Fun notes

Zimbabwe uses the US dollar as the main currency. Some of the dollars here have been in circulation long, long past when they'd be removed from US circulation. They are so thin and dirty, the portions that are whitish-beige in the US are brownish-tan. They're so thin, they feel like they can't be real bills; you can literally feel the dirt in them.

There are exceptions to the US dollar rule, too. The primary one that I've heard about is when travelling by local autobus. These are small minivans that travel semi-regular routes, beeping their horns and calling for passengers. In Mexico, they'd be called "combis." Because a trip one these are short, even one dollar is too much to expect. Instead, locals use half-South-African-dollar coins.