What I wish I had done differently

To anyone who is traveling to East Africa: bring a ton of cash in US currency! Not just cash, but $100 bills. Here’s why:

• Credit Cards are useless here. Everywhere I ask about using a credit card (restaurants, stores, etc.) I just get laughs. Plus ATMs do not withdraw US dollars, only T shillings (T /=), of course.

• ATM’s mostly Charge. This may come as a surprise to some people (it was a surprise to me), but there are ATMs in Tanzania, and you can withdraw money from them with your American debit card – for a fee. It depends on your bank, of course, but I (and my classmates) are charged a 3%conversion fee for every ATM withdrawal. Some banks, charge a flat fee of $5 dollars on top of a 3% conversion fee. Go figure.

• The exchange rate is much stronger for $100 dollar bills. When I arrived in Dar Es Salaam, the best exchange rate I could find was 1465 T/= (T shillings) for $1USD, but that was only for $50 and $100 dollar bills. For USD$20, $10, $5 dollar bills, the exchange rate was a mere 1420 T Shililngs per dollar.
  
• ...Furthermore, to buy back US dollars with T Shillings, you pay more: 1520 T/= per US dollar. For example, if you had $100 US and you wanted to exchange that for T Shillings, you would receive (100 x 1465) 146,500 T/=. However, if you wanted to take that same amount of T Shillings and exchange it for US dollars, you would recive only (146,500/1520) $96.38 – you would lose $3.62 for each 100 US dollars. This is illustrated in my next dilemma.

• Many touristy expenses charge only in American Dollars. This includes excursions, hotels, hostels, travel agencies, and some (but very few) restaurants. For example, My classmates signed for a four-day safari to both Serengeti and Ngorogoro national parks. The Tanzanian-based company that is organizing our trip charged us $530 US dollars. However, I didn’t bring enough American currency with me from New York, which forces me to buy back US currency with T Shillings. The exchange alone will cost me an extra [(530x1520)-(530x1465)] 29,150 T/= (or $ 19.90 USD). I should have brought more American currency.

I think the last bullet point is especially strange. I never knew the power of US currency in this country. Even those from European and Asian countries who travel to Tanzania must exchange their euros, pounds, yen, etc. for US dollars before leaving their home countries if they expect to go on bike trips or safari trips.

That’s American privilege.