The troubles of travelling abroad

There is nothing better to teach someone how to relax and “go with the flow” than travelling abroad.  It doesn’t matter how much you plan and prepare, check and double-check, things are going to go wrong (or at least not as you planned them)... and when they do, it often feels like everything happens at once.  If these things were to go wrong at home it would not be a big problem, but when they happen abroad, there is the added stress of the unfamiliar, the time difference, the distance, etc.  

Having travelled quite a bit myself, I have come to expect these hiccups, and believe I am pretty good at dealing with them; however, when they do arise they are still frustrating nonetheless.  For me, the first issue I came across on this trip was when I tried to withdraw money for the first time.  I had used my debit and credit card successfully at some stores to make purchases (although thinking back my debit card had stopped working), but had not withdrawn money.  So, Friday I went to withdraw money on campus and was not able to.  I thought perhaps it was the machine and I would try another.  I tried the machine in the student village and no luck!  By this time it was too late to try to find another machine, so I called my bank to make sure there were no holds on my account (which they ASSURED me there were not) and decided to deal with it in the morning. 


                                                  Picture from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Saturday morning came and this was the day I went on the trip to Stonehenge, so I got on the bus with my £8 in change in my pocket and hoped I wouldn’t need any cash (side note: this is not what I would suggest doing.  Looking back I should have tried to withdraw money while I still had at least £20 left, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.  Just a suggestion to others who may read this.).  Luckily, I had enough to buy myself a cuppa at Avebury, and my credit card still worked so that I could purchase some unnecessary souvenirs at Stonehenge. 

When I got homem, I had plans to meet some ladies out for the night, so I tied the bank machine at the student village once more with no success.  I used my last few quid (see fun phrases below) to catch the bus downtown.  Once there I tried the bank machine at the Tesco (grocery store), and then tried to get cash back after purchasing something.  All good ideas... but none worked.  At this point I was starting to get a little nervous, so I called home and ask my family to call the bank. 

I received a call back saying that there was a hold on my account because of “suspicious action overseas” and that I would have to call the bank to clear it. I was a little furious at this point since I had called the bank before I left AND just spoken with them the night before.  No I mentioned how all things seem to happen at once, well of course at this point I was almost out of credit on my phone.  I tried to call the bank, but my phone ran out of credit in the middle of it... very frustrated at this point. 

Luckily I made it to the pub, and found the ladies. 

Eventually everything sorted itself out.  I ran to the store before it closed to top up (see fun phrases below) my phone (remember I was still able to charge to the credit card at this point), and then one of the women I was with just handed me £10 so I could make it home, and another handed me £20 so that I could still have a good night.  Oh how I love the Welsh, always thinking of the important things J.  Anyway, I did have a good night, and the next morning I called the bank, straightened it out, and got to campus to take out money.  Turns out the student village machine doesn’t work with my card anyway.

I have paid the ladies back, and everything turned out fine.  What I have found  through these events is they often lead me to meeting wonderful people.  In the end this time, I am left with a working bank card, cash in my pocket, and some good friends who I know will help me out if I need it.  Overall, a pretty good end to a problem

Lesson learned: Don’t wait until you are out of money and phone credit to get more money! (Honestly I wish I could say this will never happen again, but who knows.  As the Welsh would say, if it does I’ll sort it out later.)

Fun phrases:

Quid: means pounds, as in the British currency (£).  I checked to see where that came from and most places seem to think it comes from the Latin phrase “quid pro quo” meaning “something for something else.”

Top up: means to add credit to your pay-as-you-go phone.  You can do this at pretty much any convenience store or grocery store.  Basically you pay usually £10 or £20 and then you get a receipt with a number that you call from your phone, and once you call it that amount is added to your phone.