If you haven’t
been following this saga please click here
to read Part One.
Just to be sure
I waited dört (4) rather than üç (3) business days before I texted the
bank (again) for a şifre for my
university entry and dining hall card. Each day I tried it was no go. Still
lacking a pin number with which to load money on my card, I took my lunch to
work every day and sat alone while my colleagues went off to the yemekhane to enjoy a three course meal
for only a few lira. Six business days after signing the second contract with
the bank, having shown them my pasaport
and yet another futile phone call to the central office at merkezi, I went to the local şubesi
(again). At least now I knew where it was the walk wasn’t as long and tiring as
the first time. Once there I was told I should be able to get a pin number
because all my documents had been received by the other branch (a long hot walk
down a hill, round a corner and so on). I told her (again) that I still
couldn’t get a pin number because the bank needed to güncellenecek my phone number, although I still failed to
understand how they could update information they didn’t have.
 |
|
The only
highlight of long hot walk to Fikirtepe was this fabulous mosque
built
in 1985 featuring brilliant tile work on the minaret.
Not
exactly Iznik but it works!
|
We both bit our
lips and issued our individual language versions of the sound ‘hmmm’ while the
teller fiddled with the computer keys. Suddenly she said “Oh, they haven’t
recorded your phone number”, and asked me for it. Then she did some more
mysterious things with the computer and printed out a form for me to sign. When
I looked at it I saw it simply asked if I was me, myself, and if the phone
number that I’d just told her was mine, was actually mine. I thought it was
interesting that they needed my passport to allow her to ask me these
questions, given my passport doesn’t include my phone number. This being Turkey however,
there is bound to be some logic in there, somewhere. I hope. After I checked the
number was correct and signed where directed, she scanned the sheet, sent an email
somewhere and then went out the back to consult with the manager. I watched
anxiously through the frosted glass as they talked but she quickly came back
out and told me to send the text requesting a pin number one more time (tekrar).
I did so and quickly
received a mesaj, a different one
this time. At this point my Turkish failed me and I couldn’t understand it. I
held out my phone to her and she quickly read it before telling me I was all
set. “Gerçekten mi?” I asked. Could I
really put money on my card now and go and eat at the personnel dining hall? Kesinlikle, she replied, I could even go
outside right away and use the ATM to yaıtırmak
some money but I declined. Even though she was absolutely certain it work,
I felt it was too much to expect I could get my pin number AND deposit some
money in the account on the same day!
Finally getting
my pin number left me unsure as to whether I should laugh or cry so I just
slunk out of the branch, slightly stunned. I had really thought I would have to
resort to bringing lunch from home everyday for the next semester or two, while
I waited for the problem to be sorted out.
Now, I wonder if
I can sort out the problem I’m having with my cable television company…
here
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