A day of inconveniences… that’s what Brian Dennison called my Wednesday. I would have called it a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day, but Brian’s cooler head is correct.
I went to Nakawa (a Kampala-ish part of town) because that’s where my favorite supermarket is. But first I had to go to the ATM. The ATM in Mukono, wasn’t working, and knowing that there are four at the Nakawa supermarket, I went. As I approached the ATM I intended to use, I had a feeling that I shouldn’t, but ignored it. That was a bad choice, as the ATM ate my card.
I called the 0800 (free) line for the bank to report this, and the customer service rep informed me that she was terribly sorry that I had this experience, and she assured me that my card would be shredded when the technician came to get it. I asked several times if there was any way to retrieve the card, and she assured me there wasn’t. I’m a bit dumbfounded by that (and told her so, less than kindly, unfortunately), and tried to cancel the transaction so on one else would get my card.
A security officer was nearby, and empathized with me, and offered me a book in which I could record my complaint. He also offered that he has ever helped people retrieve their ATM cards from the machine, as the technician is a friend of his, and if I would leave my number, he would call me so I could make the 45-minute trek (sans traffic) back to Nakawa to retrieve the card. While this seemed shady, I had no option, and left my number. I did my shopping with the little cash I had, and went home.
Back at home, I asked Brian what he thought of the security officer’s offer, and he agreed it was sketchy. I know that some people are heading to Uganda in July, and trying to figure out how to live without an ATM card for four months was hurting my head. Brian reminded me that he’s going to the US in April, and offered to bring the card. Praise the Lord! I scampered down the hill, canceled the card, and requested a new one.
Once I calmed down and realized that everything was going to be fine (I mean, there was neither blood nor fire, so it really couldn’t be counted as an emergency), I realized just how well God has taken care of me. My bank was willing to send the card to me here (not that I am 100% certain it would have made it into my hot little hands). People were coming who could bring the card. Brian was coming sooner. I get paid regularly, and have easy access to those funds. The wifi has been out all week, but good grief, I HAVE WIFI.
Something like this is a minor inconvenience in the States, and yet, 8,000 miles has a tendency to exacerbate things. But at the end of the day, Brian was right. It was just a day of inconveniences.
And my security officer friend never did call.
Leave a Reply