The Story of a $10 Bill

$10 bills don't always work so well here. Typically, when you get money out of an ATM here, it spits out a bunch of $20 bills, then two $10s for good measure. You think, "Oh, great, the $10's will be easier to use here." Wrong. It's amazing how difficult it is to get change here.

Case 1: We took a taxi to the mall. It was raining, so instead of walking the 40 minutes or so, we hopped in a cab. I knew I didn't have much change, and I should have known better. When we got to the mall, the driver asked for $3. I handed him a $5, thinking it would be no big deal for a taxi driver to give us $2 in change (I say change because I was expecting dollar coins). No, the driver didn't have any change. Instead I handed him two dollar coins, some dimes, a nickel, and a handful of pennies that added up to $2.89. I suppose we got the better deal.

Case 2: We went to a nice restaurant where the wait staff all wore really nice, matching outfits. I wanted to kill some time since all the places that sell cars were on break (apparently business isn't done ANYWHERE except in restaurants between 1:00- 3:00 in the afternoon). We ordered a banana split. It cost $2.50. I thought I would be cunning and try to accumulate some change, so I paid with a $10. The waiter took the bill over to his manager and didn't know what to do with it. He had to come back and tell us that he had to run next door to make change. So we waited. He returned with a handful of coins, but was able to complete the transaction.

Case 3: Awhile back in Quito, we had a similar problem. We ate at Brad's favorite vegetarian restaurant, El Maple. Our total bill was $8 for the two of us. It would seem that paying with a $10 would be perfectly reasonable. Nope. We waited nearly 15 minutes while the waiter ran around town looking for change.

In a country that operates almost exclusively in cash, why doesn't anyone ever have change? I can't seem to keep it in my coin purse. I can't count the number of times we've boarded a bus and I was afraid I might not have a couple of quarters to cover our fare. The tens and twenties seem to linger in my wallet, but the quarters, fifty cent pieces, and dollar coins don't weight me down!