Money

Numerous things have surprised me about money since my arrival to the wonderful place that is Tanzania.  First I have to admit that coming to Africa I had the false notion that everything would be dirt cheap.  Perhaps this was naïve and stereotypical of me, or maybe this was just a shock since I could buy an entire delicious meal for $2 in the last two places I traveled.  Although Egypt is on the same continent and I could take the Cairo Metro anywhere for less than a 20 cents, a dollar in Tanzania buys me pretty much the same thing as it does it at home: nothing. Or maybe a pack of gum.

I realize this is a pretty stupid realization, but as in all my blog entries, I pretty much just think aloud.  Anyhow… I know Africa is an extremely vast continent with numerous languages, cultures, and economies.  Knowing that much of Tanzania’s economy is based on tourism (although agriculture is actually responsible for 2/3 of the economy), I should have put two and two together and realized that this automatically hikes the prices up.  Add in a pretty much guarantee to see lions and elephants and giraffe, and you have the recipe for bringing in rich people from all over the world to safari.  The result: everything is really expensive.  Or rather, everything costs about what it does in the states, which relatively speaking is quite pricey.  Especially since 1USD is about the equivalent of 1,500 Tanzanian Shillings. 

            Besides the actual cost of things, the currency floating around gave me more of a shock.  Instead of the beautifully colored national notes bearing stunning and powerful animals, US Dollars are accepted basically everywhere.  Most hotels and resorts ask for payment in USD and no matter what nationality you are, you are expected to travel to Tanzania with Dollars.  I was shocked when some Spanish ladies that were over for dinner started pulling out US Dollars to buy some necklaces from Nani.  Even Kian and Dylan have their own stash of Dollars. 

Good thing I didn’t decide to change tons of my money into Shillings, however Chris did give me half of my first month’s pay in Shillings.  But living in the middle of the bush with all of my meals provided I have spent nothing besides my initial purchase at Shoprite which basically just consisted of peanutbutter.