Play Money and Other Interesting Things....

The currency in Botswana is almost like 'play money'. The currency is called pula (pronounced pooh-la). From Wikipedia: "Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana because rain is very scarce in Botswana - home to much of the Kalahari Desert - and therefore valuable. Pula also means "blessing" as rain is considered a blessing. Thebe means "shield"."

For comparison - the US dollar is like the pula, and US cents are like the thebe (pronounced teh-bee). 100 thebe is equal to 1 pula. (Note: the value of the US dollar is not equal to 1 pula...more on that below.)


The coins - pictured here, from left to right, are 5 thebe, 10 thebe, 25 thebe and 50 thebe. There is not a 1 thebe. So, if you make a purchase that comes to thebe not divisible by 5, you just round the total purchase up or down to the next 5. (I recently made a purchase that came to P20.83, (note the P, instead of a $) - since I was paying in cash, the total I paid was P20.85. (Note: the 10 thebe is about the size of a US dime.)



These coins are pula. From left to right:
1 pula, 2 pula and 5 pula. Again, these are like 'dollars' in the US. Note the differences in the coins? Makes them easier to distinguish. The 1 pula and 2 pula are similar in size and shape, but the 1 pula is a thicker coin (can't show you that in the picture). Until I got a 'feel' for the coins, I was always pulling out my reading glasses at the checkout to see what I had!!!...or, sweet R would help me.





These are the paper pula. Denominations come in 10 pula, 20 pula, 50 pula and 100 pula. The bills are not the same size, 10 pula being the smallest, then becoming slightly larger with each denomination. The colorings are also different. The different sizes of bills is a great help to those who have impaired vision. I do not know who the men are on the bills. Past presidents and leaders, I'm sure. I'll have to research that. (Note: the bills are roughly the same size as US bills.)

This is a link (to get a better view than what I could take with my camera) of both the front and backs of the coins.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Botswana_2006_circulating_coins.jpg

Now for a little lesson in conversion rates. It changes DAILY. Most of the time the conversion rate hovers around 7.70. In English - 1 US dollar is equal to about P7.70. A week or so ago the rate was over P8...up to around P8.09. Today the conversion rate was $1.00=P7.70. When the girls and I are out shopping, we also have a math lesson, too!! We typically figure on dividing 8 in to what ever the price is, to get an idea as to whether we are 'getting a good deal' or not. Products that are imported from the US are, of course, very expensive...namely clothes and such (brand names like Levi's, Nike, Polo...even cosmetics (Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome). There are some food items that are imported from the US. (Most food items are from South Africa.) Just the other day I saw a box of Cheez-It snack crackers (imported from the US), selling for around P50, which would be around $6 for the box. Expensive! No, I didn't buy them. One store here, the Superspar (a grocery store) is starting to carry items from the US. Up and down the aisles they have small banners next to the items announcing they are imported from the US. One such item was 'Bush's Baked Beans'. I paid P18 for a large can...which was only a couple of dollars in the US. Not bad. A sidenote here....baked beans here are not at all like the US. Here, they have tomato sauce (like ketchup) as the base, not brown sugar. We tried them, and didn't like them. A couple of other staple items for cost comparison: 2 litre milk is P14 which is roughly $1.80 for a half-gallon of milk. Bread here is mostly fresh baked in the store's bakery...you won't find an aisle of different brands of bread. Thus, choices are limited. Also, since it is fresh baked, you don't have all those preservatives - which means bread spoils quickly, unless you eat it up quickly, or keep it in the fridge (which is what we do). A loaf of bread sells for about P5.25, which is less than $1.

Some of the terminology here - which is interesting - causes me to have to think a bit!
Bridges are called 'fly aways'...because when driving over a bridge that has a peak, you look as though you are 'flying away'.
Take out food is called 'take away'. And if you have leftovers at a restaurant, you get a 'take away', not a 'to go' box.
Trash cans are called 'dust bins'.
Ketchup is called tomato sauce.
Which...you won't find actual tomato sauce for making spaghetti sauce, etc....you will find tomato paste, however.
Ground beef is called mince.
Beef for making beef stew is called goulash.
Remember the days of 'lay aways' for items you wanted to buy..but didn't have enough money for...and you didn't want to charge it...so you put the item(s) on lay-away (and paid on the item each week until it was paid for)? They have that here, only it is called 'lay-by'.
French fries are called chips.
No fast food places here!!!!! At least, not US type fast food places. A burger from Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's or the ultimate....Char-Grill!!!! would really be good about now. The hamburgers served here are served with this 'interesting' sauce...and the burgers are seasoned with some unusual tasting seasonings. So, for hamburgers, I make them at home.
The only fast food place familiar to the US is Kentucky Fried Chicken. And, it is really good! I'm not a big fan of fried chicken (though I ate it a lot growing up and loved it), but the KFC chicken here is good. Mashed potatoes are not an available side item. Have to make those myself. Side items here are cole slaw (which is good), beans, chips (french fries).

That's about all for now. We expect to start getting some of our 'stuff from home' this week. We can hardly wait! Our own pillows to sleep on!

I still need to take some pictures of and tell you about (or attempt to describe) the traffic circles here, which, of course, go to the left. Those are interesting!!! So far, I've made it through them OK...the key is to be in the correct lane...or you get honked at!