Arrested Development

I have been told that it is annoying that when I want to punctuate the start of my sentence that I use the word "So". As in "So, you think I actually am concerned what you think..." or "So, why would you possibly notice something as trivial as that...." I only think of that because I was going to start this blog as you would expect....

Monday
SO, you are going to travel internationally and you need cash. AAA or other local banks don't give you a great exchange rate, so I get enough cash for the initial taxi and food from the airport currency exchange. Not a big deal. However, it is a big deal if the cash is counterfeit.

Fast forward a 1 1/2 weeks into the trip. We go back to the Bogota Beer Company (our fourth time) because they are the only place we have seen with a big screen television to watch the Monday Night Football game. We watch the beautiful event (Steelers lost) and pay for our dinner. (On a side note, I felt brave and ordered an item from the menu because it was the only thing where I didn't recognize a single ingredient in the description. It was thick ribs of a porkish origin.) Since it is towards the end of my trip, I pay in cash with a nice tip for the nice waitress (I didn't have small bills and was tired and didn't want to wait) and leave.

We are walking back the four or so blocks to our hotel when we hear someone shouting as us in Spanish. Here is my response. I ignore it because...
1) I don't like to be shouted at
2) I am walking on a dark street in a foreign street in a town known for kidnapping
3) I don't speak Spanish
4) I figure it isn't for me
5) Most importantly, I am really really tired and just want to go to bed.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that there is a lot of private security for the office -- well, this also carries over to the hotel and restaurants. There are at least 3 security guards at the restaurant that do the wand thing over you to get in. One of these guards (a pudgy one) was running towards us, huffing and puffing. He says something. We respond saying in Spanish that we don't speak Spanish. (I always have thought there is some good irony in that.) He speak more Spanish and somehow wants to follow us to the hotel. He is holding my 50,000 peso bill in his hand.

We get back to the hotel and he argues his way through security to the front desk. We follow along curiously -- but also because we now feel bad for the guy as he is still out of breath. It turns out that the restaurant thought that the bill was counterfeit. The hotel scans it through a checking machine thing, holds to the light, rubs it on white paper and tastes it... They think that it is real. They exchange it for another and my time as an international counterfeiter is over.

The best part is that I finally got to my room for a great night's sleep.