They really need to do something about the money in this country. I've probably written about it before, but here is a short recap.

There are three currencies that people deal with here: Old Pounds (1000=$.50), Dinars (100=$.50), and New Pounds (1=$.50). Most prices are quoted in Old Pounds, but they are no longer in circulation. The Dinar is being phased out and the New Pound is being phased in.

Today I tried to get paid at the newspaper, because it was my last day of work. I make 30,000 Dinars for four days of work per month. This month I have worked three days, so I am owed 22,500. For us, it is simple, for the Sudanese it is very complicated.

I have called the Managing Editor all week to make sure my payment would be ready today. When I got there to collect the money, he had no idea what I was talking about and said that I could not get paid because the accountant is out of the office. I told him that I need to get paid, because I am leaving the country. So he and the other accountant (who doesn't control the money) sat down to figure out how much I am owed. After about 15 minutes they came up with a sum of 30,000 Dinars. I explained that I wasn't owed that much, but they were sure that it was correct. The Managing Editor proceeded to hand me 3,000 Dinars.

"No," I said, "I need 19 and a half more of these notes."
"But you make 1,000 Dinars a day."
"No, I work four days a month and make 30,000 Dinars - 7,500 per shift."
They started the calculations again and came up with the same number. I was getting a bit frustrated at this point, so I drew a very simple diagram to explain how much I was owed. Another person walked into the office and all three carefully studied my diagram. Again they handed me 3,000 Dinars. I explained the diagram again and wrote out the amount I was owed in each of the three currencies. Finally they seemed to understand.

The Managing Editor asked me to write a letter explaining the payment to the Editor in Chief. Three handwritten copies and one typed copies later (they kept wanting me to add, remove and change the letters), I was finally paid.