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i have my first blog request.
from a financial standpoint, whats it like living in Europe?
well it's not that joyous.
 i am unaware of all the factors that go into currency valuation, but i am pretty sure there is a lot of politics involved.  after hearing about the economic difficulties that Europe has been dealing with over the last five years, how can the US$ be so weak against the european euro??  the current exchange rate is 1 european  euro costs US$ 1.30'sh.    add the weak $, to taxes on goods that go as high as 21%,  and you begin to miss america really fast.   we knew living in spain to be more expensive then the US but it is much more expensive than we expected.  additionally, you do not get as much for the same amount of money.  my US1.30 that equals 1 Euro will buy 1 pound of broccoli in the US but only 1/2 pound in spain.  the  $4 starbuck frapachino  cost $7.5 here.  i have not been to starbucks since i left the states.  interesting fact,  a can of coke here costs about the same as a can of beer, and a bottle of water costs more than both.  priorities baby, priorities.
we where frustrated because it took us a while to find a place to live, but there was an unexpected bonus in the delay.  it gave us time to get aquatinted with the expense realities we were facing, and we were able to adjust our housing budget to offset other costs.  we opted for a small apartment instead of the dream house, so we expect to be able to keep corrinne in food & clothes for the duration of our stay.  
although she's making it a challenge.  all of a sudden she is eating a lot more, and i think shes growing.
we have only been here a 6 wks and have had to buy two new pairs of shoes.  once, after spending most of the day walking neighborhoods,  she started doing the tired thing.  she cried loudly, "you guys don't feed me enough, and i'm going through a growth-spurt."  i assume bystanders did not speak english.  she got some strange stares,  but no-one turned us in. in foreign lands you can get away with malnourishing your kid.
conclusions:  you got to love America. the land of plenty, and tasty things.
i posted this and then went to pick up corrinne from school. it is wednesday, which is after-school treat day for corri.  this reminded me of another interesting expense.  more irritating than interesting.  businesses here like to charge more for nothing more than perceived value.  so today corri picked gelato as her treat.  a small cup of gelato is about the same as one scoop of ice cream back home.  here that cup is 2.6 euros, a little more than US$3.  but how many children want just one flavor of gelato.  well, for two flavors in the same size cup you are charged 3.4 euros, over US$4.  but you receive the same amount of gelato at either price.   go figure.

this is how i look after paying $4 for a scoop