corner. So, we stopped about ⅓ mile from my destination, but he was very apologetic.
19.I walked the ⅓ mile back up the hill (I mean hill) to the Ministry Office. I was welcomed in, but informed that I had the wrong office. I needed the Office that was 100 m down the road on the right. So, off I went.
20.I walked 100 m down the road and turned right and was met with a man with an AK-47 asking me what business I had. I told him. He told me I was at the wrong place and pointed me around the barricades to another office.
21.As I started around the barricades I was met by another guy who informed me that this wasn’t it either, I needed to walk down the hill and around the corner and I can’t miss it. So off I went, back down the hill. (It was nice to this time be walking down the hill, however).
22.I walked around the corner and saw another federal policeman sitting in a tower. Nicest guy. We exchanged the usual pleasant greetings and I asked where the office was. Keep walking, he said. Fair enough.
23. I came to the next gate and started to enter, and another man with an AK-47 met me. “Nope, not there yet. Next gate on your right. You can’t miss it!”
24. Whew! I found the right gate. Now, it is worth mentioning that it isn’t marked and it is a bit off of the main road. The funny thing is that it is back where the taxi driver let me off the first time. Bummer.
25.Passed through security again. Showed my passport, walked through the metal detector and was told to go to Window 7.
26. Went to Window 7 and presented my passport and the paper from the US Embassy. My paper was stamped and signed and I was given a number and told to sit for my number to be called.
27.Waited 15 minutes until my number was called. Went to the cashier and paid my 300 ETB for authentication fee. Was given back my number and was told to have a seat.
28. Waited for about 30 minutes and all of a sudden the numbers stopped being called. It was stuck at 44 and I had number 78. Here is an important cultural thing that many of us Americans don’t understand. Tea time. It was 3 pm and it was time for the tea break. So, the windows closed and we all waited 20 minutes for tea time to be finished and work to begin again.
29. During this time I got to meet 2 great guys named Danny and Hassan. Both of them grew up in Ethiopia, but now live in the US and came back to get married. They were here to get their marriage certificate authenticated, so we commiserated together about how difficult it is to get a simple stamp! Pray for them.
30. Waited about another 30 minutes and number 78 was called. I went to the window, gave him my number and my name and left with my paper. It now had a total of 5 stamps, 1 embossed seal and 4 signatures (plus mine) on it.
31.Now, I only had one more stop to make - The Transportation Authority. I had my paper that had been authenticated by the Ethiopian gov’t to say that I had an authentic document from the US gov’t which stated that my Pennsylvania drivers license was indeed authentic. A job well done.
32.I rode the line taxi to Meganangna and arrived at the door at 4:01. They close at 5pm, but were done letting people in for the day. So, they open at 8 am tomorrow, so come back then.
33.So, I walked the mile home (and stopped for a cold drink along the way...it wasn’t a stiff one...just cold). Tomorrow could be the day I score my drivers license, though. I’m also looking on the bright side, because with all of the torrential downpours that we’ve been having lately, I could have very well been caught in the middle of one of them and been pretty wet and pretty miserable :) On top of that, many Ethiopians are waiting many months for a drivers license because of backlogs, so a day or two is not so bad.
34. Friday. Rode the line taxi to 10 minutes to Meganagna, full of faith that this was a done deal.
35. Went inside the office and was told that I had the wrong office. I needed to go not to the office 10 minutes from my home (the Western Office) but needed to go instead to the Southern Office which is 30 minutes away. Ouch.
36. Was told at the office that there was no way I could find it myself, and that it worked best for me to take someone along with me to help negotiate the process. The officials in the office encouraged me to hire a guy from the office. He was asking 200 ETB to take me to the other office. We bargained and finally agreed on 150 ETB. Still way too much, but if that’s what I need, then I’ll go for it, especially since the office staff are saying it is a process I should not do alone.
37. Told the guy accompanying me that I still needed to get my photo taken (I needed to take a passport photo with me). He told me no problem, you can get it there.
38. Walked outside and was asked by the guy I had hired where my car was. I told him that I didn’t have one. He wondered how we were going to get there without a car. I thought he had one and was “taking me,” instead he was charging me 150 ETB to “accompany” me. Language makes a difference. At this moment I was feeling a bit “taken.”
39. After a while we decided the best way to go to Kality was on the public bus. The bus got stuck in traffic and it took us over 45 minutes for our bus to get to our first stop - Sarice.
40. Got off of the bus and got on a minibus taxi with 20 others which would take us to the Drivers Training Center in Kality. Rode 15 minutes and arrived, feeling a bit bothered, but still doing okay on time.
41. Started into the compound at the Drivers Training Center and asked my chaperone where I should get my photo taken. He said, “What, you don’t have a photo?” I reminded him that I had told him that the whole way back in Meganagna where there are photo places on every corner.
42. We hopped a taxi for 15 minutes to find the closest passport photo place back in Sarice.
43. Went into the studio and had my photo taken.
44. Painstakingly watched the guy at the photo studio as he Photoshopped my passport photo. Removed red eye, changed my complexion, got rid of surface flaws. I guess he figured that I wanted my drivers photo to look really good. After all of that work, my photo got printed on my license in B&W. LOL!
45.After 10 minutes of Photo Shop, the photos were printed, I paid my 20 ETB and we were on our way to find a taxi back to the Drivers Training Center.
46. Rode 15 minutes in the taxi back to Kality and entered the Drivers Center. Its now only about 10:30, so I’ve got a lot of hope that we may make it in and out before lunch. Mistake.
47. Paid 2 ETB to a woman at a desk to get the form that I needed to fill out to apply for my license.
48. My chaperone graciously filled out the forms for me in Amharic (after the fact I found out that he put my DOB as 1/1/1977 rather than 12/9/1970, but what’s 7 years?) and he approached the counter with all of my documents in hand and gave them to the woman behind the counter. I thought she acted kind of funny towards him, but it was all in Amharic, so I wasn’t sure. He waited and waited and waited, and she seemed to be looking busy, but not really doing anything. Eventually she told him to go sit down. He handed me my documents and told me to try. I waited and waited for the woman, but she would never give me her attention - was she ignoring me?
49. A guy opened up another line, so I jumped into that line at just before 11am. At 11:03, I handed him my paperwork and he told me, “I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to process this before lunchtime. You’ll have to come back at 1pm."
50. I walked out of the building with my chaperone and let him know how unhappy I was. I asked him what the problem was between he and the woman at the counter. He told me that she was “complex.” I realized at that moment that he had somehow offended her. I thanked him for his time, told him that I’d handle the rest from here and sent him on his way. I gave him 100 ETB for accompanying me this far (I truly wouldn’t have found my way without him) but that I wasn’t giving him the full amount because I didn’t yet have a license in my hand.
51. Found a cafe to waste 1 hour and 45 minutes until the office could process my application.
52. Returned to the office at 1pm and approached the same woman who wouldn’t help me before. She found an interpreter and began to scold me for having not come on my own. She said that “my friend” had offended her and that’s why she didn’t help us. Next time I should come on my own and I’d get better service. I tried to tell her that I was told at the other office that I needed to bring someone with me...but by the end I just gave up on trying to explain myself and tried to be as friendly as possible.
53. They typed all of my information in the computer and 15 minutes later told me to go to the cashier and pay for my license. I walked to the other end of the building and fortunately was only number 3 in line to pay. Its now only 1:20p. I’ll soon be on my way.
54. Then disaster struck. They couldn’t get the computer working and there was no way any of the other workers who were sitting there were going to open their windows. I even watched one woman take the toner cartridge out of her printer and shake it, clean her desk, check her paper supply, etc. She was too busy to open her window.
55. I waited 40 minutes and finally the computer now worked. I paid my 100 ETB, got my receipt and walked to the other side of the building to get my license.
56.Took my receipt to the guy at the counter. Was told to have a seat. Waited a bit longer.
57. Was called to pick up my license. But, it needed signed, stamped and laminated. So, I signed it and handed it back.
58. Paid 10ETB to the Laminator Lady (that’s what she does all day is laminate licenses...I’m thinking it must be okay to give her that official title) and she ran my license through the Laminating machine. Unfortunately the machine was not hot enough, so it took 15 passes (I exaggerate not) to make it finally fully laminated. As it came out of the laminator each of those 15 times, I wondered whether lamination was really that important and how much trouble I could get in for just grabbing my license and running for the door.
59. At 2:35pm, I walked out the door with my new drivers license in hand. Success! Now, it expires in 2 years. I told Christy that I might drive on an expired license before I endure that process again. But, of course I’m sure that renewals are much easier, right? Right.
Now, I don’t list these 59 steps to complain. It truly is just a different system. It works for Ethiopians, yet it is a cultural shift to most of our Western minds as we walk through processes like these. It works and in the end I got my license. In The States, much of the bureaucracy happens behind closed doors and involves unseen wait times. Here, the process happens right before your eyes and you as the customer have to walk it along every step of the way.
It was a bit painful, but I’ve lived to tell about it. And, today I made a new friend from India who may want to move his family close to our neighborhood. Who would have imagined the good that could happen in the middle of a bureaucratic process!
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