Discriminating Bills

To function at all in another country, it's necessary to use the money system. It's not a classroom exercise, where you take all the time you need. When a transaction is complete, you're expected to produce the right amount of money, and quickly.

Joe and I were initially confused when we saw the Chinese money or renminbi I'd swapped for dollars with my friend James. In America, we're used to seeing pictures of different presidents which supplements numerical information. Chinese bills mostly have the picture of Mao. How do you tell them apart when you're in a hurry? The obvious answer didn't dawn on us right away, accustomed as we are to the American system. Chinese bills are different colors, and some of them are different sizes.