" I didn’t have any coins.”
He frowned.
“You could have asked me for a coin.”
I didn’t reply.
“So now you still don’t have any coins, right?”
“Right.”
“So how are you going to call?”
“I’ll buy something from the store and get change.”
“The store might not be open anymore. Do you have any forints?”
“I have traveler’s checks.”
“Traveler’s checks? Why do you have traveler’s checks?”
I felt very miserable. Why did anyone have anything?
“Because I’m traveling,” I said.
My mother had gotten me the traveler’s checks. I had signed them at our dining table. "

― Elif Batuman , The Idiot