Why I Should Have Paid More Attention in Economics Class. At Least I Think This Concerns Economics. I'm Not Exactly Sure Because, As Mentioned Above, I Was Clearly Not Paying Enough Attention

Here I am enjoying a supermarket meal. As you'd guess, a supermarket meal consists of items you can buy at your local grocery and consume shortly after in whatever scenic location (or bus bench) you would like. In this case, and in most cases, my supermarket meals consist of bread, yogurt, apples, and cheese (sadly, no Velveeta - but I find The Laughing Cow to be a fine substitute).

The nice part is that it's usually a healthy meal, and, after a thorough hand-scrubbing with sani-wipes there's no need for utensils, as you can use the bread as a spoon. It's fun to eat like a kid again. Or, at least, to eat like you're out of clean dishes again.

But, even with all of those great features, the best part of the supermarket meal is that they're inexpensive. This is especially important as I learn about this thing they call the exchange rate.

Right now the dollar is as weak as it has ever been compared to the Euro. Which means two things. First, a can of Coke in Ireland costs roughly $38 and second, financially I've clearly chosen the worst time possible to travel around the world.

While I may have exaggerated a bit about the Coke cost, the point remains. For a real example, a pint of beer is about 5 euro. That's $7.50 And, that's for a regular beer in a very small village pub.

Also of note, a pack of cigarettes costs $10. But that's in part due to high cigarette taxes leveraged by the government. Also, instead of finely worded messages from the Surgeon General, cigarette packs here have a large band around the bottom with simple and direct messages such as SMOKING KILLS in big black letters. Or,

Or,

In Ireland, even the cigarette boxes take a stand.

People still smoke though, of course.

I might have started myself to try to be cool. Except that the cost of 2 cigarettes is roughly equivalent to my weekly food budget. And that, in a way, brings me back to my original point.

This traveling business is expensive. All of the books I read about travel said you should cut what you pack in half and double your money. It looks like I should have listened to them. Or, at least, listened better in Economics class.

At least I have my supermarket meals (and my love of processed cheese and supermarket french bread) to help get me through. I only wish they sold the UDF Bomb burrito at Irish supermarkets. Then everything would be perfect.