Settling In

During the first month of my time abroad, I lost my wallet. Then, the ATM ate my money and charged my card. After that, I got ripped off in various daily purchases. Here are the stories behind these situations and how I handled them all. 

 

First, my wallet. It was the second day of class. I was running behind and in a hurry to make it on time. Although I don’t recall all of the details, as I was walking out of the door, I must have put my wallet into my pocket and had it fallen out during my walk because I realized that it was missing from me soon after. I wouldn’t have minded having lost my wallet as much as I did if it had solely contained my cards but I had gone to the ATM the day before and had around $250 cash inside of the wallet, (ouch) alongside my credit/debit cards, my drivers license, my Bronco ID, etc. I searched my house and the streets with no luck. I went to the police station to make a report so that if the wallet were to be found, they would know who to return it to. Sadly, my wallet has yet to be found. Rather than dwell in this, I’ve decided to move on. I want to enjoy my time here and I won’t be enjoying any time that is spent uselessly stressing. Although I decided to move on, within my wallet were my credit and debit cards. I immediately contacted my parents who relayed the request to cancel my card to the bank and expedite a new card to me. 

 

The ATM. My new card arrived to me a few days later and I was super content. I still needed to have cash on me because it is very necessary in Jordanian life. So, I went to the ATM and attempted to take out a bit of cash. I had my hands full and because of my new growing worry of losing my card, I took a little longer to put it away before grabbing my dispensed cash. As I looked up to reach for the cash, it returned into the machine and charged to my bank account. I freaked out. I went into the bank and checked with the woman at the front desk to see why this had happened and what my next steps should be in taking care of this. Thankfully, it was an easy fix, as it only involved my banker back home filing an report with the card company so that my money would be returned to me within 7 days. The money was returned and actually, the woman at the bank that had helped me ended up being of so much help that I made a friend from the experience. 

 

Finally, getting ripped off. To make a long story short, in various cases, I have been purposely overcharged on my purchases as well as had people simply not give me back my change even though I was definitely supposed to get some back. In response to this, I have decided to not question myself as much in the moments that I recalled that something was supposed to have been cheaper than what I am being told and to hold my ground. I’ve also asked my professors how to say “may I have my change, please?” so that people are less apt to hold it back from me. Finally, I’ve made sure to know my currency well and to be intentional in recognizing how much I am using in order to protect myself in these situations.  

 

All of these financial tufts have taught me that although unexpected situations can be very frustrating, it’s not the end of the world and that there is always a solution for these situations. In the situation that I wasn’t able to fix (my wallet) I have decided to let it go. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and so I choose to have peace with it. 

 

Aside from these situations, my time here has been fantastic, but I did want to be vulnerable in expressing the frustration that I have felt in these particular situations and how you can go about taking care of them if they by chance happen to you. If they do, remember these three things:

1. Let yourself have your moment to feel how you feel. 

2. Do what you can to fix what you can fix. 

3. Let it go and enjoy the rest of your trip. Time is more valuable than money