First Days cont.

One more thing that is worth mentioning. Today I tried to take money out of a Chilean ATM for the first time. And after really focusing on the Spanish menus and figuring everything out, the ATM ate my card and wouldn't give it back. There were a few frantic moments were I pictured myself stranded in Chile, penniless and abandoned, followed by some more logical thinking. I called over one of the more official looking employees of the store, explained my situation and looked for her help. I communicated my situation well, but was told that there was nothing she could do (which I thought was fairly realistic, for various security reasons). Thankfully I decided to talk to another store employee, and with the help of Cecilia Espinoza, got her to call the bank which operated the machine. I left a description of my debit card (How many Notre Dame Federal Credit Union cards really appear in Linares?) and a phone number at which I could be contacted. After dinner, we received a call, quickly drove to the store and was amazingly returned my debit card. I can't imagine that this could have happened in the US, but because we explained that I was a student studying abroad in Chile who for all extents and purposes really needed money during his stay, I got incredibly lucky. I returned to our living center, quickly checked my account to see if anything strange had been charged to my account (nothing had been) and breathed a sigh of relief. My bank account had been debited for the approximately $300 I had withdrawn although not given my the ATM, but that is a problem I will deal with in the morning.

Buenas noches