coffee on credit

On Mondays I have a large break between the end of my Danish class and the beginning of my Danish 20th and 21st Century Architecture class. I had a test in the 20th century class that afternoon and had stayed up until 5am the night before watching the Oscars with my roommate. Being the movie buff she is, it's something she does every year, makes all kinds of food and has people over to watch with her. 

I had dozed off a few times during the awards but netted only about 2.5 hours of sleep. I needed coffee.

I saw a tiny yellow truck with a little caboose of a coffee kiosk at the end of this square next to the University of Copenhagen Library. Walking up to him, I realize I only have a 1000 kronor bill to break and ask if he'll accept it. He tells me that someone just broke a 1000 kronor bill but... "Are you a student around here?" I'm not sure where this is going because he can't accept my money, but he tells me I can come back later in the afternoon or the next day to pay him. And, because I'm a student, I get a large for the price of a small. Delighted at how awesome this guy is, I make sure he'll be there later. He points to the dresser-sized driver cabin of the truck and jokes, "Yep every day, I even sleep in there."

Here's the best part: After making small talk he hands me my drink and says, "A discounted cafe latte on credit, now that's American business."

I laugh and tell him, I'm pretty sure no one in America would ever give me a coffee on credit. He replies, "It's better to make customers than no business at all."