October 16th 2002

So, I went to a store the other day. I had been wanting a new pair of shoes. When I came to Africa I had a baggage limit. I only brought with me two suitcases and a backpack (all of which though were jammed packed). So one of the things I felt like I wanted more of was shoes. Unfortunately though a pair of shoes my size just does is not exactly at every store. In fact the men’s shoes maybe in a big size is an eight or nine. I prefer a ten and a half to eleven. Store after store when I went in told me they do not have shoes my size. So then I went to one store and they had a pair of Nikes. I was very pleased to find a pair of shoes my size and even a brand I knew and trusted. The price was eighty rand or about eight American dollars. I thought it was a great deal and thought how nice it was in the third world that things are so cheap. I think cheap might be the right word as now I know even in the third world that a good pair of Nikes does still cost a lot of money which means the one’s I bought were bootlegs. Just a counterfeit pair of shoes worth about eight dollars but with the Nike swoosh on the side. I did do some additional shopping and found out that a pair of Nike’s at a South African shop might cost me one thousand rand and not eighty. This is not the only time I have been taken on a purchase.

I have also bought a radio. It was supposed to be an AM/FM/short-wave radio. It is just that but the reception on it is not very well. I though am seriously considering buying a satellite radio in South Africa. I feel like I have learned my lesson though when it come to things like food I should not be surprised that classy meal that might cost twenty to thirty dollars in the US might only cost two or three dollars. The same goes with clothes so sometimes a good purchase can be made but when it comes to getting something of quality or any electronics a person should go to South Africa. So tomorrow I am going to South Africa and I might just get a satellite radio. Supposedly they even work in the US, which means I might want to bring it back with me. I heard they are hard to find though so then again I might not.

I hope everyone is well, this weekend I am planning on going to a conference in the mountains. Jeff