changing values

Last week the value of the Armenian dram fell significantly against the dollar. It was the conversation to have, and I fell into it almost everywhere I went with everyone I spoke to. Of course I couldn't help the feeling of being looked at like prize meat, like "you're American, you should have lots of money you can spare, your currency is going up while ours is falling." The trick is, as a Peace Corps volunteer I get paid about as much as they do in their currency. When I came here I was surprised how often people talk about the American dollar. It's talked about more than the weather. It is an interesting time to be outside of the U.S., knowing for the first time how much of what we do impacts people across the world. The word for "money" in Armenian is "poh"....and so, I've got no poh people. No poh.

This NY Times article does a good job at shedding some light on the deal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/business/09dollar.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=falling%20currencies&st=cse