Ah, Bolivia

Can I share a story without seeming critical of the country in which we reside? Chalk this up to the confused foreigner who tends to view procedures from my own US lens. As Jeanie says, "it's not wrong, it just different".

Anyhow, my driver's license (brevet) was issued in 2004 and was good for five years. Since there is no mail service here and the transit department doesn't warn you that your license is about to expire, it was good that I looked at it and happened to notice that mine expires on March 4, 2009.

Ok, so I went to "Transito" to renew it. Not so fast! First, I learned that you cannot renew it until it is expired, so March 5 would be the first day that I could renew. (Which raises the question, what if I'm stopped after it expires? I would be in trouble.) As long as I was there, I asked the requirements for the renewal. Here goes:

1. Police background check. You have to request this a couple days in advance. It is a whole procedure in itself.
2. An attorney must prepare an official request for a renewed license.
3. Medical and ocular certificate.
4. copies of ID card and present driver's license front and back.
5. the expired license itself.
6. 2 photos with blue background.

Except for point one and four, the items on the list can be accomplished at "transito", for a fee in each case. The background check form, for instance, costs $4US plus about a $1.50 tip for the guy who fills it out. I know that because I just applied for the background check to be able to comply with registration requirements as a board member of our church.

So these things seem like a lot of work to me, but to a Bolivian the procedures are just a part of life. To tell the truth, I'm not sure taking a number and waiting at the DMV in Florida is any easier. I remember driving our kids around South Florida trying to find the least busy DMV office.