A few weeks ago I had a cold. Not a terrible one, but the kind with intense sinus pressure that a spicy meal alone won’t kick.

So I went to the local pharmacy. The dictionary we brought didn’t translate “cold” as in sick, so instead I tentatively asked the pharmacist “Tiene Sudafed o pseudoephedrine?” (”Do you have Sudafed?”) while gesturing to my nose and head. The pharmacists said “Oh, para fria” and handed me some cold medicine. Turns out “cold” translates directly.

I went to pay the $18.84 AR bill with a $20 AR note (about $7 US). The pharmacy didn’t have any coins — not entirely surprising in Argentina, where there seems to be a national coin shortage — so instead of my $1.16 in change, the pharmacist gave me four aspirin.

photo credit: 100777

I had read that if a store doesn’t have coins they might give you candies to make up the difference. I have to say, as someone who’s slightly addicted to sweets, I was disappointed to get aspirin instead of candy.

I shared this story with a local who worked at our hostel in Rosario. He laughed then told us about a shop he visited everyday to buy cigarettes. The owner always gave him change in candy because she didn’t have coins. He saved the candy for months and when he had a bag full, he presented it to the shop owner to pay for his cigarettes. The shop owner resisted at first (apparently no one had thought to do this before) but made the exchange. From that point forward she always managed to find coins to give our friend change for his cigarettes.

Have you experienced any bizarre money customs while traveling?