Колку е?

On Tuesday, I got my first haircut in Macedonia which yes, means I hadn't gotten my hair cut in 7 months. It was overdue. I went to a hairdresser recommended by my fellow volunteer/neighbor Heather because she said the stylist does a good job and knows English, the second factor especially reducing my haircut anxiety. I forgot to ask Heather how much a haircut would be at said salon and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was 100 MKD (Macedonian denari). That's only $2.50, including the blow dry (but not shampooing). Only the day before, I paid slightly more than that for one large eggplant. There are definitely some idiosyncracies to pricing here that continue to catch me off guard. I thought it would be interesting to take a page out of the Lonely Planet travel guides and give you an idea of "How Much" different things cost in Macedonia. That's what the title means, by the way, "how much is it" and it's one of the phrases I use frequently. I'll put the prices in dollars but the exchange rate is roughly 40 MKD = $1.00 US.

Can/bottle of Coca Cola: $0.75 at the store, $1.50 at a cafe

Liter of Skopsko beer: $2.50 at the store, $4.50 at a bar

Cheap bottle of wine: $2.50 at the store, same price as a glass at a bar

Liter of milk: $1.25

1.5 L bottled water: $0.50

Loaf of bread: $0.75

2 lbs of tomatoes: $2.50 in winter, $0.75 in summer

1 lb of spinach: $1

18 eggs: $1.75

Block of cheese: $4

Chocolate bar: $1.50

Personal pizza at a restaurant: $4

Long sleeve t-shirt: $10

Movie ticket: $3

Monthly phone, cable, internet package: $25

Roundtrip bus ticket, Bitola - Skopje: $15

Taxi ride in town: $1.25 - $4

Actually purchasing what you meant to: Priceless