If you live in the U.S. then the only exposure (nice pun, huh?) to the devaluation of your dollar may have been hearing about the recent parity it had reached with the Canadian dollar. But the dollar is really weak in most of the rest of the world. My paychecks come in yen, so this is good news.
I've been spending a lot of time at the post office this week. There's a new girl working there who is attractive (and she signed the papers on her marriage this morning - yes, my timing is that good), speaks a little English, and is willing to participate in playful banter (I asked if she had any sisters, she suggested her mom). Also, the Mariners opened their season yesterday. Games start 11am here, so I can catch a few innings of the game at the post office or the hospital waiting room.
[The post office staff, who insisted that I was only
taking this group picture for Ayaka. They were right.]
taking this group picture for Ayaka. They were right.]
The third reason I have been visiting the post office is because that's where my bank account is. Japan Post does a lot more than just mail things. For 2500 yen, I can send money to my US bank (who also charges me $12). Every day at noon the post office takes the spot rate, adds about a yen, and that becomes the rate at which I can transfer money. The dollar reached a fourteen-year-low of 95 yen:$1 about two weeks ago, just three days before I got paid. Since payment, it has been hovering just over 100:1 (down from over 120:1 six months ago). I have been trying to nail a sub-100 rate, but also carefully watching the markets every day just before noon. Turns out today the U.S. market surged and the rate climbed to 103:1, but yesterday's rate was 99.8:1, so I will be sending money home this morning.
[They demanded a picture of just the two of us.
Just like me, she's more beautiful in real life.]
Just like me, she's more beautiful in real life.]
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