Driver's Ed

I had my first "driving lesson" on Monday  Talk about baptismal by fire!  The instructor told me to hop in the driver's seat and pointed me to the busiest road in the area.  I don't think we'd gone more than a kilometer (i'm trying to embrace the metric system) when she announced that I would have already failed the driver's exam!   Don't know if I should be relieved or concerned about the fact that I don't have to take it since I have a valid US license. . .

I found the entire experience overwhelming - this is a congested area, the roads are very narrow and it is very awkward to do everything "backwards."   Just putting the car in drive with your left hand feels odd and I had a very clean windshield as I hit the wipers instead of the turn signal nearly every time. 

The area where we are currently living has "roundabouts" at seemingly every corner (I'm not sure i can properly explain the signaling and right-of-way rules at this point) and parallel parking is the norm.   The instructor did teach me some helpful things but I am very nervous about it all.  It is like starting all over again.  I have another lesson tomorrow and am planning to do it in my new car - which has not moved from where Andy parked it on Sunday afternoon...

Here's hoping that I can gain some confidence in the coming days.  I'm sure it will eventually become second nature but that is hard to imagine at this point!