Unless I have gone completely around the bend (which isn't totally out of the realm of possibility) there is no penny like currency in Morocco. There is change that equals 10, 5, 2, 1, .20, and .10 but no .01 (aka the penny). Now you may ask why I am writing a blog post about this. I often ask myself why I write blog posts about things, and the only answer is that it was either something completely hysterical that happened to me (can someone say penis sighting in Marrakech) or that I am so completely bored and lacking in inspiration that I blindly stumble around until I hit something somewhat interesting. So, the penny...
Sure, .01 in change means nothing if you go shopping at the local market (souk) or corner store (hanut) given that everything is priced so that you can actually properly use the money that is made in Morocco, eg. Milk 3.40MAD, water 5MAD, a Meredina bar 2MAD, that delicious looking pastry 1MAD, 1 kilo of cookies, 35MAD, etc. etc. etc. Things get tricky though when you go to a supermarket like store where some things are priced at 7.99MAD (toiled paper) or 15.46MAD (strawberry juice with the vitamins that are not contained in bread or that potato and carrot tajine you eat EVERY DAY).
Now things get confusing when you check out and give the cashier 100MAD and the change comes out to, lets say, 52.18MAD. Sometimes the cashier will give you 52MAD, sometimes she will give you 52.10MAD, sometimes she will give you 52.20MAD, and if you are lucky she might give you 53MAD. When she "short changes you", you stand there staring at her and are like, "YO lady, where my change?!", and she is all like "why are you staring at me you crazy crazy American?!", and you are like "YO lady, you owe me like .08MAD, what gives?!", and she is all like "(eye-roll) crazy, crazy American, it is literally IMPOSSIBLE for me to give you exact change", and then you turn bitter because you think that lady is cray cray and is short changing you like .08MAD, which is really nothing, BUT IT IS THE PRINCIPAL OF IT! Then one day you buy some stuff and she gives you 53MAD (instead of 52.18MAD) and you stare at it and are like, "should I say something to her even though she ALWAYS short changes me?!", and she is all like "why the hell is this American just standing there? This girl is totally out of her mind", and then you are like "YO lady, you gave me too much change back", and then EVERYONE in line starts laughing at you because there is no .01 cents and she LITERALLY CANNOT GIVE YOU EXACT CHANGE...crazy, crazy American.
Then you are all indignant because you are NOT crazy, you just understand that a penny saved is a penny f***ing earned, all Benny Franklin style (but not, because it turns out he never really said that, MIND.BLOWN.). But you know what IS crazy, pricing things at a supermarket that can literally not be bought with exact change. THAT IS CRAY CRAY.
