Wow, blogging is really hard when the electricity is out for about 85% of the weekend. We haven't been able to charge anything. My best uneducated guess is that because most of Malawi's electricity comes from hydropower and we are nearing the height of the dry season, there simply isn't enough water volume to meet demand. But I digress.
It what will likely be a reoccurring blog theme... It took moving to Africa to become the stereotypical American driver: An SUV owner.
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| I am truly sorry Captain Planet |
At home I drive a 40mpg little Mazda. In Malawi, where gas costs nearly $9/gallon, I drive an SUV. The word on the street is the extra clearance helps on bad roads during the rainy season, but I am skeptical. On the other hand, drivers are semi-crazy here so being big means a bit more safety... at least that's what the Big 3 automotive companies hope I believe about these beasts.
Trivia question of the day: How much did it cost? The vehicle was imported from Japan. Is a 1995 Honda CRV with 95,000 kilometers. Any guesses?
Hint, it cost this much:
And yes we paid in cash. And yes it felt like a drug deal.
My guess is that car cost $290,000 kwacha, or about $1000. If I had to establish a range, it would be from $800-1000. And if I'm a betting man, I bet things on it will break and you will fix them with string.
ReplyDeleteAfter withdrawing $1,100 in cold, hard cash for you from Bank of America, my infinite experience with cash money suggests that this is far more than Mr. Davie suggests. $290 K kwacha would only be 290 of those crisp thousands. That picture looks like about 4lbs. of cash which is clearly $1 Million kwacha. That would be about $3,500 and 1,000 of those big ol' bills.
ReplyDeleteKiller math.
ReplyDeleteJosh is pretty close!
ReplyDeleteTo quote Eric: "Bamsky."
ReplyDelete