Pounds...I'm talking about £

This week I got the opportunity to talk to my friend Amber that is currently living in Derby, UK with her husband and daughter.  Her husband, Adam, works with Mark.  They have been in Derby for the last five months and will be headed back to the US a week after we get there.  Amber has been such a help to me.  Amber is an experienced traveler, unlike me.  She is always thinking and seems to always be one step ahead of the game.  During our conversation I asked her a question about money and she responded with, yeah we brought some pounds with us.  I, of course, ask her where do I get some pounds??  All I have to say is, Thank God for Amber!  She told me that I can talk to bank about getting some pounds. 

Friday I took a little trip to my bank and asked if they had any pounds.  The teller told me that he could order me some.  How fancy is that??  I was ordering pounds.  He told me the minimum they could order with no fee was $350.  I told him to go ahead and order it.  He printed me out some order form and told me that I was ordering £210.  Wait a minute...how is this fair??  I gave him actually $355.05, to be exact, and I get £210.00 back.  I knew the exchange rate wasn't that great, but this is not cool.  This is going to be really interesting.  Where did the extra 145.05 go???  I hope this doesn't sound too stupid, but this makes no sense to me.  Why can't it all just be the same? 

So the bank is supposed to call me when my £210.00 comes in.  I have no idea what pounds look like or what denominations they come in.  I guess I need to figure that out.  I definitely downloaded a currency converter app.  Reason #58 why I love my iPhone and iPad.

Four days until we leave!!  Crazy!!  I really need to pack.  This is going to be such an adventure.