Euro Euro, Everywhere
If all goes well,
Malta will be adopting the euro as its currency on January 1, 2008. (I wonder why they say “adopt” as if the euro was an orphan with nowhere else to go). As part of the process, all prices have to be displayed in both Maltese liri and euros starting on June 1 so that people can start getting used to the new currency. But over the past week or so, I have begun to see the dual-display of prices just about everywhere. I am impressed that Maltese shopkeepers and retailers are actually doing something three months ahead of schedule!
When the first pioneers began a couple of months back, I noticed that some were cheating with the exchange rate. But now they seem to have shaped up and it is usually the correct rate (I like to check). I went to the post office today, and my receipt showed both currencies. Which was a bit confusing for a moment as I tried to figure out why I had gotten the wrong amount of change back. It turned out that the cashier had actually made a mistake this time, but it took me several extra seconds to figure it out as I read through the slightly more “complex” receipt.
I even walked past a small shop where everything sells for Lm2, and the sign now said “Everything Lm2/€4.66”. Still no word on what Tal-Lira, the everything-for-one-lira shop, will do after the changeover, but I will post the news as soon as I find out. (And people say I have esoteric interests…)
Speaking of people and everywhere, I am experiencing a new phenomenon: I have begun to run into people that I know! This is a big milestone, because with Malta being small it seems like the Maltese are always running into someone they know. In fact, when I go to Valletta with M, every few steps down Republic Street he greets someone with a wave or stops to chat. Once I went to Valletta with M and our friend P, and at one point they BOTH stopped to chat with different people while I stood there and patiently waited.
Soooooo, I am very happy to report that I have run into people I know not once, not twice, not three times, but several times! And in different places! Even in different parts of the island! Yeah yeah, sit there and laugh, but this is yet another step in Malta becoming my home.
