ZESTFUL DAYS: -----Euros, Dollars and even some Lira----

Money is a funny thing when you're living in a foreign country. Today as I was at the grocery store, I walked to the checkout counter to pay for my groceries. As I handed the lady some money, I noticed a confused expression appear on her face while she looked at a particular coin. She handed it back to me, and the confused look on her face immediately transferred to my face as I realized it was a Turkish Lira instead of a Euro. "How in the world did that get in my wallet?", I thought to myself. It was true that I had saved some Turkish Lira from our time spent in Turkey, but it was odd to me that I found it in my wallet of all places, and especially after all this time.

Still confused and not quite thinking, I then reached in my wallet and proceeded to hand her another coin in it's place. Without realizing it, I handed her an American Quarter instead of a 50 cent euro coin, which are exactly the same size. At this point the cashier is becoming amused and she chuckles before handing it back to me. Feeling a little silly at this point, I finally pull out a euro coin and give it to her, all the while realizing the people in line behind me we're becoming quite amused too. I've never been great about being put on the spot, no matter how amusing I am. I could feel my face getting red and I thanked the lady, apologized for the error and quickly walked out with my groceries.

This isn't the first time I've confused my money over here. I often carry American money in my purse, as well as Euro because I use both. On base we use American money, and off base we use Euro, so it only makes sense that confusions are bound to happen from time to time. Now about that Lira, I'm still trying to figure out how it got in my wallet. It's a mystery.

Here are some pictures to show you the differences of money. Some of the coins are very similar and it's easy to mix them up.