Egypt Update: Small Bills

Hi All,
 
Most folks are interested in big adventure, and so am I when it comes to those special moments punctuated in our lives.  However, day-to-day life is interesting as well albeit more subtle.  This is what I really enjoy observing and writing about.  Here are is a random description that provides a lot of insight into Cairo life without the big adventure tales.
 
Joe
 
 
It is interesting to note that, while in the U.S., I considered small bills and loose change in my pocket an annoyance.  With too many $1 or $5 bills in my wallet, it tends to get fat and puffy and is difficult to close and gives me a sore back.  A handful of quarters in my jeans weigh a good bit and my already baggy pants start sliding further down my buttocks.  I usually remedy this problem by constantly spending small bills and change to get “rid” of it and make my life easier.
 
Not so in Egypt.  Actually, everything is opposite here.  When I go to the ATMs they typically dispense 200LE notes (equivalent to $40US dollars) and are almost impossible to spend.  This week I tried to pass a 200LE note off at a small shop and the owner will looked at me with horror.  “I can’t change that!” he said aggressively, as if I was trying to screw him over.  With great reluctance I pulled out my secret stash of 10s and 20s and handed him the smaller bills.  He looked at me knowingly and I knew that he knew I really did try to screw him over.
 
Maybe I can pass the gigantic bill off at CarrFoure (the big Walmart-type store here in Cairo).  No way in hell.  I purchased a few expensive items but once again, they wanted exact change.  Even more amazing, they knew I had it and gave me the stink-eye until I produced my wad of mini-bills from my other pocket.  It was like some sort of Jedi mind game or psychological combat between the two of us.  But clearly, he was the superior in this mental duel because he had deduced quickly that I kept my big bills in my left hand pocket and my small bills in my right pocket (never mix big and small, because as soon as you pull out your mixed wad, they can spy your small bills).
 
Yesterday I went to an ATM and withdrew 500LE and lo and behold!  For some reason it came out all in 20s!  Needless to say, I planted my feet firmly and stayed at this machine until it wouldn’t let me withdraw any more than my daily allowance (six transactions to get 3000LE worth of 20s).  The huge fat wad barely fit in my front pocket as people line up behind me thinking, “What the hell is that guy doing?  Maybe I should rob him later.”  I got home without incident and put the precious hoard of 20s in my safe at home which is bolted to the floor.
 
I now feel a strange sense of satisfaction and can rest easily in the knowledge that I have at my disposal, when I need them, a copious quantity of small bills.