**Please keep in mind that all monetary units are in Pesos Uruguayos. The current exchange rate is 20 pesos to $1 US dollar. To help those that are as mathematically challenged as I am - $1,000 pesos = $50 dollars.
+ commission (negligible percentage of bar sales) - $315
+ extra commission (given to me because my commissions were less than negligible) - $1,000
+ hostelworld mentions ("Francesca makes the best caiprioskas in town") - $200
= $7,715
- two advances of $1,500 each
- an advance of $2,000 taken out as a personal loan from my boss so I could go to the beach this past weekend, which still wasn't enough. (Thank you Victoria and Michal, I owe you dinner back in Philly for sure. Shaun, you can come, too.)
- $2,400 in back rent that I owed (Thank you Emily and Andrea for being so understanding.)
= $315
and just to put that into perspective for you - I bought a 120mL bottle contact solution last weekend that set me back $340 pesos!
I'm not complaining. Really. I'm actually getting a kick out of it. A good life lesson, too. I'm continually impressed by the kindness of strangers and my friends. A beer here, an empanada there, communal dinners at the hostel. Life is simple. A popsicle or a cold coca cola is a major treat. Two months of this is nothing - an accident, an experiment, a wake-up call. What really gets me is that there are plenty of people who are actually living off of this. I don't understand how those making a typical Uruguayan salary are able to travel, buy a car, feed a family.
I feel really fortunate.
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