Over the last month, Kristen and I have really begun to find our groove here in China. We have successfully opened a Chinese bank account, taobao account, and alipay account (so we can purchase things online). All 3 of these have been huge encouragements for us, and have really made us feel like we are finally figuring out how to do life here. But the biggest encouragement happened last Friday, I (Danny) passed the Chinese driver’s license exam and received my license. I know this may not sound like a big deal, but you must score a 90 or higher to pass the exam!!!  Many of the driving laws are different from the States, plus I have to be able to read the signs – in Chinese. The driving test has been translated to English, fortunately, but the translations are not the greatest. I had an app on my phone to help me prepare and here are just a few of the questions I had to know:

Now you have a better idea of why this is so exciting that I passed. To brag a little on myself, I scored a 96… no big deal!

I wish this was the end of the blog post, but Kristen told me I must share my driver’s license picture with the world. So here it is…

Yikes! I wish I had a good excuse, but I don’t… because literally every picture I take for an important “identity” photo (passport, school ID, etc.) is honestly the worst ever. Just so you know I’m not exaggerating, below, from left to right, are my passport, US driver’s license, and my Chinese school ID photos.

The passport photo looks like I got stung by a big bee. The US license is not bad, but with all that blue space, I look like one of those voodoo tiny-head dolls. Finally, my Chinese school i.d. just looks goofy. Where’d my eyes go?

I already get questioned at airport customs because no one believes the passport photo is me. But now if I show them any other form of ID they will definitely think I’m lying. None of the photos look like me. This is a real problem!!!

Oh well, can’t worry about that now. All I can do is keep a positive attitude and see where the wind takes me.