Repatriation Culture Shock #1: prices
• Haircut: Addis $3.25 ($4.35 with tip), US $45 ($55 with tip)
• Sandwich (cheese with lettuce): Addis $0.55, US $5
• Coffee (Ethiopian), 1/2 kilo (one pound): Addis $3.50, US $13.00
• Housekeeper: Addis $76/month (full time), US $100 per visit (approx 4 hours)
• Cup of coffee: Addis $0.55 (most expensive place), US $3 (Starbucks)
• Movie: Addis $4.35, US $10
• Tiny 3-br house: Addis $1100/month, US (DC) $2000/month
• Taxi ride across town: Addis $4.35, US $20
BUT:
• Beat up 10-year-old Toyota Corolla: Addis $20k, US $10k
A plain cup of Starbucks coffee cost $3 where you are? It's like, half that here.
Posted by: Stew | February 07, 2008 at 07:01 PM
ha! welcome back indeed. you have to start thinking in dollars again. you will go nuts if you keep thinking of that birr value.
Posted by: mimi | February 07, 2008 at 07:18 PM
man, somebody is making good money selling cars. kbb.com has the 1998 toyota corolla pegged at $5000
mamo
Posted by: mamo | February 07, 2008 at 08:14 PM
Interesting comparison.
The $ sign without "birr" description a bit tricky. Don't tell us you forgot "birr" already. just kidding! Once upon a time in a good old days, Ethiopian birr had almost equivalent value with a dollar, now we're left only with the dollar sign to remember.
Why the hair tip is $1.10 birr? That .10 cents is odd, though.
Posted by: Alem | February 08, 2008 at 06:02 AM
I converted the birr values to dollars to make comarison easier. So 10 birr I listed as $1.10.
Posted by: Marc Luoma | February 08, 2008 at 02:04 PM
Mark,
I am really going to miss your blog from Addis. Being from there and getting your American sense of humor, your blog has been such a delight.
Maybe another "Yankee" will pick up where you left off.
One more thing: you handled some of the 'impolite' comments with grace. I did expect that from you and you didn't disappoint.
Good luck
Posted by: disappointed abesha | February 08, 2008 at 03:54 PM