money and Slovakia
Jun. 2nd, 2008 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99After a long conversation with my husband about how embarrassing it is if my students discover that I have NO local currency and cannot pay for lunch.... I went back to the front hotel desk this morning.
"I'd like to change money." I pull out my passport and a traveler's check.
"No, no. It's very bad rate."
"That's OK. I'll take it. I have no other choice."
"No, no, bank will take it next door."
"But the bank is not open Right Now. Unless they are open right now?" I wait for her to shake her head. "Well then, I will be at work when they open. I need this now."
"No, we cannot."
"You cannot.... accept traveler's checks?"
"No, is very bad. Bad rate."
"So you cannot accept traveler's check, or it is a bad rate?"
"Very bad rate."
"So you CAN accept traveler's checks! Then I must change this. I must have money today."
"No. Cannot accept."
"CAN YOU accept traveler's checks OR NOT?!?!!!"
"No."
*grind teeth* "Can you accept US dollars?"
"Yes, we would be happy to change US dollars."
*deep breath* .... *another slow deep breath* *unclench jaw* "Ok, I will be back after breakfast with cash."
This is not what the (same) person told me yesterday. Yesterday she just recommended against it. She didn't say she couldn't. As far as I can tell, they only admitted that they couldn't after I pushed the point. Hard.
So, I changed $60. No, I don't have much more than that. Which paid for lunch and a bus ticket. After class, one of my students took me on a (sunny, hot, over dressed in work clothes) minor tour of Bratislava, including an electric bus ride. Which I gather is very exciting, because there is a large danger of being caught by the police if you are not quick enough to stick your bus pass in the ticket counter. You only have a 40 second window before (I'm assuming dire financial) bad things happen. He also tried to help me exchange money, which also got rejected by the person behind the counter. They only accept cash. He explained after we left that this is because they are money laundering, thus the good exchange rates. Only legit banks accept traveler's checks. Which makes me a bit grateful to not be contributing to the underbelly of the city, even though it is personally annoying. Two banks later, he also gave up and admitted that they are all closed long before we exited the classroom.
Perhaps tomorrow.
"I'd like to change money." I pull out my passport and a traveler's check.
"No, no. It's very bad rate."
"That's OK. I'll take it. I have no other choice."
"No, no, bank will take it next door."
"But the bank is not open Right Now. Unless they are open right now?" I wait for her to shake her head. "Well then, I will be at work when they open. I need this now."
"No, we cannot."
"You cannot.... accept traveler's checks?"
"No, is very bad. Bad rate."
"So you cannot accept traveler's check, or it is a bad rate?"
"Very bad rate."
"So you CAN accept traveler's checks! Then I must change this. I must have money today."
"No. Cannot accept."
"CAN YOU accept traveler's checks OR NOT?!?!!!"
"No."
*grind teeth* "Can you accept US dollars?"
"Yes, we would be happy to change US dollars."
*deep breath* .... *another slow deep breath* *unclench jaw* "Ok, I will be back after breakfast with cash."
This is not what the (same) person told me yesterday. Yesterday she just recommended against it. She didn't say she couldn't. As far as I can tell, they only admitted that they couldn't after I pushed the point. Hard.
So, I changed $60. No, I don't have much more than that. Which paid for lunch and a bus ticket. After class, one of my students took me on a (sunny, hot, over dressed in work clothes) minor tour of Bratislava, including an electric bus ride. Which I gather is very exciting, because there is a large danger of being caught by the police if you are not quick enough to stick your bus pass in the ticket counter. You only have a 40 second window before (I'm assuming dire financial) bad things happen. He also tried to help me exchange money, which also got rejected by the person behind the counter. They only accept cash. He explained after we left that this is because they are money laundering, thus the good exchange rates. Only legit banks accept traveler's checks. Which makes me a bit grateful to not be contributing to the underbelly of the city, even though it is personally annoying. Two banks later, he also gave up and admitted that they are all closed long before we exited the classroom.
Perhaps tomorrow.
