After arriving in Marrakech, I found that the ATMs at the airport were completely out of money, so I had to change $USD to Dirhams in order to pay for a taxi to Djeema el-Fna so I could try to make my way to the hostel and have some general spending money until I could access an ATM. That was my first time actually having to make use of any "emergency money" while traveling, and I was glad to have it with me. After making it to Djeema el-Fna, I tried to use my ATM card at another ATM...which proceeded to not give me any money and, instead, kept my card. (That's a first! ...especially given that I alerted my bank about my travels prior to leaving.) Interestingly, the local guys who run the hostel weren't that concerned about it; they just told me to wait until the bank that owned the ATM opened in the morning, show my passport, and get my card back. I was skeptical, but it actually worked. (Don't think it would've in the U.S., that's for sure!) I was then able to change my PIN number online through the hostel internet - after trying to call my bank toll-free-international without success. There were a few more foobar moments as I tried to get cash after changing my PIN number (ATMs being down); however, I was ultimately able to get some cash and move on with life. Woo.
But, yeah, this is Africa - even if simply N. Africa - and I didn't expect it to be a trip without hiccups. Fortunately, 1) the Moroccans have been very friendly/helpful, and 2) a little bit a high school French is still lingering somewhere in the back of my mind to try to help in conversations where the other individual doesn't know English. For example:
Me: Bonjour. Parlez-vous un peu d'Anglais?
Them: No.
Me: Uh, OK. Le machine n'acceptez pas ma carte, mais je ne comprendre. Tout l'information est bonne...
(Hey, I never claimed to be able to spell in French... At this point, I'll take whatever works!)
No comments:
Post a Comment