A quiz about our groceries (posted by Devin)
A. and I arranged our food in our kitchen so we could show you, our lovely readers, how much food costs here:
Here are the questions (no cheating):
(A) How much, total, did these groceries cost?
(B) What are the top two most expensive items?
(C) Which items cost about the same as they do in the US?
(D) Which is the most cost-inflated item (i.e. above its normal price here)?
In case you're wondering, here is an inventory (from left to right, starting in front):
4 kele (bananas)
1 kira (cucumber)
1 mooli (daikon)
4 baingen (eggplant)
1 large bunch dania patta (cilantro)
3 kenu (tangerines)
.5 kg aloo (potatoes)
1 kg tomatar (umm... tomato!)
1 cup dahi (yogurt)
2 sticks makkan (butter)
2 Liters whole milk
1 Liter lowfat milk
1 sponge
4 mombatti (candles)
(A) Rs. 540, or $8.41!
(B) Dairy! (1) Butter (Rs. 55 or $.90), (2) Milk (Rs. 47/each or $.73)
(C) Milk - regular milk in the US is about $3.
(D) Candles. Because of the power outages, candles are Rs. 25 a piece currently, down from a high of Rs. 60 a piece a few months ago.
Although the groceries are very cheap for us, many Pakistanis make only Rs. 120 per day, which makes it very hard to feed a family. Prices of basic commodities remain higher than normal here, which means people like those we interviewed for our piece on the wheat shortage often get by on just roti.
Here are the questions (no cheating):
(A) How much, total, did these groceries cost?
(B) What are the top two most expensive items?
(C) Which items cost about the same as they do in the US?
(D) Which is the most cost-inflated item (i.e. above its normal price here)?
In case you're wondering, here is an inventory (from left to right, starting in front):
4 kele (bananas)
1 kira (cucumber)
1 mooli (daikon)
4 baingen (eggplant)
1 large bunch dania patta (cilantro)
3 kenu (tangerines)
.5 kg aloo (potatoes)
1 kg tomatar (umm... tomato!)
1 cup dahi (yogurt)
2 sticks makkan (butter)
2 Liters whole milk
1 Liter lowfat milk
1 sponge
4 mombatti (candles)
(A) Rs. 540, or $8.41!
(B) Dairy! (1) Butter (Rs. 55 or $.90), (2) Milk (Rs. 47/each or $.73)
(C) Milk - regular milk in the US is about $3.
(D) Candles. Because of the power outages, candles are Rs. 25 a piece currently, down from a high of Rs. 60 a piece a few months ago.
Although the groceries are very cheap for us, many Pakistanis make only Rs. 120 per day, which makes it very hard to feed a family. Prices of basic commodities remain higher than normal here, which means people like those we interviewed for our piece on the wheat shortage often get by on just roti.