Haitian Money Explained

I also wrote this yesterday when we didn't have internet.

So, one of the things that we're having our first REAL experience with on this trip is Haitian money. We've mostly just left it to Danny in the past, but this time we changed all our money and have been using it. Which doesn't seem like a big deal, except I find the Haitian money system very confusing and unnecessarily complicated-- like many Haitian things.

So here's the deal.

The exchange between Haitian dollars and US dollars usually varies between 7-8-- currently $8H to $1US. (Finally, a benefit to the weak US dollar!) Now, that wouldn't be too complicated, except that Haitian dollars only exist as a concept not in actual currency. The actual currency is gourdes. There are 5 goudes in every Haitian dollar. So if I am trying to figure out how much something is in US dollars and it is marked in gourdes, I have to first divide by 5 to get Haitian dollars, and then by 8 to get US dollars.

Here's an example:

A box of cereal I bought at the Pharmacy today was $218G.
So in Haitian dollars that was $43.60.
In US dollars, it is $5.45.
(Wow, I just realized I got totally ripped off on that cereal.)

To further confuse things, people generally refer to things in Haitian dollars all the time. So, for example, someone might say, "Here's the $50 I owe you," and then hand you what appears to be $250 bill. But it's NOT $250. It's 250 gourdes.

Clear as mud? It is to me. The double conversion thing totally baffles me. I am going to have to carry a cheat sheet with me for a while I think.