Grocery shopping in Malawi: Prices

When we first arrived I took a few pictures of some of the items in the grocery stores that would show you how different the prices are.  We haven't eaten grapes since we left the States.  Above you'll see why.  Now, our family usually goes through an entire bag of grapes a week.  We just love grapes.  I think it's one of the major things AJ misses about America.  However the package above is about 1/4 the size of a bag of grapes.  The container is a little bigger than my hand.  And the price of K2000 is approx $12.  So you see why we haven't been eating grapes at all!  :(

Ok here are some tiny little cherry tomatoes.  Evidently they are imported from Europe or something.  We can get fabulous tomatoes here (the regular ones are very cheap) but these imported little baby ones are about $39.  I mean seriously??  Do people actually pay these prices?

This is a little pencil case in the school supply section.  The price is $8.  

Here are some colored pencils that cost $12 per pack.

This one is for my mother in law:  Cake confetti (or sprinkles to us) cost  over $9 for a little shaker.

This is a refill pack of baby wipes (72 in the pkg).  The price on this little gem is approx. $15!  Yes, that's right, $15 for a refill pack of baby wipes.  So we had mom bring us some on the airplane when she arrived last month.  Of course, we'll also be sending some on the container next year.  Baby wipes is one thing that is a MUST when you have a baby!

And finally, this regular sized bottle of Pantene costs over $19.  Thankfully our amazing supporters and church provided us with most of the above items before we ever left the States.  We were able to pack them onto the container and ship them over.  Of course, we still pay for the space on the container, but it's worth it to not have to pay some of the prices over here.  Thank you so much for all you did for us last Spring!  We are SET for the year!!!!  I jokingly say, when I walk into Mom's room/the storage room, that I'm going to Wal-Mart.  It's true, we are very blessed with amazing friends and family.

Now, I'm not trying to be a downer about all of this.  We are VERY blessed to have amazing prices in other areas of the grocery realm.  Fruits and veggies are very inexpensive.  So we've been trying to eat more and more healthy.  It's good!  We are so very thankful to be here and thankful that we have the prayers and support of our family and friends back home to get us through.  Thank you for all you do for us!

In His Service,
Jill