Zimbabwe inflation now over 1 million percent

Mutare, 1993. My parents bought the house they live in today for Z$180 000.

Today, a small pack of locally produced coffee beans cost just short of 1 billion Zimbabwe dollars. Zimbabwe's inflation has soared to 1,063,572% according to independent financial analysts in Zimbabwe. A loaf of bread costs today, what 12 new cars cost a decade ago. The last official figure given by the government was 165,000% back in February. They have claimed that it is too expensive for them to calculate the inflation figures anymore. Companies have been complaining of high absenteeism rates due to the high costs of transport that employees must pay to get to work. In the March 29 election, many voters said that the economy was a top issue for them. It will be interesting to see how the results will turn out in the second round of voting which is set for June 27

Yield to Oncoming Zebras

Every day on my way to work I pass this sign, which reads Zebra Crossing. And every day when I see that sign I smile to myself at how bizarre and exotic living in Africa is. Where I’m from in Atlanta, all we have are duck crossings!

Last week I asked my coworker Michael to stop the car in front of the sign so that I could take a picture of it. He looked a little confused, but pulled over to the side of the road. When I got back in the car he asked me, “Don’t you have crossings in the United States?” I replied, “Yeah, for people, but not for ZEBRAS!”

He looked confused for a moment and then burst out laughing. In between laughing fits he explained to me that a zebra crossing is not for zebras. It’s just a normal crosswalk named “zebra” for the black and white diagonal lines that mark where people should cross. Every since then whenever we pass a zebra crossing, Michael smirks and says, "Stephie, look out for the zebras!"

Sigh. This picture is yet another symbol of how much I still have to learn about life in Zimbabwe.