Bills
There is the inevitable, wherever you are, of bills. Today is Monday, August 1, and I have been
here a month now. There are bills that I
knew I’d need to pay, so I decided this morning would be bill paying day. Except for restaurants, most places don’t
open until 9:00. Then they close at noon,
and stay closed until 3:00 or 4:00. That
gave just three hours to get everything done.
First was my rent. My
landlady texted me her bank account at the Ganadero Bank so I could deposit the
rent there. Ganaderos are all over town,
but one is just two blocks away. The
process at a bank, and some other places, is to get an automated ticket when
you enter the door. I wasn’t sure what I
was asking for, but pushed the button for the simplest I could think of,
speaking to a cashier. Then you wait
until your number is called and go to the indicated cashier. I encountered two immediate problems. One, the information for the account I am
putting the money in is on my phone.
They don’t allow phones for any reason.
Two, they needed my passport number.
So I have to walk home, write down the information, and grab my
passport. Then I start over. But I punched in the wrong thing on the
automated ticket machine. When I got to
the cashier, she said she couldn’t help me unless I used the machine
properly. So I started over, sat and
waited. I get the same girl again. Part of me was angry at all the mess to just
deposit some money. But this is their
country, their culture, their method of doing things; so be patient and learn
to do it right.
Between my two visits at Ganadero I visited Tigo, the phone
company. I had not been getting texts on
whatsapp, the app everybody uses here in Bolivia. Several were thinking I was ignoring
them. Andrea, a friend, told me Sunday,
that I needed to buy internet time to use whatsapp. So I went to Tigo to buy the Internet
time. I thought I had done that, but it
never seemed to work. I found out I had,
but it had never been activated.
Suddenly I have 20 messages pop up on my phone. It was fixed.
Next I needed to go to Cotas to pay for the Internet for my
house. There is probably a Cotas nearby,
but I don’t know where yet, so I went down to the Plaza. This was a lot easier. As I was getting my ticket, a salesgirl told
me to go straight to the cashier in the back.
There are a few people in front of me, but quickly I have paid my
monthly Internet and was done.
I have been wanting to buy a printer, but was waiting for my
paycheck. Again my friends, Sandra and
Andrea, told me exactly where to go and how much I would pay. They sent me to the Mercantil Chiriguano on
the Third Ring. My taxi driver didn’t
know where to go, but Andrea’s directions led me to the door of the store. They told me I would pay 300 Bs, but they
were wrong, he charged me 280 Bs (Divide by 7 and you get $40).
On the way home I stopped at a bakery, Wistupiku, to buy
some salteñas. Andrea told me about
these on Sunday. They are just three blocks
from my house. I got the cheese and the
hot; I prefer the hot. I also bought a
small sonso. Sorry, I was hungry and ate
them before taking a picture.
How was your Monday?
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