Numbers are perceived to be tangible and fixed. Yet when it comes to money, I’ve come to learn how relative numbers really are.
After my first couple of days in Kabul I finally had to change some money today. Getting a handle on the exchange rate is easy enough at about 50 AFS to 1 USD. What is harder to get a grasp on is how much that can buy you and what is a good deal.
I’ve pretty much resigned myself to knowing that I won’t get a good deal on anything until I’ve been around the block a bit longer. Looking at the prices in the super market I begin to instinctively compare prices to those in Africa.
Sure it might cost three bucks for a box of tea, but is it really as dear to me now as it was back in my Peace Corps days? One of my memories from those days was spending a good five minutes deciding if I could afford the $3 box of tea. After all, this was equivalent to a day’s wage for me back then. After much deliberation I bought the box of tea, only to have it eaten out from the bottom by termites. After being very frugal in my use of the tea I picked up the box to discover that the tea was just a pile of dust.
Now of course I’m making much more than $3 a day and wonder if I should look at that box of tea any differently than I once did.
Food for thought,
Miel
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