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Cultural Differences

Mafeesh Fakka’

The above translates into “I have no change”.

I know I have talked about “small money” and the process of getting change before, but it is a constant problem/annoyance.

Anyway, the other day Kaddee and I went to the coffee bean shop to buy beans. They roast their own beans.

We won’t talk about how it takes forever for the clerk to get the beans out of the hanging container they are in because the spout is somehow blocked and no matter how hard he beats on it with his hand, or how often he sticks his grimy fingers in the spout only about 8 beans come out at once and how this happens EVERYTIME we buy beans and how about 30 seconds with a ruler or a pencil or broom handle would fix the bean holder constipation problem.

No, we won’t talk about that.

Instead we will talk about paying for the beans.

The total was, IIRC, 46LE. Kaddee gave him a 100LE note.

He looked at it and said, in English “change?”. I looked at him and said

“Mafeesh Fakka”

Which is what EVERY shopkeeper will tell you.

He looked stunned for a second and then laughed and told the 3 guys behind the counter what had transpired, and everybody got a big chuckle out of it.

The cashier reached under the cash register and pulled out a STACK of 1LE notes, brand new from the bank. We got brand new bills in change. He chuckled the entire time.

Turning the tables is fun!

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