The European Balance :: Euros Money Finances Essays

The europiuman BalanceNew courses Day 2002 had me in Dijon, France, where I first had possession of euros, the saucy common currency for 12 European nations. It was sunny out, and the automated cashier machine was on the corner of a town square, where an old cathedral stood tall, peering over centuries of architectural variety. It was quite typical very European, that is because I snarl myself on the brink of novelty amidst a haze of antiquity. It was like a stylish, young woman, donning Yves St. Laurent and swaying past the Pantheon in Paris it was a suave Italian driving his Smart Car in front of La Scala. Europe has a penchant for surprising developments and we feel compelled to admire every quaver of the Continental pendulum.At the hotel the concierge sat behind a wooden yield and methodically laid out the new coins for us to see. vitamin D years, he said in a thick, French accent laden with exasperation. For 500 years, he repeated for emphasis and to finish his thought, we have had the franc. To change to the euro it is an considerable difficulty, he told us. He shook his head while further expressing his deject through the peculiar amalgam of a grunt and a sigh, whiz that can only be heard in France. Perhaps close to amazingly, he managed to make this noise with a French accent.Several days later I arrived at Madrids Chamartin train position and I got into a taxi. After a few minutes of silence, the number one wood an old man with his gray hair pulled back into a ponytail asked me, Pesetas or euros? The unhurt motivation behind withdrawing euros in Dijon was to have cash immediately upon stretch in Spain so here I was readying myself to pay for a Spanish taxi ride with money I could have dear as easily used in eastern France, where I withdrew it. Euros, I replied to his question. Euros, he mocked with a snide, condescending tone. He punctuated his disgust with a thin chuckle it was his way of telling me he did not see what the self-aggrandizing deal was about this new currency. As far as he was concerned, the peseta was perfectly fine and the euro was an immature exercise in futility.