Expensive Lessons

I’ve always thought of the term expensive lesson a glamorized way of saying “I fucked up and did stupid shit”. What could’ve been a simple TIL (Today I Learned) moment becomes expensive because you lost something significant, usually money. But, is it expensive because you paid for the uncertainty of the outcome? Or are you massaging your ego, knowing you could have avoided it?

Paris

My friend and I were in Paris for the French Open. I’d been to the city a few times before and never paid much attention to how I moved around. Transport was just something that worked. But this time, I needed to load my Navigo pass, and I noticed the process wasn’t quite as intuitive.

We navigated the city alright, but we had repeated failures with the pass. I kept getting debited for tickets I either couldn’t use or couldn’t access. And while I could’ve chased down refunds, the thought of spending half my trip in a customer service loop felt like a time sink I wasn’t prepared for.

I tagged it another expensive lesson but I was only paying more for replacing my curiosity with assumptions. I’d assumed Paris would work like London, with its effortless tap-in-tap-out system. My familiarity was a false sense of control.

Albania

A few weeks later, we were flying out to Albania. My friend had lounge access and could bring a guest. I adjusted my usual airport timing for that reason. After all, we’d breeze through with VIP treatment.

We missed our flight. 

It was distressing enough, then we learned that missing the first leg of a return flight automatically cancels the second. Read the fine print. 

Sure, there’s the obvious lesson: get to the airport early. But I already knew that. What I learned was how easily one small change can make you break your own rules without noticing. 

Sarande

Made it to Albania via a different flight. Not my first time in the country but I assumed things would be more digital in this touristy part. I was expecting contactless payments, cards, and all the works. That assumption mostly held, except we had to pay cash for cab rides.

And on the morning we were heading back to the sea port, we grabbed a cab.

I got stuck in the hotel elevator and delayed the driver longer than he had the patience for. He was irritated and vocal about it the entire ride. 

Things escalated when we got to the station and realized we had no cash. The driver turned red. We were flustered. It was hot. We were running late. My friend ran across the road to withdraw from an ATM while I stood in place as the driver’s verbal punching bag. Two minutes felt like ten. We didn’t recognize the cash notes properly and in the rush, my friend handed him 10x what the ride cost.

We didn’t realize it until days after we were back in London.

Obvious lesson: learn about a country’s currency when visiting or always carry cash. My expensive lesson was about letting guilt override my alertness. The driver had been escalating the tension. Nagging. Pressuring. Raising his voice. It felt calculated, and we seemed easy targets. We got played in a moment we just wanted peace.