7999: Re: Re: 7981: Re: 7973: Prices in $ HT (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Pascal Antoine <pascala@freshcom.com>

> If it is this simple, you do understand that 26 Gourdes is H$5.20 and the
> person would stare you in the face until you pay another Gourde!  Then
they
> might give you 10 kob back.
>
> Jan

Jan, great comeback!

I literally just got back from my 4th trip to Haiti (2 hours ago) since last
July and have finally gotten used to the pricing system. On my previous
trips, I let my friend (who lives there) make purchases for me, count
change, etc. Even though it is quite simple to multiply and divide by five,
the fact that there is no actual currency that represents the Haitian Dollar
is annoying and confusing as heck! Also, trying to quickly figure out the
U.S $ equivalent (to make sure you're not being taken for a ride) can make
you go crazy. On top of that since it wise not to "rale kob" and avoid
making your money visible, you usually need to make these calculations
quickly in order to pull out just the right amount of money. Tiring, but I
finally got the hang of it even though it took me about 4 trips!

Pascal Antoine
HaitiXchange
http://www.HaitiXchange.com
http://www.earthtimes.org/may/culturewhattheheckaremay17_01.htm