The dollar’s down and it’s very…very apparent; London is a huge city and one of the most influential (by this, I mean expensive) metropolitan areas in the world anyway, but the Pound/Dollar exchange is not treating me or anyone else in the group very well at all. Today I have done my laundry in the sink and hung my socks and underwear out the window, this morning I loaded up on tea and toast because it’s free, and I plan to pretty much stay out of anything that costs money until we leave London.
That is not to say that I am not enjoying myself, it just means that I have to budget much more than I’m used to. Which is not at all a bad thing; in fact, it’s not a bad exercise to examine how life would be if every dollar you own was only worth fifty cents. (I thank God I don’t smoke anymore…10 bucks for a pack of cigarettes. I can only imagine.) Half of the problem is the exchange, but I also believe that just the cost of London is what’s putting me in the penny-pinching mood.
*A personal note to my fiancé: I’m overhearing a very shallow conversation between a group of garish and grotesquely dressed young English ladies and I am so happy that you are who you are and that I’m fortunate enough have ended up with you. The alternative is unthinkable and frightening.*
I imagine that I will eventually end up living in a city, but I could never survive for an extended period of time in an environment like this. I remember my first trip to New York and how I had entertained an idea that I could live there. When I told a more level-headed friend of mine this idea he replied that I “would be nickel and dimed to death.”
The experience is grand, the subway is easy, and everything looks like it needs to go back to America with me as proof of my trip, but I quite happy with moving on to the next stop on Monday. I can only wonder if the more provincial Stratford-Upon-Avon will be cheaper or not…I hope so, but we’ll see.
*Another personal note to everyone this time: I’ve got cash, so don’t take this entry to mean that I’m on my last dollar already, I’m just planning and budgeting for the entire trip rather than spending all my money on over-priced British stuff.*
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1 comment:
like, (gum smack, gum smack) I don't know what you mean by, like, shallow. please, like, explain.
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