Since arriving to Thailand, we have talked a lot about the exchange rate — the cost of goods here relative to prices in the United States. It is interesting to witness —and benefit from — the different economic dynamics in developing countries. And as an individual, it is empowering to have my money go as far as it does. But it is also off putting, because the extra weight my dollar carries is not universal; it reflects the deep disparities in wealth between the United States and Thailand. I was thinking about this yesterday at the market while seeing my classmates and my own responses to vendors prices and monitoring our instinctive reaction to ask for a lower price. I think part of it is that we came to Thailand with some prior knowledge of the “haggling culture,” and it seems natural to play the game and avoid being the tourist that is taken advantage of. The market is an experience, and that should not be discounted, but I cannot shake my discomfort with the optics of these exchanges. We are all relatively well off students from the most wealthy and powerful country in the world, and while the macroeconomic landscape of the U.S. is by no means representative of everyone’s personal circumstance, I still feel like we should all accept the two-hundred baht markup. If not as an act of compassion, then as a minute step towards leveling the economics field.