Money

The other day I grabbed a jacket that I hadn't had on since we've lived in China. Outside later on, I tucked my hands in my pockets and discovered in the jacket pocket a US quarter. I knew right away that it wasn't an RMB coin. It seemed strangely unfamiliar. It is nearly the same size as 1 RMB, but thinner, and the RMB has a smooth edge, where the quarter's edge is ridged.

My friend Maribel is Bolivian. She tells about how when she first came to the US she thought the paper currency was so funny, like play money, because it was all green and all the same size. Here in China the paper money is graduated in size, with the bills of the least value being the smallest. Because the paper bills here are worth so much less than their American counterparts of the same number (for instance, the $100 RMB bill, which is the largest bill the Chinese have, is worth about $12 US) we often feel like we are using Monopoly money. It doesn't seem real.

Just one of those things, local currency is, that keeps you between worlds.