Since Soon and I have convenient access to a Credit Union that dispenses currencies from around the world, we took it upon ourselves to order the Guatemala quetzales (GTQ) for this trip.
We place our initial order with the Credit Union several weeks back. Late last week, Soon asked me if I had received any notification that our currency had arrived. I hadn't heard any word so we decided to go ask in person. The teller told us that our order had arrived a while back, that someone had called us and when they had not heard from us, they took the currency back. So, we had no choice but to place a second order. Each of s put in a purchase order for the equivalent of USD300 in Guatemalan quetzales.
Today, we decided to check to see if our money had arrived and it was there waiting for us.....bound in lots of GTQ50, GTQ20, GTQ10 and GTQ5. It was wad of money laying on the counter. Soon and I could not believe our eyes so we asked the teller if all the money was for us and he replied, "Yes". With that, Soon and I just broke out laughing. Forget using a wallet to carry the cash in.....I need a small wheelbarrow :-) At today's exchange rate, we each got GTQ2200 for USD308.
The teller counted out 10's and 20's for me - 35 GTQ20 bills and the remaining GTQ1500 in GTQ10 bills. Let me do the math.....that comes up to 150 GTQ10 bills + 35 GTQ20 bills = 185 bills. I felt like a drug dealer as I watched the teller count out the bills. It was such a funny moment that I asked Soon to capture it in a photo.....that's me holding up my stash of Guatemalan quetzales. I can't wait to see the look on my brother's face when I tell him that half the stash is his :-)
