Big Head vs. Small Head

This is fun stuff! Kate brought us some cash when she came two weeks ago. So, we go to the bank to exchange some of it, only to find out that if the $100 bill has a small head of Benjamin Franklin, then it is not accepted. Only the big-headed Franklins are accepted. The banker tells us the “small heads” are too old. We find out the entire country will not accept small heads; a whole new twist on big-headedness don’t you think? A lawyer told us Saddam Hussein counterfeited the small heads very effectively, much to the Americans chagrin, and I guess the thinking is they are still floating around. Luckily, most of our bills are big headed!

This is the problem with cashing the $100 bills Kate brought us: money management made more difficult in a developing country by counterfeiting. Our initial plan was to use our ATM card since we knew most business was conducted in cash. So, cashing the maximum of $300 per day, which by the way is 45 minutes away, would not pay for our Christmas safari. Plan B was to open a bank account and have money wired to our new Tanzanian account. That has been 3 weeks in the making since our paper work was questioned twice. Our applications, which included eight pictures, our thumb prints, a letter from Faraja stating our purpose for being here and copies of our passports, still has not been accepted at the main office in Dar es Salaam. The burning question is: what does the E. stand for in Helen E? Hence, we still do not have an account.

Our clubs are going well. The children really like the extra- curricular activities, and we enjoy teaching. Zachayo loves playing card games. His devious little smile tells me he is thinking about his next move. It will be good when these kids know more games and are able to have cards in their dorm rooms so they can keep themselves occupied.