Coming Back Part 1: Money

So I want to share some of the thoughts and and feelings about coming back and also share news as the next adventure for Tim and Liz unfolds so while this began as a Peace Corps Blog, we will continue to update this blog every so often to keep our friends and families and the occasional stranger abreast as to what is up in our life.

So some aspects of returning have been somewhat humorous really. One of the more practical adaptations to make regards money. It seems I no longer have any intuitive grasp as to the value of a dollar. Is a price high? Is it a good price? I have no idea. It's funny because I would routinely translate prices in Rands to Dollars while I was in South Africa, but apparently at some point, those translations seemed to lose their meaning.
When you join Peace Corps, you arrive at a staging event and PC gives you a bunch of money for per diem. I don't remember how much it was, but it was more than we could manage to spend even on a rather extravagant dinner and drinks. I think it was like $200 each. Upon returning, PC gives you $32. Thirty-two dollars is roughly two-hundred rands. In SA it was routine for me to have several hundred rand in my wallet. Credit card machines often have fees or are non-existent. Even the ATM charged per transaction so I would take out lots of cash to reduce the number of transactions. Having R1000 in my wallet was no biggie. What I'm trying to get at is that 32<200. It seems like a pathetically small amount of money. R32 doesn't buy you a combo meal at a fast food restaurant. How is $32 going to take me all the way back to Seattle? Despite the following anecdote, I still have some of that cash in my wallet, although the card has been swiped a whole lot!
While in the Atlanta airport, waiting for our connection, I realized that we would not be provisioned with a meal on the connecting flight. In my experience it is better to buy something in the airport than on the plane as the options are better and the prices lower. I found a kiosks offering fresh salads and cold drinks, (which I incorrectly referred to as 'Pop'). The employee was very friendly and a southerner in line also sensed that this all seemed foreign to me so they were helping me to select my purchase. I selected a Chicken Caesar Salad and a 16oz Coke Zero. I looked at the register and saw something like 23.48. I reached into my wallet and selected two twenty-dollar bills and handed them to the clerk. He quickly informed me that would be too much money for my purchase. I asked why does the till say 23.48, and was informed that was the total for the previous customer. They guy behind me asked if that didn't seem like a really steep price for a salad and a coke. I responded that I supposed it was but tried to explain I had been living overseas for 2 years. 23.48 would be a steal for this purchase in Rands so I didn't really think twice about it.
Obligatory to returning to the US is a pilgrimage to that great symbol of our culture and nationalism, Wal-Mart. Wow! Everything in wal-mart seemed really cheap! I have no idea of this is true, at least compared to Target or Rite-Aid or even South African equivalents like Dis-Chem, Clicks or Game. It's just you look at the rows of price tags and everything is 1.47 or 2.53 and these are just numbers that you never see in SA. In SA you can't buy hardly anything at all for R1.50. So is it just that the numbers are low or is the actually price a good price? Was it a bad price in SA? What exactly is the high-cost of low prices again? EISH!! as we would say in SA. I'm so confused.
I have also been Starbucks since returning. A bit more wise after my other trips, I was now staring at an old-fashioned doughnut trying to fathom if ($)1.60 was a reasonable number to pay. (R)1.60 would buy a magwenya or vetkoek in a South African village. The doughnut looked good and was one of the more economic pastry options so I repressed the little voice and boldly made my purchase. I later told my brother of my quandary. 1.60 doesn't seem like very much money and the doughnut seemed nice but somewhere in my mind was a recollection of walking into a doughnut shop owned by an immigrant family from Asia and buying 12 doughnuts for 3 or 4 dollars. In light of that recollection this doughnut seemed incredibly pricey. My brother assured me that you can no longer by a dozen doughnuts for such a reasonable price even if you are lucky to find a doughnut establishment that isn't run by a corporation. He eased my mind a bit. The good news is, is that in 2 months or so I may be trying to figure out an all new currency.
That's correct blog readers! Liz has been offered a job in Abu Dhabi and it is looking increasingly like we will take the offer. For myself, Liz's offer makes me a more favorable candidate and so far I have had some positive interactions that I suspect might lead to a interview and employment. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Stay tuned for further sequels regarding Race and Culture.