How a Chinese driver got her Australian driver's licence in Ballarat

On an April night as the cold air swept through Ballarat, I half-heartedly messaged a driving instructor on WeChat, a Chinese social media platform.

"Hello Charles, I would like to inquire about the driving class. I want to get my licence ASAP, in a month or two [before the middle of Ballarat winter]."

"I am available tomorrow. You might need to wait two or three weeks for a drive test," Charles replied to me within 15 minutes.

That was much faster than I expected as my name had been on the waiting lists of several Ballarat driving schools since February.

Having passed my car and motorcycle driving tests in China with perfect scores, I found I was a straight-A learner driver.

Charles said he was the only Chinese driving instructor in Ballarat and his car was a large Jeep.

Adjusting the seat and mirrors, putting on my seatbelt, turning on the engine, putting down the handbrake and shifting into gear - I did it all in one go.

But when the car was on its way, my eight-year muscle memory of driving on the left was annoying Ballarat drivers behind me.

"You are driving too far to the left (of the right lane). You cannot take up two lanes," Charles said.

To avoid the horns of rear cars, he corrected my steering wheel to keep the car in the middle of the lane from time to time.

I asked my Chinese friends for advice on how to pass driving tests in Australia.

All of them told me that "(looking) right is always right" at roundabouts.

The mnemonic chant helped me easily pass the learner permit knowledge test and the hazard perception test but the reality of driving was much more complicated.

In one lesson, Charles pulled the handbrake suddenly before I entered a roundabout. It caught me off-guard and I started sweating. A car from the right quickly passed in front of me.

Since arriving in Ballarat in February, I have relied on buses, friends and colleagues, and never paid attention to the traffic.

Ballarat is a city of roundabouts. In a six-minute drive from The Courier office to my house, there are at least five roundabouts. More familiar with traffic lights, I felt tormented by the roundabouts that continually required my own judgement.

"Do we have that many roundabouts in China?" I asked Charles.

The lack of familiarity with roundabouts made me doubt whether I drove through one in China.

"We do but not like here. I met one once in Xi'an [the capital of Shaanxi Province]," Charles said.

In our first lesson, Charles promised me I'd pass the driving test in six to eight lessons.

Two weeks before my driving test, I took up two parking spaces in front of the Testing and Inspection Centre when practicing.

"You need several more lessons before the test," Charles said.

"Let's put it this way. You don't have to pay for the next few lessons."

Five more painstaking lessons later, I sat my driving test.

I lost points for braking, watching other road users and judging gaps in traffic.

Charles took a picture of my driving test score sheet, saying he kept a record of every student who passed on their first attempt.

Now, it's time for car shopping.