« back from Scandinavia | Main | silver jubilee and more »
April 18, 2005
good deed for the day
Today I took a trip to the bank. Banks in Russia are great places to witness Russians' skill at forming lines. In the US we have those fuzzy ropes that keep people in line, and in Sweden you take a number when you go practically anywhere -- which in the US only happens at the deli counter for some reason. But in Russia it's up to you to the crowd to manage the line by itself. So when you arrive, you ask "Who's last?" and try to figure everything out from there. Then make sure nobody buts in front of you.
Anyway, I learned that in Russia you can't transfer money to a personal account in bank A from bank B unless you have an account at bank B. I guess the same is the case in the US, but since people go to the bank to pay all sorts of bills, I thought maybe you could.
Despite this setback, I felt good about my whole trip because I helped two elderly people learn to use the ATM on my way in, when I withdrew money myself.
Posted by kshawkin at April 18, 2005 08:06 PM