Today was spent doing just "normal" things. We seem to now be settled enough that sometimes, the normal things are the things that we need to do. Josh and I are still trying to get our banking situation settled and it all takes time. When we got our person numbers, we thought that we could finally add me to Josh's account. However, he first needed to raise the status on his account to include me and add internet banking before he could do that. So he went into the bank earlier this week (they are only open 10-3 Mon-Friday) and did just that but of course, that meant that he then had to be mailed a new debit card and a new pin number. He received the card today but is still waiting on the pin. A debit card is almost the only way anything is purchased around here. The European debit card has a microchip in the end of the card so it is not "swiped" like we do it in the US. You then, of course, enter your pin for every purchase. If you only have the American "swipe" card without a pin, it gets much more complicated to purchase anything and always involves the cashier having to ask some questions, push a few buttons and then inevitably, look for a pen. They then insist on ID (which is not a bad thing) but that does mean that you have to show them how a US drivers license is laid out or carry your passport everywhere you go. So, two weeks ago, I was thrilled to finally have Josh's debit card to use with all of my purchases. That was then cancelled last week when he "upped" his bank status and they issued him a new card. So, this week, we were back to the annoying swipe process for all purchases. People rarely pay cash here, in fact, a few times when I have, even if it is the middle of the day, the cashier has occasionally had to find the key to cash drawer and I am obviously making the first cash purchase of the day. Checks are another thing that just does not exist here. It is not an option. If you have to pay someone like Calvin's tennis coach or school fees or whatever, you are given the bank number of their payment account, you then log in to your bank account, use a secret bank decoder key chain, enter four different random numbers that you are given for security, enter the recipient's payment account number, and 42 steps later, you have made your payment and it will be in their account the next day.
Whew!! This is what we finally earned the right to do this week. Now, if we could just get our debit card pin and get me added to the account! One step at a time... At least we could finally pay some local bills!
Max is spending the entire day and night with his new South African friend today. Josh took him out to the suburbs by train so that Max and Eban could hang out. Should be fun.
The girls have had a great time today. They spent the day with Tabitha's local friends, eating lunch and doing some last minute souvenir shopping. They leave tomorrow morning to head back to the US.
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