Now I Can Go on The Amazing Race!

I can gladly say that today was a successful today.  At 1pm today I arrived at A Formula 1 Driving School in Vaughan, Ontario for my first manual transmission driving lesson.

I must start out by saying that I am not the most coordinated person.  There's a reason my mum didn't sign me up for dance or gymnastics.  Hence my hesitation to trust my two left feet to make a car move.

This is not to say that I can't drive.  I've been driving for roughly seven years now and I'd like to think I'm a fairly good driver.  But driving and changing the gears at the same time is a completely different story.  I was having a panic attack just looking at the stick shift.  There was no way I was going to be able to do this.

And then came Jeff, the owner and instructor of AF1.  His calm demeanour and straight-forward explanations put me at ease.  He sat me in the passenger seat and went through everything about the car and drove around a bit so I could see it all in action.  After he taught me a little trick or quip to remember something, he'd quiz me, which began to build my confidence as I got question after question right.  I started to feel good, and believe that I could do it.

And then he said, "Okay, I think you're ready.  Your turn."

All that confidence went down the drain, and every quip he had just said had suddenly escaped my mind.  All I thought to myself was I can't do this!


But Jeff talked me through it and as I slowly moved through the gears, my confidence returned.  He managed to remain calm, even after the eighth time I didn't push the clutch far enough down.  He remained positive and praised me when my shifts were good, and my starts were smooth.  After only an hour, I was on highway 400, something I didn't expect to do so soon.  And just after that, learning how to start on a hill.

I'm proud to say that I didn't stall once.  But I can't say that was because I knew what I was doing, but because I had an excellent teacher.

I have my second (and last) two hour lesson tomorrow.  I'm really excited to go, and even more excited to drive in Geneva.  And as I told Jeff, "Now I can go on the Amazing Race!"...well, once I become an American, that is.

If you live in the Greater Toronto Area, and you're looking for lessons, I highly recommend Jeff.  He's a great instructor, and is far less expensive than CAA.

A New Adventure - UPDATED - AGAIN!

Today marks a new today.  I have officially booked my flight to Geneva!  But I guess some background information is in order.

A few weeks ago, my uncle let me know about an opportunity to spend a year in Geneva au pairing for a family of five.  The mother is actually a friend of my uncle's, and moved to Switzerland roughly twenty years ago.  She has hosted au pairs from Canada for 18 years (I will be the 19th) for her three children.  Since one is already off to University, I will be responsible for their 9 year old and 17 year old sons.   Earlier this week I accepted the position for the year, starting in August.

I'm planning on using this blog to document my travels in Europe for friends and family back home, and also to look back to once my adventure is over.  It's also a great way to keep track of all the things I need to do before I leave (see below), create a list of goals for while I'm there, and hopefully get some feedback from other people about what to see/do while I'm there.

Until I leave, I'll be venting my frustrations over pre-travel planning as I go through the following items on my list:

TO DO:

• Buy plane ticket
• Apply for a visa
• Take manual transmission driving lessons - 
• Apply for an international driver's license - Don't need to :)
• Put OHIP card on extension for while I'm gone 
• Put car insurance on hold
• Put cell phone plan on hold
• Find coverage for work shifts - Not finalized, but found some people that have offered
• Have enough money in back account to make car payments while gone
• Figure out what I need to bring!!!!!
• Get a new copy of my birth certificate (seems to have disappeared...)
• Make copies of all ID
• Re-certify my Standard First Aid
• Re-certify my NLS
• Re-certify my Lifesaving Swim Instructor awards
• Brush up on my French - I've been working on this while at work.  Anyone willing to practice with me?
• Find good gluten free recipes 

I'm sure this list will continue to grow as a thing of more things I need to do, but hopefully I get through it all before I leave.

As well, I'm always looking for suggestions of places to travel, things to bring, and general travel advice, so please do not hesitate to comment and help a girl out!

T-minus 4 months!