Sunday, May 14, 2017

17.05.14. When in Mexico, use pesos!

I returned to la Taqueria la Cueva de la Cherna today for the 2nd time. It is a casual sidewalk taqueria on my path to the beach.  

Yesterday I just needed a late afternoon snack.
It was good so today I came back for an early dinner. While waiting for my food I witnessed a transaction that made me glad I am learning Spanish and working with pesos. 

An Americano couple had just received their food and asked how much was the bill. 

Yesterday I spoke Spanish with the waiter  and learned he was light on English, but wanted to improve, so we agreed I would speak Spanish and he would speak English ( a good idea ).  Anyway, back to the Americano couple....

Cuánto cuesta la comida, por favor?  The waiter responded 220 pesos . The couple handed him a $20 bill, asked him if it was about $15 US,  told him to keep the change, and walked away asking each other if that was right.   The waiter said nothing. 

I use OANDA.com as a currency converter, but after my initial learning curve am using this simple conversion in my head:  
220.  take the pesos amount 
110.   Divide by 2.                
 $11.  Drop one decimal place
~$12 round up a little-  close enough for me

So they got a delicious meal for two for about $12 and left a generous $8 tip. 

I'm sure they enjoyed their meal. I know I did! I left an appropriate tip on the table and am taking home leftover chips and guacamole for an evening snack:). 
 

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