learning how to drive, again

I just got back from my first driving class. It is nice to actually be driving a car, but as of right now I'm not the hugest fan of driving classes. Apparently, or so says my instructor, that they will take off points if you put the clutch in too early or don't change gears the way they want. (For example, when you stop you have to go through all the lower gears, not just shift from 5th to 3rd to 1st or whatever.) I've been driving for, what, 16 years and so changing my habits is a little hard. The entire time I was driving he kept saying, "Why are you putting in the clutch there? You need to wait." And by the end I began to change a bit, but if I do things by reflex, I do it the way I do it. Yet, according to him, I HAVE to change or they'll take off a point each time I do it a bit wrong. Uffff!!!

The good thing is that next time we are in fact going to where they give you the exam, in Móstoles. And, at least I am changing little by little.

The other reason I am not a bit stressed out by the whole thing is that after parallel parking (or parking en linea), I pulled out and didn't have as much room as he would have liked (after him having said that I didn't need to back up to get out), so he put on the brake on his said and told me I had just hit the car to my front right. I hadn't and in fact had about a foot of room between us, which while not a ton, was plenty. Granted I could easily have left more room, but him having just said that I didn't need to back up after I did a bit, made me a bit anxious and so I left less room than I normally would have. Then he blamed me.

Obviously, I'm just letting off a bit of steam. In reality it went fine. I got used to the clutch on this car, realized there is a huge blind spot right by me and that to reach the clutch I practically have to be on top of the steering wheel (which is not the most comfortable). And I also realized that I tend to adjust the mirrors while en route, which means I get them almost right before we take off and then just have to live with how they are.

I guess at least I've begun this second half of the process... I'm sure I'll have more to say before it's all over. As for now, I'm off to the university.