So, Claire needed to change some money from US to NT. We went to the bank that says "Official Foreign Currency Exchange" on the sign. We went in and finally found the currency lady who invited us to sit down.
First, she asked how much Claire wanted to exchange. "$100". The lady was concerned: "Oh no, too much, we can't do that." Of course we asked how much we were allowed to do. "Nothing more than $500." "$500 NT?" She looked at us like we were idoits: "No, US dollars, of course." Well, there you go. Silly us.
So having agreed upon $100, Claire handed over her cash. The lady again looked very concerned. Three of the $20s were the newest bills with the new security features. She very gravely informed us that the machine couldn't read the bills because they were too new. Slightly put out, Claire told her to just do the other $40. She started to get out the paperwork, then gave the bills a second look, and took them over to her supervisor. She came back to inform us that "These bills are too old." Claire and I both scoffed in her face. We couldn't believe it. The new ones were too new, and the regular ones were "too old." Claire suggested brusquely that they take down the Currency Exchange sign, because they do no such thing. (=
It just reminded me of the fundamental differences between the Eastern and Western mindset, follow the rules versus big picture. But understanding it doesn't make it any less frustrating.
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