Would you like cash back?

I returned from Sweden today at about noon to an apartment with no groceries that I could claim as my own. Along with a lack of sustenance was the absence of usable cash in my wallet - only kroner remained. I went to the grocery store hoping to pay with my card and get a twenty as cash back. I needed to add money to my phone, and before I realized that nothing good was showing at Verdi I thought that I would take advantage of the Dia de l'espectador discount and catch a movie. (That Harvey Milk film arrives in just a few days.)

When the final bill came up, I handed over my card and asked the cashier if I could ask for cash. Her response seemed both puzzled and annoyed. 

"Like how?" 

"Um, like a 20 euro bill?" 

"Well, if you gave ME cash, I could give you change."

"No..."

The exchange continued for a few painful seconds. Faced with a long line and a look that said, "you're an idiot," I said never mind and walked away. 

The tradition of asking for cash back, prevalent in the United States, Sweden, and perhaps other countries, is one of my most cherished. It is a clever way to avoid ATM fees and to save oneself from not having cash at a crucial moment. I was dismayed when the cashier insinuated that I expected her to just GIVE me cash, purely out of the kindness of her heart, and realized that this was yet another moment that would add to the pile of evidence attesting to my complete insanity.

I wonder where the U.S. Consul General shops for groceries, and if he has ever asked for cash back.