Build a school for $5,000, or 1/5th of a computer mouse

A friend whom I admire told me a story of his recent trip to Cambodia.

“We visited a school in rural Cambodia,” he said, “and when we walked in, all the students stood up and applauded.”

I contemplated that for a bit while grabbing another bite of lunch, and decided that was not usual cultural behavior.  “Why did they do that?” I asked.

“Because I built the school,” he replied.

Another bout of chewing allowed me to process this, raising my esteem for my friend in the process.  “Um, how much did that cost?”

“I don’t know exactly, around $5,000.”

This conversation led to an entirely new perspective on the world for me: the CSE, or Cambodian School Equivalent.  For example, the average car in the U.S. selling for almost $28,000, that equates to 5.6 Cambodian School Equivalents.  A designer couch?  One CSE.

This should remind us that we have so much in this country, which could be one reason why other countries are both jealous and spiteful. (For those interested in helping education in Cambodia, please check out The Cambodian School Project, among others.  You too can build a school.)

I was not terribly suprised to see, then, that a computer mouse, with 3 year warranty, costs nearly 5 CSEs.  $25,000.  The Worlds Most Expensive Mouse. For the computer that has everything.