BANKING CHALLENGES. One of my recently arrived friends, in possession of a legal work permit and an AZV card decided to also open a bank account while working on Aruba. You think it’s easy, right? In the process of finding a bank that would have him, he did some market research and entertained me with his findings. At the mercantile bank having waited in line for a considerable amount of time, he was told that he must register for an appointment. His information was dutifully recorded and his appointment was made for May 12th. The list of required documents included his passport and work permit. That’s thirteen days, down the road, to wait for the bank’s most basic service. Next. The royal bank, was festooned with banners and posters advising clients it was all about them. The friendly agent at the Sasaki branch had a twenty minute line ahead of her, but when my friend got to see her, she was accommodating, granting him an appointment for May 9th, that’s ten days down the road. There was an extra snag here: The royal bank required two forms of official identifications, a passport AND a state issued ID on top of the work permit, and passport, for a total of four legal documents. Wow, if it’s all about us, why do you make it so difficult to navigate? At the bank branch at Super Food, the reception was warm, and assistance immediate, providing my friend brings along a letter of introduction and recommendation from his local employer, in addition to the usual papers. OK, Aruba Bank wins.
MANIFESTATION IN THE TROPICS. We had a number of manifestations lately, on subjects ranging from health care to child abuse. The issues usually result in heated conversations, followed by a poor showing on the street. The recent manifestation on King’s Birthday was an excellent example of how we get red hot around the collar, and opt to go to Happy Hour, or the beach, immediately after, the source of aggravation lost and forgotten. Lech Walesa, the president of Poland in the 90s, could not have been born here, because he went from being a frustrated electrician in a shipyard, to being the President o Poland, and a Nobel Prize Winner, by founding a protest movement called “Solidarity,” who practically brought down the government and changed the course of history. Poland is cold, and depressing and damp, Aruba is sunny and friendly and fun, we never stay angry long enough to make any changes. Fact, we identify with and show compassion toward our peers, we demonstrate solidarity and support to our community, but we never get to that third tier, the one that has to do with our government and legal system, because we run out of steam, and head to happy hour. And that’s the way it is. And I guess I like it.
