I started the base in processing today. Aiden didn't want to stay at the house I took him to, he cried and cried, but eventually calmed down. They do a 5 day class type thing, and all the base agencies that we would need to visit come to us. I started in the middle of the normal cycle, so first thing was the driving class/test. (We are allowed to drive for 30 days before we have to pass the test.) I was a little nervous, everyone else had the "Highway Code" book since Monday and had been reading through it. We had about an hour "class" where the guy went over the basics before the test. The "national speed limit" is 60MPH, and the sign is just a white circle with a black slash, it's odd. The rest was rules and signs, and I didn't think I had a chance at passing the test, but I did! So after a 1 hour class and a 50 question test, I'm licensed to drive here...Crazy!
We had a couple other briefings, and then were done around 2pm. I got Aiden (who was very glad to see that I did come back, after Korea I'm sure he thinks I'm not going to be back for a while everytime I leave him.)
I spent most of the afternoon/evening on the phone trying to secure a car and childcare.
I looked at 3 cars before I bought one. It's a 2001 Ford Mondeo (the Taurus of Europe). It had decent miles and is in good enough condition. I like it, it's easy to drive. It's an automatic, which is uncommon in the UK, so I'll be able to sell it easy when I find something newer to buy.