525 F CFA = $1 (last I checked)
10 cfa - text messages within Burkina
100 cfa - international text messages
1,500-2,500 cfa - 1 pagne (colorful fabric to get clothes made)
1500 cfa - tailoring for a shirt
2000 cfa - tailoring for a skirt
2500 cfa - tailoring for a dress
500 cfa - Coke/Fanta (glass bottle)
650 cfa - Brakina (one of the cheapest beers)
1000 cfa - 1L box of wine -- bottles of wine are more like 3000+
1200 cfa - 1L box of sangria
**these are those weird coated paper /cardboard boxes that you see of soy/almond milk
50 cfa - sachet of water (about 16oz)
150-300 cfa - cafe au lait
FOOD
750 cfa - package of laughing cow cheese (aka "la vache qui rit," literally "the cow who laughs" hahahahah - as you can see or may already know, French doesn't use present participles/gerunds/gerundives the way English does, so I often find literal translations hilarious)
800 cfa - can of tuna
100 cfa - 1 egg
350-500 cfa - omelet
400-500 cfa - rice with sauce
500-600 cfa - couscous with sauce
700-1000 cfa - plate of fries
1300 cfa - 200g can of oatmeal (lasts me about 2-3 weeks)
5750 cfa - 900g of powdered milk (also lasts me about 2-3 weeks)
1000 cfa - enough peanut butter to fill a JIF container
FRUIT - I think this very much depends on where you're doing the buying, but in Tenkodogo:
100 cfa - 1 banana
200 cfa - 1 red apple
250 cfa - 1 green apple
VEGETABLES - I think this is where prices vary the most depending on your negotiation skills. Vendors will make little piles of items, and usually each pile will be the same price.
For example, each little pyramid of 3-5 small tomatoes may be 50 cfa, but you can exchange tomatoes to make your own pile if you think another tomato is better/more ripe/not mushy. And you can also be like, okay I want three piles for 125 cfa and kind of demand a deal that way.
I often go to my village marché with my neighbor, Rosalie, who has turned out to be an incredible negotiator. Clearly she knows exactly how much things should cost, and what she can get away with in terms of adding more items for the same cost.
For example: the last time I went with her, I got 10 (small) onions and 14 (small-med) tomatoes for 225 cfa!!! That's about 43 cents!!! Hoping to include a picture of that purchase with this post because it absolutely blew my mind.
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
100 cfa - one fork/knife/spoon
200 cfa - Brillo-type sponge
750 cfa - 18L bucket
50 cfa - single use packet of powder laundry detergent
250 cfa - bar of laundry/multi use soap
250 cfa - roll of toilet paper
12,500 cfa - my gas stove
18,000 cfa - the cot that is serving as my temporary bed (woven plastic-y cords on a metal frame)
77,500 cfa - solar panel, battery, cord, inverter, 1m fluoro light (awesome deal)
No comments:
Post a Comment