Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003 - 8:18 a.m.
ATM Woes, a Movie and Nosebleed
I slept in today and Kate didn't have class until that afternoon, so she was still there when I got up. The weather wasn't that great either. Kate asked what I wanted to do that day and had told me about a really cool special art exhibit I should check out. But my first priority was to get money. Kate cooked lunch, which was deliciuos, then I went to the bank. They closed at 2pm and it was already 1pm by the time I went. There was a bank one block from Kate's apartment. I decided to try using my bank card one more time. I hadn't tried to use it since Peru. If that didn't work, I'd get a cash advance or cash a travelers check. So I checked to make sure the ATM had one of the symbols that is the same as on my card. Then I put my card in the machine and attempted to withdraw some money. Yet, once again, the stupid machine took my card and the error message said my card had been withheld by request from my bank. I knew there was nothing wrong with my account. I was really annoyed. So, yet again, just like in Peru, I went into the bank and asked to get my card back. I had a hard time understanding the woman, she spoke very rapidly. I was told I needed to call my bank and request a new card. I tried not to get mad, but I made it clear to the woman that I was traveling, that there was nothing wrong with my account or my bank and I needed my card back. She said my card had been withheld by my bank's request and that I needed to talk to my bank. I told her I've talked to my bank already. If I call my bank, then what? I knew what would happen. I'd call my bank back in the US, they'd tell me there was no problem, I'd return to this bank in Santiago and then be back at square one. I didn't understand everything this woman was telling me, but it was clear I wasn't going to get my card back in the next 15 minutes before the bank closed. I got the bank's phone number so that I could have Kate call on my behalf the next day and hopefully I'd get my card back. I'd already decided that if I couldn't get my card to work in Chile I wouldn't bother using it during the rest of my travels. However, I could use it when I return to Ecuador and when I return to the states. I was beyond frustrated. I also still needed money. So I got a cash advance.
Then I returned to Kate's apartment where Karina, the babysitter was. Kate was rushing out the door to go to work. She'd given me the address of the art exhibit, so I could catch a cab there and check it out that afternoon. So I said goodbye to Kate and hung out for a bit, took a (hot) shower and checked my e-mail. From talking with Karina I leared she is from Iquitos, Peru. She was really good with Nia (Kate's daughter) and Kate was thrilled she did light housecleaning too.
I was still on the computer when Kate called about 30 minutes later. Her class had been cancelled so she was coming back home. When she got back she talked about going to the movies. She had a second class that afternoon that had already been cancelled. So Kate and I got to hang out and we went and saw the movie "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" for about $3. It was a weird movie.
Then we went home and that afternoon we took Nia out for a walk, she was in her stroller. We walked around the same area I'd been the day before trying to find Kate's apartment. We even saw the same watier I'd seen the day before, who said he knew my friend. He'd sen her and Ever (Kate's boyfriend) walking around before.
That night I checked my e-mail. They didn't have a TV set, but I got to listen to my CD's that I bought in Bolivia and hadn't listened to yet. I was up until early in the AM. You could hear the nearby danceclubs and bars and other people, as well as the music. Kate said it was like that every night.
That day I also got a nosebleed, and Kate said was probably due to the pollution.
