TRY to USD = :-(

I never had much reason to pay attention to international currency exchange rates. As a traveler, I learned to pay attention to current rates before a trip to add a calculation in my brain when purchasing things in a new destination. As a working ex-pat though, it is on my mind more and more, especially since the ticker runs along the channel that broadcasts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon every evening.

Eight months ago, the TRY to USD was approximately 1.8:1. One of the tips I had read in an ESL Teacher Jobs forum was to ask that your contract/salary be in the form of your original country's currency--that as an American or Brit, your currency value would be much less volatile than that of a smaller, possibly more economically unstable country. While I took the "it never hurts to ask" approach, I realized afterwards how awkwardly I brought up the subject in my interview. The response was along the lines of: "Why would I pay you in American money? I don't have American money. You won't be living in America." Fair point. I was kindly told what the equivalent of my salary would be in USD (according to, at the time, current exchanges) to put my mind at ease. For 6 months I have been paid salary in Turkish Lira, and the exchange rate has now climbed to 2.28:1, thanks in part to political scandal, as well as perhaps a suffering diplomatic relationship between Turkey and the US. Thanks to this change, I now earn 22% less each month in American paper. The bright side is that my income/spending are on the same system, so relatively there hasn't been a change. When I return to the States, though, my savings will likely carry less value than they would have eight monts ago.

The real winner in this shift: hotels, tour companies, and other visitor services that list their prices in euros, despite the fact that in general euros aren't accepted in this country. A year ago, a 100 euro/night hotel room would have pocketed the innkeeper 235 lira. Tonight: 310 lira.

Hopefully the Turkish Lira return to its earlier value in the near future. Please.