Sometime early this week or last week, I can’t remember, I sent a really good friend a facebook message that I had recently seen full-size cans of Pringles in the supermarket that I visit most every day to buy food. This is a pretty major find here in Nanyuki. I would compare the emotion I felt to finding a crumpled up five dollar bill on the street. Even though I am a 31-year old adult with (previously) a very-well paying job, I would still be geeked if I found a 5-spot on the street. Two years ago after a 10K race in Lafayette, CA, I found the nastiest, sweat-soaked five dollar bill that had clearly fallen out of someones sock, and after I was unable to locate the owner, I proudly carried that guy home. That got turned into a book and frozen yogurt with cookie chunks consumed on a warm fall afternoon while people-watching by the big fountain in Walnut Creek - a damn fine way to spend five bucks. When I was little, my younger brother Kurt and I would go *everywhere* with my Mom and Dad when they ran errands just so we could "scrounge" for money. And we were pretty good at it too. Between that and the "junk sales" we conducted where we completely ripped off my younger sister Emily (and then repossessed the goods indian-giving-style), we had fairly substantial incomes for an 8-yr old and 6-yr old.
Ok, back to the Pringles in the supermarket... sometimes just seeing something simple (and delicious!) and familiar in an unfamiliar place is comforting. But the wind went out of my sails when I saw they were 285 shillings a can. That is about $3.50 US. And I have not found a sweaty five-dollar bill here... yet. I stood in the same spot for about 20 minutes pondering the worth of the Pringles and looking at the can from all angles trying to decide whether it was worth it. During that time, I learned that they were manufactured in Belgium, which means the cost breakdown is something like 205 shillings for the jet fuel and diesel to transport it from Europe to Africa, and about 80 shillings for the chips. The more relevant fact here is that 285 shillings is nearly 75% of my daily earnings nowadays. It would be like me buying a food item worth several hundred dollars back in the US. I told my friend in that fb message that, at that price, the can was going to stay on the shelf.
But I am a weak human being. It took less than three days for me to cave to their salty, processed goodness. I inhaled the whole thing in one sitting. The last several days, I’ve been opening up the can at night and taking a big sniff, but the smell is starting to fade as well. Soon the only thing left to do will be do tear the can open and lick the insides to get all of the last remaining bits of chips that are stuck in the seams. I have no shame – that is long gone. I try to keep less than 285 shillings with me when I visit the grocery store so that I’m not even tempted to buy them. Unfortunately, my grocery store has started stocking all sorts of goodies such as Kit Kat bars, Twix, chocolate bars, and even peanut M&Ms. I pretend they are not there. Not sure how long that strategy is going to work...
While I'm on the subject of supermarkets, I will also mention the foreigner-with-the-supermarket-black-plastic-bag phenomenon that I’ve recently noticed recently. It goes something like this: If you are a mzungu (foreigner) and are carrying a black plastic bag, kids are going to assume that plastic bag is filled with bisquits (cookies) and crisps (potato chips), and you will be politely encouraged to hand over your goodies (i.e., "Give me bisquits!!!"). There is no way to convince them that you are not hiding delectable treats somewhere, even if you show them the contents of the bag. In my highly scientific study, I have found that if I stick that plastic bag inside my green fabric Whole Foods Market bag, I am politely encouraged almost 90% less than if I just go on my way toting the black bag in my hand for all to see. It's actually fairly ironic that I’m even carrying around this green fabric Whole Foods bag in the middle of Africa given the type of store it is. For those of you who don’t know what Whole Foods is, it’s an upscale (i.e., hoity-toity) grocery store coop/chain in the Western US, mostly located in well-to-do areas that sell “all-natural” and "fair-trade" products for mostly outrageous prices. Whenever I go in there I always think of the South Park episode where Kyle’s family moves to San Francisco and everyone there is bending over to smell their own farts. It just has this smug sort of feeling when you stand in line to buy your granola, chicken breasts from freerange hand-fed birds, and yogurt from cows that only eat grass that was grown by poor farmers in Chile. I'm just joking - please don't send me nasty emails - I like their granola and yogurt too. Anyway, it’s funny that I’m carrying this bag around because if people here knew what kind of store Whole Foods was, I would be completely mobbed and they would be absolutely certain I was carrying bisquits and crisps and all sorts of other yummy things.
Ok, I don't think I've really said anything of substance today, but what else is new. I'll try a little harder next time.
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Hi Gav- India during the 60s was also a place where one might find "smuggled" goods, which were supposedly brought in on dhows across the Arabian Sea from the Trucial states. Strict foreign exchange control meant there was also a black market for hard currency. A 5 spot would bring Rupees Rs37.5 at the bank but Rs75 on the corner. As a PCV living on the equivalent of $150/mo, it was hard to rationalize spending $7.50 on a an of Nestles instant coffee, but it was easier when the splurge was cut in half using a 5 spot. mike@burlingtonvermonthomes.com
ReplyDeleteTo see photos of India and Nepal 1965-67, taken by a poultry PCV, see http://picasaweb.google.com/Gannettm
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