Paying

My brother asked me last week if I already paid using my two hands to hold the bills. Well, it is something I have been observing since he told me before leaving Barcelona. It is supposed to be a way of showing respect, and I have seen it in Starbucks cashiers, in many shops, when they hand you an official document, things like that, but I cannot say that people who are not behind a counter does that always. Because I have seen the typical scene of a woman paying with the bill almost falling, while she is looking for something inside her handbag and answers the cell phone at the same time. Or the guy that despectively throws the money over the counter. I am surprised that nobody rides a scooter into a shop and while they go round and round, take what they want and pay... but I digress.

The truth is that it is done in many places and it is contagious. I am not sure if I have already done it, but when I paid my rent last week, I gave the money, maybe uncounsciously, with both hands, or almost. When in Rome...