The Bloody Euro

I was VERY spoiled by my trip to China. The dollar was rocking the yuan at a 1:9.6 ratio. Meaning, of course, that I could spend almost 10 yuan and only $1 came out of my pocket. Awesome! This led to buying of lots of souvenirs and food and DVDs and, well, everything. So, when researching my trip to Europe, I was quite frustrated by the lacking of the USD, which is currently suffering from a 1:1.55 ratio against the EURO. This means, cursedly, that when I spend 1€, I am spending $1.55. Not a big deal? Consider this: when I buy a souvenir for my little brother that costs 40€, I am spending $62. Not good.

This phenomenon has been something that has taken the whole 3 1/2 weeks I have been here to get used to. I see something for a couple bucks and I think it is cheap and not a big deal, but, not so fast my friend, my internal calculator starts going and that train ticket for only 2.45€, is actually $3.80. Ouch. What´s worse is when I get to check my bank account. I withdrew 200€, but I check my balance and it reveals a little secret, you ACTUALLY withdrew $319.30!! $310 for the exchange rate and $9.30 for the 3% charge that Chase gets for having to painstakingly do the math for that exchange rate (I told the lady at the bank before I left that I would do all of my own conversions and she could pay me the 3%, she stared at me blankly. Nice.).

So, why did the EURO decide to dominate, we can argue politics and oil (wait, same thing) when I get back. Here is a brief history on the EURO (USD:EURO ratios)...

May 2002 (5 months after being introduced to the world): May 1: 1.11 May 31 1.06

May 2005: May 1: 0.77 May 31: 0.80

May 2008: May 1: 0.64 May 31: 0.64

So, as you can imagine, my spending habits here in Spain are much different then they were in China (or in America for that matter). I am having to budget this trip completely differently than I have anyother trip I have ever been on. It is not fun. It is really cramping my style. I hate OPEC.

The staple of America, The Big Mac. The Big Mac hates the EURO. You all know how I feel about Mickey-D's here in Spain, but I can assure you that The Big Mac hates the EURO. He doesn't like to charge his loyal patrons 6.10€ to indulge in his special sauce yummy-ness. That is $9.45 for a Big Mac. Sick.

Basically, what I am trying to say is I am ready to go on vacation to the European Union and not have to take out more student loans.

Don't get me started on the bloody pound...