I was in a cab home last night, when I pulled up to my block and looked in my wallet only to see that I had no cash. I panicked for a second until i realized that I could pay with a credit card. The credit card machines in taxis in New York are one of the coolest things to have happened in recent history. This was something that was put into place while I was living in Argentina, and it still boggles my mind a little bit. I've grown very accustomed to walking around cashless in NY, because you can use cards everywhere, literally! What's the point of taking an extra trip to the ATM when I can charge a banana and there's no additional fee? Well that was definitely not the case in Argentina. Not the case at all. In fact, the monetary system there is something I never stopped getting angry about. The ATMs charge a big fee to take out any amount of cash, because as expats we don't have accounts at their banks (and you can't get an account unless you're a citizen). The ATMs also dispense $100 pesos at a time, and it is almost impossible to break an $100 peso bill, no one accepts them. The most practical way to do this is to go out to a group dinner and pay with the $100 and have your friends give you their cash. Actually, that's not the most practical way, that's the ONLY way.
On top of that, there's a very well known coin shortage. It's extraordinarly hard to acquire change because everyone claims to be out of coins or "monedas." The stores that do have them tend to stock pile them for fear of running out. So often times if you don't have exact change, stores (especially smaller ones or bodegas) would prefer not to sell you your purchase than make you change. And the thing is, buses require change. And buses (unlike in NYC where you CAN swipe a bus card) are the main mode of transportion. Their bus system is actually pretty great and fast! But only if you have the change to get on the bus in the first place. I can't tell you how many times I bought unnecessary chocolates or chewing gum just so I could take the bus.
I went to a party at someone's campo (or estate) outside Buenos Aires a little while after I arrived in Argentina. Two friends and I took a long bus ride to get there, and were very prepared as we knew it would cost $3.00 pesos in coins. Unfortunately for us, we didn't think about having enough coins for the trip back to the city. As the sun was rising and the party was coming to an end, we started going around the party, asking people for spare change, feeling as close to a beggar as one could possibly feel. Clearly, everyone at the party denied having change (liars).
FINALLY we found a guy with space in his car for us, but only if my friend agreed to give him a kiss. He was insistent on this stipulation, and being drunk and tired, my friend finally agreed, ONE kiss. We got in the car and all was fine, until the driver continued to try to kiss my friend (who was literally shielding her face) the entire ride back to the city. He didn't take a (not so subtle) hint. As soon as we got to the city limits, we yelled for him to stop the car, and hopped out. We clung to each other in a dear embrace for a few minutes, sighing in relief. Awkwardly, the car was still sitting there, stopped at a red light and witnessed that scene go down.
Now, every time I swipe my card, I can't help but smile and think about how easy we've got it here...at least in the change department.
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