Pay phone

It took me 30 min. to figure out how to use the pay phone in Italy. First, I had to find a snack bar (not kiosk) that sold telephone cards. I inserted the card, but it was rejected. I inserted the card in all possible ways, but it was still rejected. Finally, an old Italian lady walking by saw my plight and pointed to a corner of the card where I supposed to tear it off. So I tore it off, and finally the phone accepted my card. (In Japan, telephone cards can be inserted as is.)

So I dial the number and waited for the ring tone. But nothing. So I hang up and dial again several times, but the call still didn't go through. Then I noticed a Select Language button on the phone and set it to English. I read the LCD screen and followed the directions. A-ha, after dialing the number, I supposed to press the OK button (like the Enter key on a computer). Finally, my friend answers my call. (We don't need to press any OK button in the US or Japan.)