Well Weathered<\/h1><\/div>Travel Survival Notes & Other Curious Observations<\/h2><\/div>Monthly Travel Column by Paul W. Gioffi
\nEdition 20<\/p><\/h3><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nDisclaimer:\u00a0<\/span>While travel can be exciting and rewarding there are unforeseen dangers that may arise. The Information presented in Paul’s articles is the author’s personal opinion and what may have worked for him yesterday may not work for someone else today or tomorrow. Therefore, you agree to use any and all information provided by the author at your own risk and agree that you will hold the author and ISR harmless in regard to any and all instances that may arise or result from use of this material.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Following, you’ll find travel tip 41 from Paul W. Gioffi. To read the introduction to this column which began in February of 2006 please see\u00a0Edition 1.<\/a>\u00a0To access other previous editions please see the\u00a0Index.<\/a><\/p><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span>Entry 41: Change is Good<\/h2><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Well, it certainly comes in handy in many different places around the world. Growing up in the United States, I believed that everyone, everywhere, had 24 hour access to currency in all denominations, large and small. \u00b4Sorry but, I only have a fifty dollar bill. Can you change this?’ ‘Of course,’ the cashier would respond. \u2018No problem.’ Life was wonderful back then. Perhaps this is just my own nitpicking but I don\u2019t understand why, in so many of the places that I\u2019ve traveled, it\u2019s so difficult for medium to large scale businesses, to make change. I understand and exclude the small-time street vendor but there\u2019s no excuse for a bank (even when I have an account there) to turn me away. Try paying your taxi fare in downtown Quito, Ecuador, with anything larger than a five dollar bill. Try purchasing fruits and vegetables at the grocery store in Sao Paulo, Brasil, with large real notes. You\u2019ll find yourself in a tight spot. It may have something to do with the variation and distribution of bills by their national government each year, or maybe the buying and selling power of the currency, or that week\u2019s exchange rate, or some other financial, economic enigma that is beyond me. I have discovered on some occasions that they can break the large bill you\u2019re trying to tender yet they\u2019ll still ask you for something smaller. Have they been instructed to protect their small bills at any cost? Does the small bill fairy come in the middle of the night and abscond with the day\u2019s takings, leaving nothing for the next business day? My advice for successfully avoiding these monetary impasses is to hang on to your smaller denominations and heavy coinage for as long as you can. Now, when they ask for something smaller, I respond with a polite, yet terse, ‘Sorry, that’s all I have.’ What I’m really thinking is, yes I have smaller bills but if I give them to you, I won\u2019t have any left for the taxicab driver, the post office lady, the fellow at the pita bread and hummus stand, the sleepy-eyed fare collector on the city bus and the down-and-out lad on the corner asking for a small slice of charity. It\u2019s all a part of my ‘hoard the small bills’ policy. It’s even better to go to your bank back home before you embark on your journey and cash in those larger bills for smaller ones. Then, upon arrival is some new locale, begin your supply of smaller denominations in the local currency. Going traveling? Making purchases? Trust me on this one.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Well Weathered Article Index<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/paul_authorsmall.jpg\")
<\/a>I hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of Well-Weathered Travel Survival Notes & Other Curious Observations. Check back next month for a new entry.\u00a0Until then, safe travels.
\n<\/span><\/span>Contact me at Well_Weathered@yahoo.com<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\nLearn more about Paul Gioffi<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":2102,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9312\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Travel Survival Notes & Other Curious Observations<\/h2><\/div>Monthly Travel Column by Paul W. Gioffi
\nEdition 20<\/p><\/h3><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\nDisclaimer:\u00a0<\/span>While travel can be exciting and rewarding there are unforeseen dangers that may arise. The Information presented in Paul’s articles is the author’s personal opinion and what may have worked for him yesterday may not work for someone else today or tomorrow. Therefore, you agree to use any and all information provided by the author at your own risk and agree that you will hold the author and ISR harmless in regard to any and all instances that may arise or result from use of this material.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Following, you’ll find travel tip 41 from Paul W. Gioffi. To read the introduction to this column which began in February of 2006 please see\u00a0Edition 1.<\/a>\u00a0To access other previous editions please see the\u00a0Index.<\/a><\/p><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span>Entry 41: Change is Good<\/h2><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Well, it certainly comes in handy in many different places around the world. Growing up in the United States, I believed that everyone, everywhere, had 24 hour access to currency in all denominations, large and small. \u00b4Sorry but, I only have a fifty dollar bill. Can you change this?’ ‘Of course,’ the cashier would respond. \u2018No problem.’ Life was wonderful back then. Perhaps this is just my own nitpicking but I don\u2019t understand why, in so many of the places that I\u2019ve traveled, it\u2019s so difficult for medium to large scale businesses, to make change. I understand and exclude the small-time street vendor but there\u2019s no excuse for a bank (even when I have an account there) to turn me away. Try paying your taxi fare in downtown Quito, Ecuador, with anything larger than a five dollar bill. Try purchasing fruits and vegetables at the grocery store in Sao Paulo, Brasil, with large real notes. You\u2019ll find yourself in a tight spot. It may have something to do with the variation and distribution of bills by their national government each year, or maybe the buying and selling power of the currency, or that week\u2019s exchange rate, or some other financial, economic enigma that is beyond me. I have discovered on some occasions that they can break the large bill you\u2019re trying to tender yet they\u2019ll still ask you for something smaller. Have they been instructed to protect their small bills at any cost? Does the small bill fairy come in the middle of the night and abscond with the day\u2019s takings, leaving nothing for the next business day? My advice for successfully avoiding these monetary impasses is to hang on to your smaller denominations and heavy coinage for as long as you can. Now, when they ask for something smaller, I respond with a polite, yet terse, ‘Sorry, that’s all I have.’ What I’m really thinking is, yes I have smaller bills but if I give them to you, I won\u2019t have any left for the taxicab driver, the post office lady, the fellow at the pita bread and hummus stand, the sleepy-eyed fare collector on the city bus and the down-and-out lad on the corner asking for a small slice of charity. It\u2019s all a part of my ‘hoard the small bills’ policy. It’s even better to go to your bank back home before you embark on your journey and cash in those larger bills for smaller ones. Then, upon arrival is some new locale, begin your supply of smaller denominations in the local currency. Going traveling? Making purchases? Trust me on this one.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Well Weathered Article Index<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/a>I hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of Well-Weathered Travel Survival Notes & Other Curious Observations. Check back next month for a new entry.\u00a0Until then, safe travels.
\n<\/span><\/span>Contact me at Well_Weathered@yahoo.com<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\nLearn more about Paul Gioffi<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":2102,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9312\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Monthly Travel Column by Paul W. Gioffi
\nEdition 20<\/p><\/h3><\/div>
\nDisclaimer:\u00a0<\/span>While travel can be exciting and rewarding there are unforeseen dangers that may arise. The Information presented in Paul’s articles is the author’s personal opinion and what may have worked for him yesterday may not work for someone else today or tomorrow. Therefore, you agree to use any and all information provided by the author at your own risk and agree that you will hold the author and ISR harmless in regard to any and all instances that may arise or result from use of this material.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Following, you’ll find travel tip 41 from Paul W. Gioffi. To read the introduction to this column which began in February of 2006 please see\u00a0Edition 1.<\/a>\u00a0To access other previous editions please see the\u00a0Index.<\/a><\/p><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span>Entry 41: Change is Good<\/h2><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>Well, it certainly comes in handy in many different places around the world. Growing up in the United States, I believed that everyone, everywhere, had 24 hour access to currency in all denominations, large and small. \u00b4Sorry but, I only have a fifty dollar bill. Can you change this?’ ‘Of course,’ the cashier would respond. \u2018No problem.’ Life was wonderful back then. Perhaps this is just my own nitpicking but I don\u2019t understand why, in so many of the places that I\u2019ve traveled, it\u2019s so difficult for medium to large scale businesses, to make change. I understand and exclude the small-time street vendor but there\u2019s no excuse for a bank (even when I have an account there) to turn me away. Try paying your taxi fare in downtown Quito, Ecuador, with anything larger than a five dollar bill. Try purchasing fruits and vegetables at the grocery store in Sao Paulo, Brasil, with large real notes. You\u2019ll find yourself in a tight spot. It may have something to do with the variation and distribution of bills by their national government each year, or maybe the buying and selling power of the currency, or that week\u2019s exchange rate, or some other financial, economic enigma that is beyond me. I have discovered on some occasions that they can break the large bill you\u2019re trying to tender yet they\u2019ll still ask you for something smaller. Have they been instructed to protect their small bills at any cost? Does the small bill fairy come in the middle of the night and abscond with the day\u2019s takings, leaving nothing for the next business day? My advice for successfully avoiding these monetary impasses is to hang on to your smaller denominations and heavy coinage for as long as you can. Now, when they ask for something smaller, I respond with a polite, yet terse, ‘Sorry, that’s all I have.’ What I’m really thinking is, yes I have smaller bills but if I give them to you, I won\u2019t have any left for the taxicab driver, the post office lady, the fellow at the pita bread and hummus stand, the sleepy-eyed fare collector on the city bus and the down-and-out lad on the corner asking for a small slice of charity. It\u2019s all a part of my ‘hoard the small bills’ policy. It’s even better to go to your bank back home before you embark on your journey and cash in those larger bills for smaller ones. Then, upon arrival is some new locale, begin your supply of smaller denominations in the local currency. Going traveling? Making purchases? Trust me on this one.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Well Weathered Article Index<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/a>I hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of Well-Weathered Travel Survival Notes & Other Curious Observations. Check back next month for a new entry.\u00a0Until then, safe travels.
\n<\/span><\/span>Contact me at Well_Weathered@yahoo.com<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\nLearn more about Paul Gioffi<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":2102,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9312\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Disclaimer:\u00a0<\/span>While travel can be exciting and rewarding there are unforeseen dangers that may arise. The Information presented in Paul’s articles is the author’s personal opinion and what may have worked for him yesterday may not work for someone else today or tomorrow. Therefore, you agree to use any and all information provided by the author at your own risk and agree that you will hold the author and ISR harmless in regard to any and all instances that may arise or result from use of this material.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div> Following, you’ll find travel tip 41 from Paul W. Gioffi. To read the introduction to this column which began in February of 2006 please see\u00a0Edition 1.<\/a>\u00a0To access other previous editions please see the\u00a0Index.<\/a><\/p><\/h3><\/div>Entry 41: Change is Good<\/h2><\/span>
Well, it certainly comes in handy in many different places around the world. Growing up in the United States, I believed that everyone, everywhere, had 24 hour access to currency in all denominations, large and small. \u00b4Sorry but, I only have a fifty dollar bill. Can you change this?’ ‘Of course,’ the cashier would respond. \u2018No problem.’ Life was wonderful back then. Perhaps this is just my own nitpicking but I don\u2019t understand why, in so many of the places that I\u2019ve traveled, it\u2019s so difficult for medium to large scale businesses, to make change. I understand and exclude the small-time street vendor but there\u2019s no excuse for a bank (even when I have an account there) to turn me away. Try paying your taxi fare in downtown Quito, Ecuador, with anything larger than a five dollar bill. Try purchasing fruits and vegetables at the grocery store in Sao Paulo, Brasil, with large real notes. You\u2019ll find yourself in a tight spot. It may have something to do with the variation and distribution of bills by their national government each year, or maybe the buying and selling power of the currency, or that week\u2019s exchange rate, or some other financial, economic enigma that is beyond me. I have discovered on some occasions that they can break the large bill you\u2019re trying to tender yet they\u2019ll still ask you for something smaller. Have they been instructed to protect their small bills at any cost? Does the small bill fairy come in the middle of the night and abscond with the day\u2019s takings, leaving nothing for the next business day? My advice for successfully avoiding these monetary impasses is to hang on to your smaller denominations and heavy coinage for as long as you can. Now, when they ask for something smaller, I respond with a polite, yet terse, ‘Sorry, that’s all I have.’ What I’m really thinking is, yes I have smaller bills but if I give them to you, I won\u2019t have any left for the taxicab driver, the post office lady, the fellow at the pita bread and hummus stand, the sleepy-eyed fare collector on the city bus and the down-and-out lad on the corner asking for a small slice of charity. It\u2019s all a part of my ‘hoard the small bills’ policy. It’s even better to go to your bank back home before you embark on your journey and cash in those larger bills for smaller ones. Then, upon arrival is some new locale, begin your supply of smaller denominations in the local currency. Going traveling? Making purchases? Trust me on this one.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>
\n
<\/a>I hope you have enjoyed this month’s edition of Well-Weathered Travel Survival Notes & Other Curious Observations. Check back next month for a new entry.\u00a0Until then, safe travels.
\n<\/span><\/span>Contact me at Well_Weathered@yahoo.com<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/h3>\nLearn more about Paul Gioffi<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote><\/h3><\/div>