For the first 5 weeks of my travels I was able to use the same coins and bills even though I traveled to 4 different countries. This is because many of the countries in the European Union (countries in Europe that have a special political bond) have agreed to use the same money or currency. This makes traveling from country to country much easier!
So these four countries (can you identify the countries from their flags?) that I visited
use a currency called the “Euro.”
One euro = $1.09
When I arrived in the United Kingdom,
I had to visit the ATM in order to take out “Pounds.” Luckily it’s just like going to the bank in the United States– you put your ATM card in the machine and out pop pounds instead of dollars:
One pound = $1.42 dollars. This means things are more expensive for Americans in the United Kingdom (they’re a little more expensive in Euros, but it’s pretty close). Say, for example, that dinner in Scotland cost me 15 pounds. That’s actually 15 x 1.42 = $____
Next Stop:
My favorite flag of my travels thus far. Do you know what country it belongs to? It only became the national flag in 1994 and was designed to represent the country’s newfound democracy (that means a country’s citizens freely elect their representatives in the government)
In this mystery country (have you figured it out yet?), they use a currency called the “Rand.” Who is this famous historical figure on the Rand?
Did you recognize Nelson Mandela?
Now is a great time for Americans to visit South Africa because 1 Rand = $.06 or 6 cents. If dinner costs me 65 Rand that means I only paid $3.86 in US dollars. That is a great deal!
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