Language Note 1 - Buying Something in the US
When you're ready to pay for your groceries in the supermarket or if you're buying in a store, you'll be the one SWIPING your card. You'll be first prompted to instructions in English or Spanish. Choose whatever you feel more confident. You need to add your pin number (your password) if you're using a debit card. If it's credit, either the cashier will give the receipt for you to sign or you'll have a screen in front of you to add your digital signature.
Sometimes, the cashiers will SWIPE(slide) the card and they might come with an unexpected question for foreigners:
"What's your ZIP CODE?"
If you're just a tourist and not a resident in the US, just say you don't live in the US.
Another common question is "need some cash back?" or "any cash back?", if the machine hasn't already asked that while you're going through the steps after swiping your card. You can cash some money in department stores, supermarkets, and post office, for example, with the limit of $25 to $50 depending on the store policy.
Oh, just one more unexpected question: "do you want the receipt in your bag?"
Questions or comments? Feel free to write. I'd love to keep interacting with you.
