Valentine’s Day Visit to the Bank

Dealing with money and banking in Botswana are two skills that I am still developing. I am accustomed to completing all of my large financial transactions electronically and rarely visiting the bank unless it is to make a deposit. Living in Botswana, however, I pay my rent and all of my other living expenses in cash. Whenever I get reimbursed for professional expenses at work, I get a check. Then, since I don’t have a bank account, I have to cash the check at the bank. I have learned to coordinate cashing checks and paying my rent so that I can turn the money directly over to my landlord.

My visits to the bank are always interesting. There is usually a crowd in the waiting/ queuing area ranging between ten and thirty-five people. Some of them are standing in a line, some are sitting on chairs and some just seem to be hanging out. I always join the queue expecting to wait and be served in turn. ‘In turn,’ however, is not as straight forward as you might expect. The line slowly progresses and people from the sitting and ‘hanging out’ crowds interject themselves into the line as it moves along. No one (except me) ever seems to be bothered that these people are cutting in the line. I never raise a stink, because I assume there is some secret system that I don’t understand.

Today I had the opportunity to go to the bank with a Matswana. I was psyched because I figured I would learn the secret system of waiting in line (or, not waiting in line as it often appears. I was not disappointed. Here’s the deal: You arrive at the bank and straight-away join the queue. Then, after you’ve established your ‘place,’ you get out of line and sit, stand, get a drink, etc. until your ‘place’ approaches the front of the line. Then, you rejoin the line in the place you originally established. It’s as simple as that.

Another difficulty associated with bank transactions is that I never really know what is going on between the time I give the teller my check and when she hands me my money. Today, being Valentine’s Day, I sent my check through the money-drawer to the teller and the teller sent the money-drawer back with candy. This was nice, but not what I wanted (i.e. money). Then, after a minute or two she sent through a pile of money that did not appear to be the amount that my check was for. When I picked it up, the woman next to me said, ‘that’s mine.’ So, not really thinking about it, I handed it to her. Thankfully, it really was hers. This woman apparently wasn’t happy with the candy that she was given, so she and the teller spent a few seconds exchanging candies through the money-drawer. Then, a man showed up behind me and asked the teller if she was going to break for lunch soon. She said she was not. Finally, the teller sent another pile of money through the drawer and it was mine. Success!

I wish I had a picture to show you of the interior of the bank. The Valentine's Day decorations were truly unique. Unfortunately, there are signs in banks prohibiting cell phones and cameras. People don’t seem to abide by these rules, but, as a guest, I always feel like I should. So, here is a picture of the outside of the bank.