Manual vs. Automatic

I think your son probably did better than I did today.
At least I didn't hit anything.

Not hitting anything is a good thing 

Yeah. Almost did, though. Right at the end. The poor instructor gave me a lecture about how I need to let people finish turning in front of me before I start out. (Actually, the car is a hybrid and I had intended to ooch out into the road, but ended up lurching instead. Sigh.)

You’ll soon get used to the instructors car.  Our son didn’t like it at first but got used to it and ended up taking his test in the instructors car instead of his own.

We have a hybrid as well and the thing is that electric motors have maximum torque at low revs so they are very responsive from a dead stop.

Sigh.

Yeah. By the end of that hour lesson I was so happy to NOT be driving anymore. I don't want to drive here. I just want a license so I can drive when I go back to the States. Where I know how to drive.    Or in Europe, where all the cars are on the correct side of the road.  Buuut, this is the only way to do it, so I'll have to do it.  It's the being on the wrong side of the car that is throwing me - I can't judge the distance I should be from the parked cars, etc. and so I'm trying to pay attention to that and to the road signs and markings, and speed.... I don't think I was this bad when I was learning at 16.

Then again, at 16 I wasn't trying to drive in rush hour in a city on streets I'd never been on, in a strangely operated car, on the wrong side of the road, either! 

Sigh.

Yeah. By the end of that hour lesson I was so happy to NOT be driving anymore. I don't want to drive here. I just want a license so I can drive when I go back to the States. Where I know how to drive.    Or in Europe, where all the cars are on the correct side of the road.  Buuut, this is the only way to do it, so I'll have to do it.  It's the being on the wrong side of the car that is throwing me - I can't judge the distance I should be from the parked cars, etc. and so I'm trying to pay attention to that and to the road signs and markings, and speed.... I don't think I was this bad when I was learning at 16.

Then again, at 16 I wasn't trying to drive in rush hour in a city on streets I'd never been on, in a strangely operated car, on the wrong side of the road, either! 

Nan, you'll get used to all that stuff eventually.  And it will be soooo worth it.

Nan, you'll get used to all that stuff eventually.  And it will be soooo worth it.

Exactly, stick with it.

Agreed... just take it slow and keep at it.  There are a LOT of new things to take in all at once, and it is totally overwhelming.  But you'll get there.

Also, you mentioned your quiet-speaking instructor... if you feel like you don't have a good fit, you could consider a different instructor.  I know automatic instructors are hard to find, but he can't be the only one near you.

Agreed... just take it slow and keep at it.  There are a LOT of new things to take in all at once, and it is totally overwhelming.  But you'll get there.

Also, you mentioned your quiet-speaking instructor... if you feel like you don't have a good fit, you could consider a different instructor.  I know automatic instructors are hard to find, but he can't be the only one near you.

I like him just fine, but I'm going to have to emphasise to him that I'm not hearing everything he is saying - he's going to have to speak up.
I probably do need a hearing aid. (Sigh)

I really just want to go "home" one last time, to wind things up, and then don't anticipate going to the States again. Or needing to drive. But you never know where fate will take you, so I probably should have a license in case I ever need one.

I like him just fine, but I'm going to have to emphasise to him that I'm not hearing everything he is saying - he's going to have to speak up.
I probably do need a hearing aid. (Sigh)

I really just want to go "home" one last time, to wind things up, and then don't anticipate going to the States again. Or needing to drive. But you never know where fate will take you, so I probably should have a license in case I ever need one.

Don't sigh too much over the hearing aid.  They don't work for everybody.  I went to a consult for one, and the person put a little thing in my bad ear and was explaining to me how it was digitally tuned to amplify the frequencies that I can't hear as well, and how it would fill in those holes, and I was getting increasingly excited about the expected improvement.  Finally I said, "Great!  Let's turn it on!"  Her face fell.  She said, "It's been on this whole time."  I said, "Oh.  It's not going to work for me, then." 

And yeah... getting that license just in case you ever need one is a good idea.  You can do this!