Italian Banking

Venerdi 19 maggio 2017

Another day and another important task checked off the list.  I opened an account at the local bank.  It was basically pain free and didn’t take too long.

But first of all this was market day in Marina di Casal Velino.  After finishing some outside chores in the morning I headed out to the market.  I have been to this market many times on my visits to Italy.  But this time I had a different view.  I was paying close attention to just exactly what I could and could not buy.  These markets have clothing for men, women and children;  shoes, purses and jewelry for women; bedding, some children toys,  kitchen items like cookware and utensils, small kitchen items you might find at a dollar store; plants and flowers; and of course food.  Today I even saw lights that you might hang in a dining room or living room.   That was a first for me.  I have included a few photos.  

Check out the lights hanging at this vendors stall.

This street has mostly food vendors - fruits and vegetables.

I have no idea what kind of fish this is but I doubt I will ever buy it.

Every bean, grain and nut imaginable.

I came home with some great fresh fruits and vegetables.  This will become, most likely, an every Friday event. However if I miss it I can always go to another market in a different village on a different day.

So chores done I head off to Angela and Luigi’s for lunch.  After lunch we will all go to the bank together.   They, too, have some banking to do.  

Entering the bank is always so different.  For those of you that have traveled to Europe you know what I mean.  To enter you stand in front of a “beam me up Scotty” tube type door.  You push the enter button and half of the tube opens up. You step in side and the door closes behind you.  Within a second the front half of the tube opens and you walk into the bank.  No one is getting in and out of this bank quickly - that’s a good thing.  

Luigi and Angela did their banking first so I stayed outside with Oscar (who came along for the ride).  When Angela was finished she came out to attend to Oscar and I went inside.  Once inside Luigi and I went straight to the directors office.  Now there were others there before us so I have no clue how we were able to bypass all these others so quickly but again I have learned to play dumb (easy to do) and don’t ask questions. I meet the Bank director (who is female by the way - YEAH!) We sit down in her office and Luigi and she begin a conversation.  I am starting to realize this is how all business is transacted - you start with a friendly conversation - a very civil thing to do.  Not sure how productive it is but I like it!!!  I  chime in occasionally when she asks a simple question but Luigi begins to tell her my story.  I know this as I have heard him tell it many times. It starts out with my first trip to Italy in 1996 and the letter I wrote to the family (refer back to my prologue if you want more detail).   The bank director is smiling the whole time as many people here are amazed that I wanted to live here.  Well after about 10 minutes we finish and are escorted to another person in the bank who will actually do the work to open an account for me.  I guess I passed the test - thank goodness!  So 20 minutes or so later and many many signatures (infact more signatures than when I sold my home - seriously!) I now have a bank account in Italy along with a Bankomat (ATM) card.   Now I just have to get my bank in the U.S. to transfer some money into this account and I should be able to withdraw cash and use my Bankomat card!!  No pictures of this activity - doubt the bank would have allowed it and didn’t want to test them.  With the weekend approaching and still no internet my posts may slow a bit.  My apologies and if anyone knows where my modem is please let me know!!

Aspettando pazientemente……..