Things you can get for $1 in Nairobi

Nairobi doesn't have any "dollar stores" that I know of, but there are plenty of things you can count on costing about a dollar.

A hand-wash for your car.
A bouquet of roses, if you are buying several (otherwise it'll cost about $2).
One hour of babysitting by a nanny (no kidding).
Three cold diet cokes in glass bottles. But you better say "cold" or it's assumed you'd prefer warm.
A dozen delicious bananas, picked ripe.
15 red onions.
A 10-percent tip on your pedicure.
Ten shoe shines.
8 hours of parking at a shopping mall (no, I've never shopped for that long...here).
5 ears of corn roasted on smoldering embers on the side of the road.
Home delivery from the Lebanese restaurant down the street.
Help from the apartment security guard and fix-it guy to bring groceries to the fifth floor.

My butcher. 6 thick slices of deli turkey cost me $11!

A less expensive option, but I'm not that brave.

Before you get too jealous, remember that we live in a country where our dollar bill can devalue by 20% in the course of a couple of weeks, which happened in November. That makes things slightly less convenient for Steve and I, but slightly better for Kenyans who've suffered from over 18% inflation on basic goods during the course of 2011. From what I can tell, that inflation has really hit people hard, especially in the area of housing, food, and gas. So, we continue to be grateful for our home country and currency.