Living on a Budget
March 7th, 2013 by Smith Office of Global Programs under Italy, Semester Exchange. 2 Comments.
I was not very smart about my wallet before it got stolen. I kept all my cards in one wallet. When I lost my wallet, I was completely broke and I also had no identity. Here is another tip, if you want to travel to anywhere, please separate your credit cards and put one somewhere safe for emergency. Having no money is not ideal when you are all alone in a foreign country. Luckily, my friend let me borrow 100 Euros for 2 weeks until my cards got sent to me. You would think that 100 Euros (around 132 dollars) would be more than enough for me for 2 weeks; well I was dead wrong.
After I received my 100 Euros I happened to get sick so I spent 30 Euros on medicine. My fridge got empty so I spent another 40 on food, then I got swept away by a pair of shoes when I was supposed to be only window-shopping, so I spent another 20. By the end of week one I had 10 Euros left. I knew I needed more money for the following week because I haven’t gotten the best luck lately. I looked everywhere for more cash, and I finally remembered that my mom gave me 25 pounds (U.K currency) before I left. So I looked everywhere to exchange these pounds to euros. After days of searching I finally came across a place across from the Duomo that did the exchange. They gave me 22 euros with 25 pounds. They made 8 Euros off of me. At that point, I was just glad I got an extra 22 Euros in my pocket. I felt like a rich man, so I decided to treat myself with a 1 Euro chicken sandwich from the McDonalds next door.
The inside of Kiko.
The end of week 2 finally arrived! It was 9 am on a Friday morning; I got a phone call that woke me up with joy because I knew that my cards have finally arrived. I was free again! Right after I received my cards I decided to hit up the Duomo shopping area, my first stop was Kiko. Kiko is makeup store that was originally opened in Milano, which is the city that I am currently located. Kiko offers quality makeup at a low price. I bought myself a new collection of makeup since my original collection was taken away along with my wallet. When I got home I realized I bought too much unnecessary makeup, so decided to go back and return some of it. When I went to the store and asked to return the product, the women looked at me as if I asked her to marry me. Apparently in all of Italy you are not allowed to return products to get money back! What a culture shock.
yswang on March 8th, 2013
Oh wow! Be careful!! I almost got pick pocketed around Colosium this winter. It was scary. But you did great surviving on 122 euros. I spent too much Euros on drinks when I was there. Be more careful!