> Those exchange rates that they publish in the paper can be misleading. If I go to Mexico, where the peso is only a small fraction of a dollar, I wind up paying about the same rate that I would here. A hotel room in Mexico, equal to one that would cost about $100 in the US, will cost a bushel of pesos worth $100 US. If I get out of the tourist areas, and go into a hotel speaking fluent Spanish, I might get better rates.

The exchange rate is a bit different from a currency's value. The difference is similar to paying for the hotel room in dollar bills or in dimes and nickels. The total value is the same*, it is merely the form and value of each unit that changes. But some banks will still rip you off on exchange rates, so happy-go-lucky exchanging is a bad idea.

*It is almost the same, but not quite, because of normal daily changes in economies and also because of policies such as in France, where the exchange rate between the franc and dollar is skewed slightly in the summer to encourage tourism.

gab"They simultaneously encourage us to come and are rude to us while we're there. Sounds like Dave Barry fodder."by