My laptop only works if it's plugged up. My adapter broke right before my week-long stay in Tanzania. :-[
When I got back from Tanzania three Saturdays ago, my prof said he could find me a new one cheap, but I’d have to wait awhile for it. I was being shipped off for 3 weeks to a new host family. The computers I’d have access to were slow and didn’t have all my files. I did not have awhile. So I went combing Nairobi for a new cord. I found one for KSH2500 /=, or $35.00. Real value? $15.00 (KSH1125 /=) on Amazon (shipping and handling included). The special price the shopkeeper was offering only to me? KSH 1700 /=. Psh.
I left annoyed because I was paying extra for all the usual reasons: not being a good haggler, being American, the shopkeeper knowing I really wanted/needed [insert item here], etc., etc. But the transaction has me thinking about the real value of money.
Money is damn impersonal. Under the barter system, people pay each other thoughtfully: If I was shopping for a laptop cord in pre-colonial Kenya, I’d’ve paid in maize, mangoes, or whatever else I knew the shopkeeper needed for dinner that evening. But since I’m living in cash economy Kenya, I hand over bills I lie about not having because I couldn’t care less what they mean to the person I’m paying.
No wonder I wasn’t too annoyed about being overcharged: It’s not like I thought, “Hm. The shopkeeper might really need some extra food for dinner tonight,” picked some corn and beans, and went to her shop. If I’d done all that, I’d’ve insisted that she take what I had to give her because I considered what she needed and worked to get it for her. Instead, I walked to an ATM, punched in the amount I wanted, and went to the store thinking of a lie to get the price I thought I should pay.
And no wonder the shopkeeper didn’t mind exploiting me: I was anxious to get access to my computer. She knew I didn’t care if KSH 1700 =/ was or was not enough to feed her and/or her family. So why should she give a flip if I’m a “poor” college student?
Of course, money isn’t completely useless: Had I showed up with a basketful of corn or offered to buy her lunch, she probably would’ve laughed in my face. I didn’t know this woman. How would I have known that she needed food? Maybe she needed a new shirt, or some pens, or anything really. The barter system, then, only works if there’s a relationship between the two people. That being the case, money is a way of saying, “Hey. I really don’t know what you need. I’m sorry.”
It makes me sad that money doesn’t reflect the true value of anything. How can 4x2 bits of paper be equivalent to pictures to share with my host family; Lupe, R.E.M., and Visions to keep my mind right after 15+ hour day; a way to finally update ya’ll on my life? How can these bills be a sincere “Thank you” for access to those things when I’ve put no thought into how they’ll be used? How can you quantify appreciation and care?
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