Madam, some bananas to go with the dress?

Everyday life in Uganda is different than life in Georgia.  Both places are pretty hot, but at least in Georgia there is A/C and electricity to run the A/C 99% of the time.  Both places have mosquitoes, but the mosquitoes in GA generally don’t inhabit every nook ‘n’ cranny of your house, carry malaria, or give your roommate an excuse to spontaneously slap you across any part of your body.  Both have LOTS of traffic, however GA drivers and pedestrians typically follow the established traffic laws (also, these laws are actually enforced).  

 

Speaking of traffic laws – some of my teammates have shown great faith and have lent me vehicles on various occasions.  Not only am I getting used to everything being opposite, but I also had to used to driving a manual transmission.  Put the two together and, well, there you go – would you want to lend me your only car?  But – I have only stalled on the road once and only “almost” hit a bicycle once.  Last evening I even drove across town for dinner.  According to more than one eye witness my driving was “not bad” and even “surprisingly steady”.  Perhaps with this newly refined skill my dad and my brother will let me drive their own precious trucks when I return home. 

 

Crystal, Jennifer and I had bought some local material and today we went into town to have traditional Ugandan dresses made.  The mother of one of the youth members at church is a seamstress.  What I mean is – she has an old singer sewing machine (the kind with the foot pump) on the sidewalk.  So there we are, three mzungu sitting on stools crowded around her machine on the sidewalk looking a pictures of dresses cut out of magazines.  Of course everyone who walks by (which must have been a bazillion people) had to look over our shoulders and ask questions of Mary (our seamstress) in their native language (that we don’t speak).  Once we all picked out a dress we liked, Mary took our measurements….right there on the street.  It wasn’t too bad until a guy tried to sell us some bananas….as I was getting my hips measured.  Talk about bad timing for him. 

 

Check back later for a picture of the dress and a story about how I have introduced my team to “Georgia Tea” and created my own “Southern Fried Omelet”.  

YOU TUBE = ME TUBE

I’ve posted a video on you tube.  

SEE MINISTRIES – a series of pictures taken in the fall from a See Ministries event.

More to come!!

I'm Legal!

I finally received my work permit from the Ugandan government!  Just in time to be able to leave the country for a visit to Kenya.  Honestly, I had an easy time of it compared to some of my teammates immigration horror stories.  In case any of you ever need to get a work permit in Uganda, below are some helpful guidelines.  

1. Apply Early – and include every document that has your name and some sort of official seal.  I turned in my request in November.  My file included everything from copy of passport (expected) to copy of high-school transcript (embarrassing).  Sometimes it takes several attempts to get your request accepted.
2. Be patient.  Wait, Wait, Wait. 
3. After 3 full months, travel to the immigration office in Kampala (a 4 hour trip for me) to check on your status. HOW TO CHECK STATUS:
1. Go to office A (size of a shoebox) and look through “official” records journal to find your request number.
2. Go to office B (size of large closet) with your request number.  Watch as officer goes up to a wall (floor to ceiling) of papers and files.  Magically your file emerges.
3. Determine if your request has been (a) acknowledged, (b) ignored, (c) forgotten, (d) lost, (e) denied, or (f) granted!
4. At this point, if request is stalled, you’ll have to make another trip to Kampala in a few weeks.
5. Once request is granted – proceed to Office C with your file.  Here a person behind iron bars determines how much money you owe and issues you an official bill.  (My work permit cost 250,000 shillings or around $125.)
6. Take this slip of paper across busy and crowded Kampala city to the Ugandan Internal Revenue Bank.  (figure out where in the heck is the Ugandan Internal Revenue Bank).
7. At Bank go to Counter A – push your way through the crowd towards the front and eventually to a clerk who will take your money and type something in the computer.
8. Still at Bank – wait across the room in front of Counter B for another clerk to call out your name indicating that your official receipt is ready.  This receipt takes anywhere from 30 - 90 minutes.
9. Drive back across busy Kampala to the Immigration Offices with official receipt the verifies your payment.
10. Go back to Office B, present official receipt. Leave passport with officer for another week for the official work permit to be inserted into your passport.
11. Wait a week.
12. Drive back to Kampala to pick up passport.  Be thankful!!

Randomness….

Creating a list of 25, 50, or 100 Random facts about yourself is the latest craze on Facebook.  Honestly, I don’t care to read 100 random facts about anyone – you probably don’t either.  Maybe we can all handle 25.  It took me several days to come up with all 25…I almost gave up after 6. 

 

1. First Things First.  The first thing I do when I pick up a newspaper is read the comics.  The first comic strip that I read is Garfield.

 

2. Heinz Ketchup! I love Heinz Ketchup!!  It makes anything taste better.  (except eggs & ice cream – that’s just gross). 

 

3. Writing…I love the concept of writing, but putting pen to paper is actually painful for me.  Literally.  It hurts to hold a pen and write.  I blame it on all the invitations I’ve hand addressed on campaigns.  One day, my hand just had enough and it hasn’t forgiven me since.  

 

4. Spelling……Spelling correctly is really difficult; You know it’s bad when you ask your Jr. High students for help as you’re writing notes on the board. 

 

5. DVR! Because I can’t write, I keep a lot of notes on the computer and I also use a digital voice recorder (DVR) for journaling.  One of my new favorite ways to journal is to interview myself.  These are really hilarious! 

 

6. Maps!  I love to look at, read, and memorize maps!! 

 

7. 5!  This year I have flown over the Atlantic Ocean 5 times!!  I only had to sit in Coach once.  (and I still have to fly home in August…that will make it 6)

 

8. Speaking of 6! Today, I drove for the first time in 6 months…..Only it was in Uganda, and they drive on the opposite side of the road, and the truck was a stick shift, and I didn’t hit anyone or kill the engine – all the while dodging pot-holes, cows and bicycle taxis. 

 

9. Memories!  I have a “Book of Memories” that I started in 2001.  It is list of funny, sad, eventful, and random memories that I never want to forget.  

 

10. Ahem!  If I have to work, then I dream of being a writer (isn’t it ironic?) and a highly sought after public speaker. 

 

11.  Harold!  One of my favorite all time actors is Harold Lloyd.  Who is that, you may ask?  Harold Lloyd is only one of the best silent movie actors from the 1920’s.  Don’t hate.  He will make you laugh out loud. 

 

12.  Oh, Brother!  I am the luckiest sister to have the best brother in the whole world.  Seriously, all my girl friends wish Andrew was their brother….even some of my guy friends. 

 

13.  Frankly My Dear….Everything I needed to know about life, I’ve learned from Margaret Mitchell and Jane Austen. 

 

14. Shhh!  I sleep with ear plugs and sometimes even an eye-mask.

 

15.  Get Lost!  Going on long walks or drives with no destination is one of my favorite stress relievers.  (usually with a Rob Bell or Andy Stanley podcast on my ipod – or Weezer playing really loud if I’m angry….)

 

16.  Chapstick?  Right now in my purse, I counted 5 tubes of chapstick.  It is very rare that I can keep up with one long enough to use it all.

 

17.  Dirty!  I hate doing the dishes.

 

18.  Christy.  The novel Christy by Catherine Marshall was a major inspiration to my initial thoughts about doing mission work.

 

19.  My Words!  One of the most exciting moments of working in the Lt. Governor’s Office was when he used some of my suggestions in a speech.  I was standing off to the side and felt like jumping up and down and declaring “Those were my words!”  I’m not sure it was even a complete sentence and I don’t recall what the speech was about – but I’ll never forget the feeling!

 

20.  Quiet Game.  I covet quiet alone time.  Sometimes I just wonder off without telling anyone.  Like the time I went to Hawaii for my 23^rd birthday.

 

21. My-tunes.  The top 5 most played songs from my itunes are: #1 Underdog, Spoon; #2 Caravan, Van Morrison; #3 Under Pressure, David Bowie; #4 Grace Kelly, MIKA; #5 Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Andrews Sisters.

 

22.  8-31. I share a birthday with Van Morrison and I think that makes me pretty cool. 

 

23.  Sweeper. Back in the day, I had soccer coaches from Italy, Ireland, Mexico, England, and the good ole USA.  I was a defender you didn’t want to mess with (what I lacked in skill, I made up for with violence). I even broke a teammate’s arm during a scrimmage (but not on purpose) – Sorry Katie.  

 

24.  Aces.  I might be the best Spades player….ever.  But be warned, I cheat.      

 

  25.   Home.  After 12 months in Uganda, I’ll be returning to Atlanta on August 13, 2009 at approximately 7:10pm.  Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise. 

You're Not Talking To The Hand....

Just wanted to ya'll know that we are having a ridiculous time with the power and internet lately.  The electricity has been very lazy and has not wanted to stay on for more than 3 consecutive hours at a time.  This has made responding to emails and posting new blogs very difficult - especially since my laptop battery is officially dead and I can't even turn my computer on when the power is off.  Errrrrr - How was it that Paul learned to be content in EVERY situation?

I'm really thankful for your emails - keep them coming - I'm not ignoring you!

By the way the picture above was taken at Messiah Theological Institute (MTI) - the Bible School that our team oversees.  This water pump was installed by our team and provides clean drinking water to anyone who wishes to use it.  So many biblical stories happened around water wells....I can't help but think of a different one each time I pass this water pump.

5 Down...7 To Go

January finishes up my fifth month of living here in Mbale, Uganda.  Five complete months of living in a third world culture.  While it's beginning to feel normal – somethings here continue to baffle me. 

 

-Body Language – For women, be submissive in everyway; Don’t look men in the eye when you talk; Keep your head bowed and even bend at the waist a little; Talk soft.  If I don’t follow these cultural norms – then I am either very offensive or very provocative. Personally, this one has been really hard to get used to.  

-Family – If we’re related, you can’t say no to me – Broke? Need a place to stay? Hungry?  Simple.  Find your mother’s 2^nd cousin’s nephew and they can’t turn you down if you’re related.  Folks here will go broke and make themselves homeless before turning out lazy free-loading relatives. In the States, I think we'd only go to family as a last resort.  And while we are willing to help out our family when they are down and out, there is a line in the sand for how far we are willing to go.  

-Money – Live for today. The majority of folks are focused on survival and if they come into a sum of money – they don’t save it for next season’s seed or future medical bills or next year’s school fees but spend it now.  They might, however, build a portion of a house as they get money.  You see half built homes all over the place here; Completing a house sometimes takes 15-20 years – but, if you put your money in building materials at least your husband’s nephew won’t crash at your place and borrow all your cash. (Cause you couldn’t say no if he asked for it.) 

-Spirits – In the States, there is this movement to become more spiritual…as in zen and peace and meditation.  But here spiritual is very dark.  Witchdoctors are real.  Children are really kidnapped and their body parts sold for sacrifices.  Folks wear charms to ward off evil spirits.  Even in Christian churches, believers turn to witchdoctors for healings.  These witchdoctors in turn sacrifice chickens, goats or even worse… I have never felt so close to spiritual warfare than I do here in Uganda. 

-Mortality – Death visits often.  I meet so many who are either living with HIV or lost a parent to HIV.  This death comes slowly – for others, it comes very fast at a young age.  Many, many mothers will bear 8 – 12 children, but only 2 -3 will live to be adults.  In fact, most children aren’t even named until they are a year old.  It is such a ridiculous waste.  Our school cook lost her 2 month old son who was receiving treatment at the local hospital and will never know the real cause of his death.  And not even a week later, our day guard lost his 8 month old son to sickness.  

Culture Shock

I guess I pictured culture shock like a cartoon.  You know, like a guy who sticks his finger in the light socket ends up getting electrocuted…hair on ends, muscles tense, eyes bugged out, and visible skeleton outline.   ZAP!  You know when a character has been shocked.  So, instead of sticking a finger in a socket…I pictured sticking my finger in “Ugandan culture”.  I figured it would have the same electric shock effect. Immediate.  Visible.  Abrupt.  Noticeable.   But, there was no ZAP!  It was more like a slow boil.  It crept up gradually – I hardly even knew what was happening.

Stage I.  Before even leaving America. I was anxious to start my Ugandan experience.  I couldn’t leave home fast enough.  It was an adventure.   Bring it on!

Stage II.  Somewhere over the Atlantic.  It is my birthday and I’m sitting next to a complete stranger who is snoring!  I’m realizing that it is going to be 12 months before I return home. Deep Breath – Am I sure I don’t want to just make a U-Turn in London?

Stage III.  Further along over the Atlantic.  The Captain of the airplane just came back to wish me a Happy Birthday!  I am so cool!  What an adventure!  Uganda here I come!

Variations of Stages II & III repeat numerous times until I reach Mbale, Uganda.

Stage IV.  First night in new home.  Real tears.  Real regret?  It really feels like I am on my own – Will I sink or swim?  Why does it have to be so dirty over here?  Is that just a mosquito I feel on my leg or worse?  And, how did I ever convince myself that I could be a teacher?  I am going to be a complete failure – the kids won’t learn anything from me.  Can I still get my job back in Atlanta?

Stage V.   A new day.  It isn’t so scary in the daylight.  I can totally do this.  Besides, now it takes just minutes to walk to work and I get to wear flip-flops everyday!  No cares if I don’t take a shower, shave my legs or wear make-up.  Life here is decidedly less complicated and I can handle that – just one day at a time.

Stage VI.  December – After Parents Visit.  First Christmas away from home. Missing home and feelings of guilt for being absent. Haven’t had an email from friends in weeks.  Why does it have to be so hot here?  Why does everything take so long to do?  Why can’t I buy Dr. Pepper here?  When will our local market store get more ice cream bars????  I just feel really, really, really sad. 

Stage VII.  Admitting you have a problem.  Believe it or not – it works.  I asked my teammates for help – I asked friends back home to pray for me.  And God blessed me with encouragement immediately and he hasn’t stopped. From what I hear – Culture Shock isn’t something you are instantly cured of.  And, according to a teammate who has been here 25+ years, you never get over being homesick either.  

So, yeah, living in a third world country presents its challenges and dealing with the emotional stress of culture shock and homesickness is one that is often overlooked and underestimated.  Just one more reason I have learned to greatly respect and admire longterm missionaries. 

In 2019...

2009 marks changes.  The most obvious – living in a third world county.  But 2009 also marks 10 years since I graduated from high school.  Which got me to thinking (always a dangerous and expensive thing…) back to my senior year. 

“Welcome back my dear students.  Hope you all had a joyous and restful holiday.  For your first assignment of the New Year, I would like you to open your minds and dream about where you will be in ten years.  Then, I would like you to transfer these thoughts into an essay describing the 10 Year Reunion for the Class of 1999.”  I tend to take liberties in filling in what I don’t remember – but I think that about how my English teacher Mrs. Edwards would have announced such an assignment. 

Never would I have opened my mind wide enough to imagine that I would actually be missing my 10 reunion.  Out of the 18 in our class, I figured I would be the only one who actually attended! 

Where I was 10 years ago:

17 yrs old

In High School

Living with Mom & Dad in Newnan

Driving the ’88 Taurus w/ No A/C

Listening to music on the radio - 99X

Deciding between Georgia and Auburn

Watching FRIENDS every Thursday on NBC

 

Where I THOUGHT I would be in 10 years:

27 yrs old

Married, with no kids

Living in the city with a place in the county

Driving BMW to work and ’56 T-bird on the weekends

Working some corporate job and running the show

Living my own southern version of FRIENDS

And, obviously, rolling in cash

 

Where I actually am:

27 yrs old

Single, with no kids

Living in third world country (ok, at 17 I thought this might be a possibility but only if I was a secret government agent or US Ambassador to Fiji)

No car

Working as a missionary (and recovering political junkie)

Supporting myself by donations from family and friends

Watching FRIENDS reruns on DVD  and living what feels more like an updated version of Gilligan's Island, but without the island....

Listening to music on my Ipod

In 10 more years I might be….who knows?

Good Morning!

It is 7am and I am bundled up on the front porch with my laptop.  I love being up early inUganda; It is the only time when it feels cold outside.  Hmm….cold….it is all relative.  In Georgia, we might call this just a little chilly, but I wrap the blanket tighter around my legs, hug the warm cup of tea and envision all the brown dusty grass suddenly as pure white snow.  Snow??? I am from GEORGIA for crying out loud, why am I homesick for snow???   Note to self:  No more watching White Christmas.  

The over eager birds who proudly call out to the world bring me back to reality.  Not to be outdone, the neighbor’s rooster, who as-a-matter-of-fact has been crowing since 5am, decides to dominate the morning symphony.  No playlist on my ipod can compete.

A picture from my breakfast spot at Bushara Island.

Ugandan sunrise while on safari with my parents at Murchison Falls.

But It Itches!!

For my ninth birthday one of my friends gave me a small pink diary – complete with its own lock and key. I wrote in that diary everyday for almost a whole week. Sorry that I haven’t posted an update in while – apparently a lot hasn't changed since I was nine.

A lot has happened - or at least I thought a lot had happened until I sat down and tried to remember it all.

We celebrated THANKSGIVING with a big team lunch. I even got to spend the holiday with my parents who had come to Uganda for a short visit. My parents stayed for about two and a half weeks – just long enough to get over the jet-lag. Since there isn’t much do, we had plenty of time to sit around and talk..(nap, read books, quiz each other on random facts about Ted Williams, make up facts about The African Queen and call home to make sure Andrew was installing the hardwood floor correctly). We had an especially enjoyable time on our jaunt to Murchison Falls in northern Uganda. (For pictures, see my photo link to the right.)

The weekend before my parents’ arrival, our entire team went on retreat to a “resort” called The Hairy Lemon. This “resort” is its own island in the middle of the Nile River. We had to ride in questionable wooden canoes to even get there. Unfortunately, this resort didn’t have electricity or running water…(do you understand? There was NO toilet…) But, it did come with an unlimited buffet of insects, curious monkeys, and a weekend of bathing in the Nile River. While over half the team came home with a complimentary case of malaria, I contracted a serious infection from a bug bite on my ankle. Because of my bad habit of scratching anything that itches – this infection quickly spread to other spots on my arms and legs. By the time Mom and Dad arrived the next weekend, I was in a full blown feverish infected state. So, on their second day in Mbale we visited a local health clinic where I received excellent treatment from a Ugandan doctor costing less than $25 (complete with blood work and an injection of something that worked wonders). Of course, now I am all better – but the secret is out and EVERYONE tells me to “Stop Scratching!” To which I inevitably reply “But, it itches!!” I feel like I’m nine years old again.

Well, that’s about as much as I can write at one sitting – which is also probably more that most are willing to read. Happy Holidays Ya’ll!

Restored!

Two empty boxes of candles and four empty box of matches. (Matches are difficult for Crystal.) Depleted cell phone battery warning beeps. Laptop computers lying around gathering dust. Scattered decks of cards. One big novel finished. Dried wax on the floor. (My bad.) Roommates congregating in the living room sitting in silence out of boredom. We’ve organized every drawer and closet. We’ve played every card game. I just got finished sharing my most embarrassing moment…from middle school.

We’ve been without electricity for over 48 hours! Usually power outages only last around 12 hours and don’t occur when the most important news from back home is being reported!

Alas! Our joy has been restored! The power is back! I knew you would want to share in this happy celebration – so go take a really cold shower, cook dinner by candle light then you too might know the elation we felt when we could finally blow out the last candle! It is the small things that become the big things.

JUBILATION!!

Am I A City Girl After All?? (Part II)

The focus of our trip was eating and shopping and we were highly successful in both endeavors. We enjoyed authentic New York style pizza, juicy fresh hamburgers from a local butcher, almost-as-good-as-my-momma’s lasagna, and the darkest, richest chocolate ice cream! Not once did we eat rice and beans – And not once did we miss it!

Thanks to a little research ahead of time, we had discovered a hidden away boutique hotel with a reasonably priced spa. Once there we were speechless. This place was incredible! It turns out rooms went for $300/night…but they had real American mattresses and big comfy chairs and deep soaking bathtubs and air-conditioning!! We considered splurging for a night – but settled for lunch instead. They actually served salad! (Lettuce is hard to come by in Uganda.) We relaxed and leisurely ate our lunch as we looked out over the beautiful lush gardens and for a brief moment forgot that we were thousands of miles from home.

The next day was devoted to shopping. There are basically two places to shop in Kampala: Garden City (the mall…and I use that term loosely) and the ShopRite/Game Center. ShopRite is the closest thing they have to a grocery store while Game is more like Wal-mart. You can’t imagine our level of excitement with being able to go to these places. Here we can buy things that we can’t find in Mbale. Things like: pillows, pickles, marshmallows, bacon, deli-meat, colgate toothpaste, cherrios, shower curtains, postcards, rugs, cake mix, food coloring, books, broccoli, cream cheese, scented candles and I could go on and on. I went down each aisle giddy as a kindergartener on the first day of school – “Oh – they have marshmallows…Come look, I found cherrios!” It was the simple joy of shopping for the simple things. Crystal was close to hysterics when she discovered wooden clothespins! And there were tears when Jennifer found pickles.

We left Kampala with full stomachs and full shopping bags. I was not looking forward to going back to our simple small town of Mbale. This shocked me – was this southern country bumpkin a city girl after all?

Am I A City Girl After All?? (Part I)

Life in Mbale isn’t difficult, especially when compared to other towns in Uganda. There are (small) hotels, restaurants (if you don’t mind waiting 2hrs), and supermarkets (picture a country general store…not Publix). But when school let out for a whole week, the teachers knew exactly what we wanted….a trip to the city!

Not having our own vehicle, Jennifer, Crystal and I got up at 6:30 am to catch the 7:00 am bus to Kampala. It turns out the 7:00 am actually left at 8:30 am – so we sat on the parked bus and watched as the town around us began to wake up. We were finally on our way and I was sitting next to a window which I opened for fresh air when I felt something crawling on my hand. I look down to find a baby roach making its way up my arm. Calmly I flick it to the ground and smash it with my sandal. I look over at my friend who shrugs her shoulders and offers some hand sanitizing gel.

Somewhere along the way our driver pulls over for a bathroom break. Only – there are no facilities….folks just get off the bus and do their business on the side of the road and then we load up. (I just held it.) Further down, it is almost time for lunch. The driver pulls over and our bus is immediately surrounded with men and women selling roasted beef and chicken on sticks. These are shoved in our windows as the sellers shout their prices. (I got out a granola bar from my backpack.)

Four hours after leaving Mbale, our bus reaches Kampala, our destination. Or at least I think this is it. Everyone else has disembarked, but technically, the bus hasn’t reached the bus park due to heavy traffic. After sitting on the empty bus for several minutes I go to the front and confirm with the driver that this is actually where we should get off. It is intimidating to leave our quiet bus because outside there is only mass confusion. Cars are everywhere going in every direction – there are no traffic lanes. Bicycles are weaving in and out of the parked traffic and car horns are constantly filling the air. Being three white girls – we attract attention right away and before I even step foot off the bus, a taxi driver has grabbed my bag and is leading me to his car. We haggle over the price, but soon we are on our way out of the confusing city center and toward our get-a-way guesthouse.

Whew! That’s just the first few hours of our trip – I need a break and will post more later.

You Might Be A Redneck If...

Growing up in the country, I have seen a lot of different things in the back of pick-up trucks. It could be a load of hay, produce, fill dirt, or firewood. Maybe an old washer machine or an ugly old couch. I have even seen all my earthly belongings packed in the back of my dad’s truck a time or two. But this past Sunday on the way to church, I saw something propped in the back of a pick-up truck that I had never seen before….And no, it wasn’t 45 Ugandans squeezed together in the back – that is actually a normal sight around here. But what I saw was a wooden coffin being held steady by two men sitting next to it. What made it more bizarre was the comment from the missionary I was riding with. “They must be rich; you usually see coffins transported on bicycles.”

T.I.A. (This Is Africa)

Here are some things that have become part of normal life:

1. Anything that took just a few minutes in the States (ex: sending an email, mailing a letter, paying a bill) takes at least half an hour here!

2. Living life by candle light or with a flashlight always in your pocket because you never know where you’ll be when the power goes out – and it does at least once every day for a few hours.

3. Getting ready for bed involves fumigating your room and tucking your mosquito net under your mattress.

4. Being greeted on the streets as “Mzungu” or just “White Girl”. Especially by kids, who will excitedly yell “Hey, Mzungu, Mzungu,” until you eventually wave back. (All white people are referred to as Mzungu’s)

5. Watching out for falling geckos when opening doors.

6. Milk - it is delivered to us three times a week (usually). We have to boil it, strain it, and then hold our noses when we drink it.

7. Phrases like “Sorry Please” (instead of just I’m sorry) and “It is finished” (instead of we are out of gas…the gas is finished).

8. When the temperature gets below 75 degrees – it is considered COLD and hats, gloves, and thick coats start coming out.

9. Drinking Coco-Cola out of (reused) glass bottles…Ok, I actually don’t really mind this as long as there is a glass or straw.

10. Paying 1,000 for a coke…..100,000 shillings = $65 or $70. A nice meal will usually cost 8,000 shillings or around $6. I just bought a new cell phone for 40,000 shillings ($30). Converting money takes some getting used to!