Today I went to the DMV to get my Chadian drivers license. Last week a guy from the office took a couple passport photos and my American drivers license to the DMV and started the paperwork and today we went to take the official photo that will appear on my license.
The DMV is a cluster of buildings on the banks of the Chari river, swarming with people and motorcycles near the round-point with the two arms holding up the globe (I wish I could take pictures here but its against the law unless you have a special permit, and even then you are at risk). As we pulled up to the building we noticed a cluster of six or seven men standing around a generator on the edge of the compound. Inside the power was out.
We sat around for about an hour checking out the really cool equipment that was worthless since there was no electricity to make the machines run. The DMV had video surveillance, magnetic locks, pass-card door entries, deskes filled with laptops, cameras, and other cool stuff but nothing worked.
Eventually we heard the generator roar back to life and the flourescent lights flickered back on and the wall-mounted air conditioning units started shooting cool air into the warm room. After power was back it only took 15 minutes for the clerk to verify my information and take my picture and we were on our way. Hopefully next week the drivers license will be ready...
When we applied for Spanish drivers licenses in Madrid in 1983, it was also an involved process. The easiest way was to pay a professional person to stand in line for you because in addition to long lines, the service windows might open or close arbitrarily and you might have to return another day.
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