There are some things that I quite enjoy about Mongolia. Practices involving money are some of them. There are no tills at shops per say...it is always just a wad of money in a pocket that is worked with.
The veggie lady
In BX there is a lady who I always go to, to buy vegetables and other food items. We are pals, and she is easily one of my favorite people in Mongolia. She never fails to tell me when she will get new vegetables in, or make chit chat when I come in.
One day I went in to buy a bunch of carrots, but I only had a larger bill that I could pay with. She inevitably did not have the 200 tugriks in change that she owed me. I told her that it was really no big deal, but she would not have it. She then asked to borrow the 200 tugs from another woman who was visiting her, but her friend only had 100. Again, I insisted that it was no big deal, and as I was walking out she handed me the biggest carrot in the bin insisting that I leave with my change (and then some) in produce.
Gum
Something that I always extremely enjoy, is that in stores, you can literally go in, and just buy one stick of gum, or like 5 m&ms... you simply say how much you want, and they open the package, and give you just that. It's great.
Now, in stores, it is extremely common that when they don't have change, that instead they give you a piece of gum or candy or something. One evening some friends and I were dining at a restaurant, and when we went to pay our tab, the restaurant didn't have enough change to give us. The server, without a second thought, dug through her purse until she found a pack of gum, and gave a piece to the person paying in exchange for the change missing. but then she saw all the rest of us, who were now without gum, and due to Mongolian's view on candy sharing, she offered gum to all of us in politeness.
The veggie lady
In BX there is a lady who I always go to, to buy vegetables and other food items. We are pals, and she is easily one of my favorite people in Mongolia. She never fails to tell me when she will get new vegetables in, or make chit chat when I come in.
One day I went in to buy a bunch of carrots, but I only had a larger bill that I could pay with. She inevitably did not have the 200 tugriks in change that she owed me. I told her that it was really no big deal, but she would not have it. She then asked to borrow the 200 tugs from another woman who was visiting her, but her friend only had 100. Again, I insisted that it was no big deal, and as I was walking out she handed me the biggest carrot in the bin insisting that I leave with my change (and then some) in produce.
Gum
Something that I always extremely enjoy, is that in stores, you can literally go in, and just buy one stick of gum, or like 5 m&ms... you simply say how much you want, and they open the package, and give you just that. It's great.
Now, in stores, it is extremely common that when they don't have change, that instead they give you a piece of gum or candy or something. One evening some friends and I were dining at a restaurant, and when we went to pay our tab, the restaurant didn't have enough change to give us. The server, without a second thought, dug through her purse until she found a pack of gum, and gave a piece to the person paying in exchange for the change missing. but then she saw all the rest of us, who were now without gum, and due to Mongolian's view on candy sharing, she offered gum to all of us in politeness.
No comments:
Post a Comment