Thursday 2 October 2008

I Can't Sleep At Night!

*Disclaimer: You know how I am. I can complain a lot. This message below is sort of a whiny complaint.*

After a hard day of being almost blown to pieces by the wind and hours of school, I finally lie down to sleep. I fall asleep right away, but then I start to think-dream. In my dreams the króna, the currency of Iceland, keeps on falling and falling while the Canadian Dollar remains relatively stable. I wake up to realize that this is not a dream and every couple of hours I cannot help but keep on waking up to this nightmare. This has been happening for the past couple of days (the not being able to sleep, not the downfall--that has been happening for weeks).

One of the first things on my mind when I got here was to transfer most of what I saved for this year to Króna land. Almost right after I did that, the exchange rate began to fall, fall, fall. When I got here it was 100 Kr=0.78 dollars. Now it is at about 100 Kr=1.02 dollars. Of course I am no financial analyst and I did not have the foresight (in fact I was thinking of transferring ALL the money in my bank account at once until my father questioned the procedure). Even before I came here I was advised to just used debit/credit cards (with either a 2.5% fee or a $5 charge each time).

It's not like I need the money - I prepared for a bad exchange rate - but some people are on scholarship, some people are working making a lot compared to Canada's low low wages, some people are doing both. Some people are using their credit cards. I just feel like I'm getting ripped off every single time I make a transaction. I deserve better bang for my buck.

________

There I got that off my back. Enough of that. In other news, a group of us wanted to go explore the Westfjords this weekend but we heard it's snowing there already and that some of the roads may be impassable. That means I may have to wait until at least April or May to go. And from October onwards, the bus companies are now closed until May. I can physically feel life beginning to shut down day by day - the dying light, the dropping temperatures (yesterday it was 3 degrees), the unavailable service. I came to Iceland to travel around the country but now I'm stuck in Reykjavík! I must find a way to get out somehow.

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