Here are the details about bringing different forms of money this summer:
- Cash -
- There's not really a safe place to keep your cash except on your person.
- Cash is hard to exchange. You have to bring a translator with you to a bank during specific hours, along with your passport and hope they'll change the money for you. It's difficult to get the cash changed (they'll reject bills if there are weird folds or tears in them) and hard to find someone to take you to do it. Sometimes you might have to wait several days to get money changed.
- Up side is that there are no fees to change the money.
- Traveler's Checks
- Easy to keep on your person (not as thick as a stack of bills)
- Also very hard to exchange. Same as cash, you have to bring a translator with you, etc, etc. If you bring traveler's checks, make sure they're from a large/national chain, and it would be good to bring either the 1-800 number or international phone number, because the Chinese bank will probably call to verify your traveler's check.
- Several years, we've had teachers only bring traveler's checks and for random reasons, they were not accepted and the teacher was stuck with no money.
- No fees in china to change these, only whatever fee you pay at your bank
- Debit Card
- There are ATM's everywhere... it's very easy to find an ATM.
- If you bank with Bank of America (BoA), they have a sister bank (an ATM for that sister bank is conveniently located outside the door of your hotel), so there are no fees to withdraw your money.
- If you don't have BoA, then the total fees are generally around $7 per withdraw. (you normally are charged a fee at the ATM and a fee back home) If you only withdraw once or twice a trip, then it's not that bad.
- Make sure you call your bank and let them know what dates you'll be gone so they don't freeze your account (this has happened to us in the past) :)
- This is the way we recommend bringing money with you.
Some other bits of info:
- The BJ school will give you 'food money' to pay for evening meals and weekend meals and also a little bit to catch taxi's and such. You'll be given this money either on July 4th at the training or at the airport on July 5th. It'll be around $400. So if you want too, you could wait to withdraw money/exchange money until you use up your 'food money'.
- To clarify... the school is providing breakfast and lunch in the school cafeteria on school days. And then money for food on evenings and weekends. :) (edited 6.21.2012)
- Make sure you talk with your parents and have a way for them to get money to you if you need it. The way our insurance works is, you pay up front, then are reimbursed. If you get sick and need to go to the doctor or if there's an accident and you need medical help, you will have to pay cash (or credit card) and then be reimbursed from MH Ross.
