The challenges of getting change

Alright, so I have been in the country for about 2 weeks as of tomorrow. And I am a bit befuddled by their relationship to money here. Namely, their inflexibility when it comes to making change. Example - this morning I stopped off at a convenience store to buy a coke & a water. The total of my purchase was 3 Euro. I never seem to have the 1 and 2 Euro coins, so I had to pay with a 5 Euro bill. In the US, paying for a $3 purchase with a $5 bill is just fine. In fact, paying for a $3 purchase with a $20 bill is not a big deal at all. Um, not the case here. The guy looks at me w/ the most pained look and asks if I have coins. I physically show him that I have none since it was too early for me to translate "I don't have any coins" into French (I'm running on less than 5 hours of sleep). So he painstakingly took my bill and gave me my change. This is not an isolated incident. The same thing has happened to me multiple times, and has happened to my roommate & others I have gotten to know over here.

So what's the deal Europe? I understand that alot of these convenience stores & "Tabacs" are ran by small business owners, but I still think it's a bit odd to throw such a stink about giving someone 2 Euro change out of 5 Euro bill! Plus,this has happened to me in large grocery stores & other chain stores. To add to this frustration, when you withdraw 100 Euro from an ATM, regardless of the bank of the ATM, you always get a 50 Euro bill, 2 20's, and a 10. What is a girl to do with a 50 Euro bill? I'm on a bit of a budget, so I am not exactly wracking up 48 Euro tabs. So I have found that McDonalds is the only place that will make change for me. I made a personal goal to not go to McDonalds while over here, but given my need for smaller change, it's become imparative for me to go & get an ice cream cone every time I withdraw cash from an ATM so the friendly McDonalds employee will give me change for my 50 Euro bill.

Alright, that's my rant for the day! I seriously have encountered very little rudeness here, but this money-change situation has gotten a bit old. I would just resort to using a credit card, but it's more economically beneficial for me to take out 100 Euro at a time & eat the fee, rather than pay 3% on every foreign transaction.

Perhaps I should write to the major banks of France & ask them to please revise their ATM distribution policy & only distribute 5 Euro bills. Or actually, I am envisioning a 'Chucky Cheese' coin distribution system where on every corner or major street, they have a change machine so you can turn your 50 Euro bill into 25-50 coins. Pretty practical and it would be nice to avoid these uncomfortable exchanges.

Alright, this is my one & only rant for the day. Like I said, I'm low on sleep, have written 2 papers, have 2 left to write, and 2 presentations to do tomorrow. I expected a heavy workload, but the disorganization of the French approach to school has started to get to this type-A, anal retentive American. :) And yes, I have confirmed that the disorganization that we are experiencing is the norm and most certainly NOT an isolated experience.

Alright, rant finished! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!