Day 159

You don't realize all the little things that are no longer in your life until you happen upon one. Today I had one of those moments. I was returning to my room after completing a necessary task and noticed an American nickle on the ground. I stopped and looked at it for a few moments before pocketing it. Loose change, or any metal change, is unheard of here. The few instances when we use American currency, in the shops, we get our change in bills and PX Pogs. The pogs are just like any other; cardboard or paper, with an image printed on both sides, but in this case, they also list the coin amount, such as 5 cents or 10 cents or 25 cents. (My computer does not appear to have a cent icon, and I don't remember the ASCII code, so you'll just have to use your imagination.) They are redemable only at the PX, which is ok because that's the only place to use loose change, or loose pogs, as the case may be. I suppose since there is no Wal-Mart, they have the literal monopoly on the local shoppers and print their own money. My guess is that it'd cost lots of money in shipping costs to have metal change shipped over here. And there is no sales tax, so when purchasing items in the local shops, owned by the PX, they usually price things to the exact dollar, removing the need for change in coins. And at the PX, just to make our lives easier, the PX prices are the same here as they are in the States, so $3.95 widgit here is a $3.95 widgit back home. Oh, it's so nice of the PX people to make our lives that much easier, so we don't have to worry about comparing different prices. Plus, who wants to jingle as they walk when they're in a combat zone? Not me, that's for sure.