De la monnaie s'il vous plait

Last night, I chatted with an american and discussed his experiences of Europe. He mentionned how annoyed he was by the number of coins that we have to carry around in our wallet over there. Little did he know that here in Buenos Aires they have the opposite problem: they are experiencing a coin shortage. Basically, everytime you take the colectivo (bus) and they are litterally hundreds of them as the main means of transportation (you have to have a guide thanks to which you cross-reference your initial location and destination in order to know which bus to take) you have to pay with coins. The ticket system doesn't exist. You hop in the bus, tell the driver how much you want to pay for your ride (1.10, 1.20 or 1.25) and you insert the coins in the machine. Thus, you have to have the exact amount in coins. When I first arrived my friends told me to mind the coins and ALWAYS keep them ALL! The problem is, no one ever gives you coins! If you buy something they will always find a way to give change with bills. The other day in between two bus rides (tickets are only valid for a single ride), I had to go to the Bank to ask for change! I heard about a black market of coins where you could buy 10 pesos worth of coins for 12 pesos. And yesterday, in the supermarket, the lady at the till gave me back my 60 centavos worth of change....in candy !!! Earlier, I almost made you think I was in New-York...definitely not.

Comments

[christine]

Et je suppose que tu ne peux pas payer ton bus en bonbons...

Super de suivre ta vie là bas grâce à ce blog !

Biz, Christine