Euros are used in 19 different countries across Europe, including Cyprus! The colorful bills look the same throughout these countries, but the coins have beautiful designs specific to the countries that made them. Different values of Cypriot euro coins have images of a mouflon (local sheep), an ancient trading ship, and a cross-shaped human figurine from an ancient archaeological site. They're a "handy" way to highlight important aspects of the national history and culture!
Now that I’m in a new country for a visit, I’m using yet another new currency, the Georgian lari (GEL for short). That’s because Georgia, unlike Cyprus, is not among the 19 European countries that uses the euro. Let’s take a look at some photos of the lari and see how they compare to the euro!
As we learned in my last logbook, €1.00 is worth about $1.15. By contrast, 1 GEL is worth about $0.38. Can you figure out which type of currency is worth the most?
It’s important to understand exchange rates like these when you travel to avoid falling into the trap of thinking of foreign currencies as "play money" or "Monopoly money" simply because their values are unfamiliar to you. Understanding exchange rates and avoiding overspending helps me save my change for "important" things, like tahini pies at Zorbas bakery, and that’s pretty “sweet,” don’t you agree?
In Europe, where the metric system is a way of life, not just something you learn for science class, the standard size for a small water bottle is 500 milliliters, which is about 17 ounces. In my last logbook, I taught you about the costs of larger value-sized water bottles for savvy, or smart, Cypriot shoppers.
