Sticker Shock

We're discovering that pretty much anything we want, we can find in Abidjan. The question is, can we afford to pay for it?

Here's a price sampling for you:

Playstation 2 game: $125
New movie on DVD: $55
Can of Pringles: $3
Neutrogena liquid soap: $14
Jar of salsa: $6
12 pack of Dr. Pepper: $8

(but being able to actually buy a Dr. Pepper when the craving hits: priceless)

So, we won't be buying any DVDs or Playstation 2 games while we're here, but it is nice to at least walk into the stores and sort of feel like we're in America for a little while. But be warned! Don't be tempted by the $7 Duncan Hines brownie mix because it will probably taste like whatever it was shipped next to ... detergent, shampoo, etc.

Even regular items like chicken, flour, and milk cost more than they do in the U.S., but the IMB (our sending organization) provides a cost-of-living supplement that allows us to live in such an expensive place. We still do a lot of cooking from scratch just because it's so much more cost effective.

Here's us last night making flour tortillas from scratch ... it takes forever! Two hours and 29 tortillas later, that $5 package of 10 pre-made tortillas from the imported foods store sure started to sound worth it!













Over the weekend we did some exploring. Abidjan is definitely a city of contrasts (like most big cities, I assume ...). There are fancy malls that make us feel like we're in Europe or America, but as soon as we walk out the door we meet street vendors hawking anything from zucchini to flip flops and it's easy to remember where we really are. The neighborhood we live in is really pretty, but a few blocks away there are places where garbage is piled high on both sides of the street, or even in the street. It will take awhile to figure this place out.

We haven't really been able to take many good pictures yet, but here's a couple of shots from the car window that give you an idea of how different the city looks, depending on which part you're in...