Respite and Preparation

     Today we had a break from our activities at UNIFE; after our language classes at El Sol, we had the day off to ourselves. It was a welcome break - I worked on my essay, and then tried new restaurants during my spare time. For lunch, I tried Don Jabadon, a sandwich place not far from the house I have been staying at. Then, for dinner, I tried El Parquetico, which offered a delightful mix of Peruvian and Chifa cuisine. 
    I had a challenge earlier today though. During the afternoon, I tried to withdraw money from an ATM at a local bank; the machine did not permit transactions with my card though, and promptly ate it. My host mother Diana and I were able to arrange an appointment with the bank to retrieve the card from the ATM; Diana agreed to translate. As we went there, Diana thought it would be good to walk one of the family's dogs. However, the bank did not allow the dog in, and Diana had to stay outside with him. Despite this setback, I was successfully able to explain my problem to the desk worker in Spanish, and she retrieved the card. Later, I went to another ATM, and was able to withdraw the money I needed.
     I felt like this incident was an important reminder for a number of important rules during travel. First, have back up options to get money; I was able to contact my parents after the card got stuck, and they agreed to wire me money through Western Union if I could not retrieve it. Second, use your money well; I was nearly out of money when I was trying to withdraw cash. If I had not been able to retrieve my card and I had no other sources of cash, I would have had a problem. Finally, stay levelheaded during an emergency; if I had panicked or gotten angry about my situation, I might not have figured out how to retrieve the card, and could have made the problem even worse.